Caledon steps back in time as community organises village Georgian festival
THE beautiful Georgian village of Caledon which borders counties Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan is to host a wonderful display of all things Georgian at its very own food, drink and craft festival which will take place on October 1.
The event, which will be officially opened by The Earl of Caledon KCVO and Tourism NI chairman Terence Brannigan, will feature a host of Georgian themed entertainment.
Visitors can experience the food and drink courtyard, Georgian themed children’s activities, historical walking tours, an old courtroom re-enactment, side saddle demonstrations, blacksmith demonstrations, music, traditional Irish dancers and much more.
The business community, residents and the Caledon Regeneration Partnership are pulling together to organise the full day festival which will attract people to the village from far and wide.
Speaking ahead of the festival, Sandra Mortimer, who is on the festival committee, said the aim of the festival is to help the village celebrate its natural and built heritage and is being tied in with the Year of Food and Drink initiative being run by Tourism NI.
She said: “Caledon is a village with a strong Georgian influence in its architecture. The village is home to the Earl of Caledon. It’s steeped in history, is a beautiful place to live and work and we are surrounded by fantastic food and drink producers, crafters and creative people . We feel it is appropriate to combine all of these elements to create our very own festival.”
The schedule of events will also include patchwork and lace workshops, storytelling in the old Beam Engine, puppet shows, games, activities for children which will be scripted to a Georgian theme. There will also be buskers on the village Main Street, local traders will be dressing up in Georgian wear and Caledon Rovers FC will be doing a penalty kick out challenge.
St Joseph’s Primary School, Church Hill Primary School and Caledon Playgroup pupils will also be playing a role throughout the day as will all of our churches.
Mrs Mortimer added: “Steeped in historical context the village now has a growing population, and, in the surrounding areas, there’s a wealth of small rural businesses ranging from equestrian, agriculture, arts and crafts, food and drink producers, tourism and more.
“A big thank you goes to the Caledon Estates, Digby’s Bar and Restaurant, Donnelly Bros, Tyrone Fuels and Castle Leslie for their support in putting forward fantastic prizes for a raffle draw which will end the festival at 4pm.”
We are indebted to support from the Big Lottery Fund under Awards for All.
