Arts Festivals & Events
We support arts festivals and events through our Arts Act Grants (funded by Kerry County Council), and we provide mentoring to festival organisers (co-funded by Kerry County Council & The Arts Council).
We also organise two or more key events or workshops (with support from Creative Ireland) for Bealtaine; an annual national month-long festival in May, which aims to foster and inspire creativity and to promote the skills, experiences and exposure which can lead to a rich creative life for all older people.
In May 2021, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, launched the Local Live Performance Programming Scheme. The scheme, disseminated through the Local Authorities, was a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, as it aimed to provide employment opportunities for professional performers and stage technicians and support the production of live performances, thereby helping to underpin the recovery of the commercial live performance sector. In the four rounds of the scheme to date, there has been over 250 performances and events in Kerry with over 400 Kerry performers and stage technicians supported by the scheme.
LLPPS3 Events
LLPPS4 Events
Listowel Writers’ Week 2019 (Photo: Ger Holland)
The following are a list of festivals and events with at least 50% focus on arts and/or culture.
- Animation Dingle
- Architecture Kerry
- Ballybunion Arts Festival
- Ballydonoghue Bardic Festival
- Bealtaine
- Biddy’s Day
- Cahersiveen Festival of Music & the Arts
- Chamber Music on Valentia
- Children’s Book Festival
- Christie Hennessy Festival
- Con Curtin Music Festival
- Dan Paddy Andy Festival
- Dingle International Film Festival
- Dingle Lit
- Éigse na Brídeoige
- Féile Feabhra
- Féile Cheoil
- Féile na Bealtaine
- Handed Down Concert & Lecture Series
- Kenmare Arts Festival
- Kenmare Halloween Howl
- Kerry Drama Festival
- Kerry International Film Festival
- K-Fest
- Listowel International Storytelling Festival
- Listowel Writers’ Week
- National Circus Festival of Ireland
- Other Voices
- Patrick O’ Keeffe Traditional Music Festival
- Portmagee Traditional Irish Set Dancing & Music Weekend
- Revival Festival
- Scoil Cheoil an Earraigh
- Seán McCarthy Memorial Weekend
- Sneem Storytelling & Folklore Festival
- Sweets of May Set Dancing & Traditional Music Festival
- The Gathering Traditional Festival
- World Fiddle Day