Festivals In Waterford
Summer In The City
Join the city of Waterford as it celebrates fun, sunshine and music every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer, performing live on John Roberts Square. With fun activities for the kids before the main shows.
Date: 1st June to 17th August 2019
Location: John Roberts Square, Waterford
Web: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SummerInWaterford/about/?ref=page_internal
Immrama, The Lismore Festival of Travel Writing (Literary Festival)
Immrama - The Lismore Festival of Travel Writing takes place in June each year and is the only one of its kind in the world. Focusing on travel writing and literature, a different theme is explored annually.
Date: 12th to 16th June 2019
Location: Lismore, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)585853803
Waterford Viking Marathon 2019 (Endurance Events)
Marathon through the historic Viking City of Waterford with full, half or quarter and relay marathon options available.
Date: 22nd June 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)51846131
Web: www.waterfordvikingmarathon.com
Promenade Festival (Tramore's Family Fun Festival)
Ireland’s biggest seaside festival will take place in Tramore and promises to be a weekend not to be missed. The promenade in Tramore comes alive with music, entertainment, street theatre, food, crafts, displays, children’s workshops and kite flying.
Date: 6th to 7th July 2019
Location: Promenade Tramore, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)51 856516
Web: www.thepromenadefestival.com/
Dunmore East Festival of Food, Fish & Fun (Food Festivals)
A boutique festival, now in its eighth year, held in the beautiful village of Dunmore East. A celebration of food, music and the arts. Dates to be confirmed.
Date: 21st to 23rd June 2019
Location: Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)866024315
Daytripper Waterford (Music Festivals)
Daytripper bringS top international, national and local live music acts to a purpose built event site in the heart of Waterford city this July.
Date: 31st May to 2nd June 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)51871111
Web: www.daytripper.ie
Camphire International Horse Trials and Country Fair (Sport and Outdoors)
International horse trials and festival with top-class equestrian, dressage, show jumping and cross country. Family fun, activities, food and more!
Date: 24th to 28th July 2019
Location: Cappoquin, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)857117423
Web: www.camphirehorsetrials.com
Waterford Spraoi International Street Arts Festival (Arts Festivals)
Waterford Spraoi International Street Arts Festival transforms the heart of Ireland's oldest city into a giant stage featuring a vibrant programme of street arts and spectacle performers from around the world.
Date: 2nd to 4th August 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)51841808
Web: www.spraoi.com
Horse Racing
Fun-filled, four day festival with thrilling racing, live music, style competitions and family entertainment with something on offer for everyone.
Date: 15th to 18th August 2019
Location: Tramore, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)51381245
Web: www.tramore-racecourse.com
Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival 2019
Ireland's oldest bluegrass festival featuring traditional bluegrass, old time country and folk music with music workshops and picking sessions.
Date: 22nd to 25th August 2019
Location: Tramore, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)51381245
Web: http://www.discoverdunmore.com/events/38-dunmore-east-bluegrass-festival
Waterford Harvest Festival (Food Festival)
All roads lead to Waterford City in September for the fab foodie festival. The streets come alive with sights, smells and sounds of all things food and food related.
Date: 6th to 8th September 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Web: www.waterfordharvestfestival.ie
The Imagine Arts Festivals (Arts Festival)
A multi-disciplinary celebration of the creative arts that provides exceptional audience experiences for people of all ages and interests.
Date: 23rd to 27th October 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Telephone: +353(0)761102856
Web: www.imagineartsfestival.com
John Dwyer Trad Music Weekend (Music Festivals)
Traditional music weekend with a stellar line-up of traditional music events including workshops, sessions, concerts and CD launches featuring the best of trad musicians from Ireland and abroad.
Date: 18th to 20th October 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Web: www.imagineartsfestival.com
Waterford Film Festival 2019
The Waterford Film Festival is now in its 11th Year! There is a fantastic mix of home based and foreign films that will be screened,from 1st timers to professional filmmakers. All types of genres will be shown from comedies, dramas, horrors, thrillers to documentaries.
Date: 22nd to 24th November 2019
Location: Waterford City
Web: www.waterfordfilmfestival.net
Waterford Winterval - Ireland's Christmas Festival (Traditional Culture Festivals)
Ireland's Christmas Festival packed with seasonal events - many free and unique activities, set in beautiful heritage sites around Waterford city is a must see for all the family!
Date: 23rd November to 23rd December 2019
Location: Waterford City, Co. Waterford
Web: www.winterval.ie
Waterford Writers Weekend
The Waterford Writers' Weekend (formerly Sean Dunne Writers' Festival) is one of Ireland's most prestigious festivals which each year brings together poets and authors to showcase their work and give new talent the opportunity to participate in the "Waterford Poetry Prize" competition.
Some of the country's award-winning and best-selling authors and poets are bound for Waterford for the annual Waterford Writers Weekend as part of the Imagine Arts Festival this October.
This year the well known Irish novelist and short story writer, Cat Hogan, will curate an exciting programme that promotes the craft of writing and celebrates creativity in all ages. This lively and engaging festival is filled with workshops, discussions and debates designed to engage and delight audiences.
Date: 25th to 27th October 2019
Location: Waterford
Web: www.imagineartsfestival.com/index.php/whatson/waterford-writers
West Waterford Festival of Food
Over the years the festival has been a showcase of the food of the region, as well as being host to some of our top chefs, fresh flavours, interesting influences and good ideas.
This is one festival where there is definitely something for everyone - a full children’s programme, foraging trails, bus tours, cooking demos, dining experiences from high end to very casual plus of course our markets. Taste the best of the county with our local Farmer’s Market on Thursday, our weekly Country Market on Friday, the festival’s quayside market on Saturday with a seafood theme, all culminating in our famed Festival Market on Sunday when over 100 stalls fill the town centre to bring you the best of local and Irish artisan food.
Date: 26th to 28th April 2019
Location: Dungarvan
Web: www.westwaterfordfestivaloffood.com
Ardmore Pattern Festival
The annual Ardmore Pattern Festival is a week full of activities and entertainment for all the family, which is held in the seaside village of Ardmore, Co. Waterford. This is a Free Family Festival that runs for 7 days in July. There are several festival warm-up events planned for the week preceding.
There’s live music outdoors on the Festival stage each night. The Festival kick-starts with a fabulous firework display on Friday night, and continues on through the weekend, with dozens of events and activities of all kinds.
Ardmore Pattern Festival has a wide and varied programme of high-quality events that will be attractive to both locals and visitors alike, showcasing Ardmore for the wonderful holiday destination it is.
Date: 23rd to 29th July 2019
Location: Ardmore
Web: www.ardmorepatternfestival.ie
Robert Boyle Summer School
The 8th Robert Boyle Summer School will take place in Waterford City and Lismore from 20 - 23 June 2019.
In the 17th Century Boyle produced a list of things he thought that the new experimental philosophy might deliver. Top of the list was the "prolongation of life", and he would surely be amazed at the advancements made. How much further can we advance life expectancy and what can we do to ensure that our ageing population is healthy and fit? How can technologies help people suffering illness or infirmity to lead more active and engaged lives? These are all worthy sounding developments, but what about the aim of enhancement from human to superhuman? This is no longer science fiction and the 8th RBSS will explore the possibilities and perils of SUPERHUMAN.
The school will be based at the recently refurbished Tower Hotel in the heart of the City's Viking Quarter. A coach transfer will bring attendees to Lismore on Saturday 22nd for a programme at the Lismore Heritage Centre and an evening garden party at Boyle's birthplace, Lismore Castle. A special event will take place on Friday evening at Waterford City Hall.
Date: 20th to 23rd June 2019
Location: Waterford
Web: www.robertboyle.ie
Waterford Walls (International Street Art Festival)
Each year we invite world-class national and international street artists to join us and paint the city’s walls with stunning large scale artwork and 2019 will be no different!
Join us for amazing live painting by some of the world’s top street artists, along with a fun-filled family-friendly programme of activities including live music, workshops, guided art trails and expert panel talks. We cater for art lovers of all ages and this year we are launching our new children’s street art programme.
Date: 22nd to 25th August 2019
Location: Waterford
All Together Now
Music lovers, passionate performers, families, artists, musicians, creators, rebels… All Together Now will be set across 16 stages, featuring natural amphitheatres, secret woodland stages, the Belonging Bandstand and more. The flow of the festival will mean that the ground will be easily navigable, intimate but with quirky gems, rolling lawns, gentle hills and hidden forests to enjoy the nature of this 3000 acre site, with something of wonder for everyone in the family.
Date: 2nd to 4th August 2019
Location: Portlaw, Co. Waterford
Waterford Country Fair
The 2500 plus acre estate is home to Lord and Lady Waterford and the grounds in, around and behind their ancestral home will be transformed into a Mecca for country sports and living enthusiasts for the day-long event with proceeds again going to the worthy Make A Wish Foundation for the second year in a row.
The day-long event starts from 10am and includes jousting, sheep dog trials, poultry displays, falconry, dressage, side saddle and pony club games qualifiers for the Royal Dublin Horse Show. Fair-goers will also have a chance to try their hand at fly fishing, archery and so much more.
Over 10,000 attend the Fair each year and with an even greater programme of attractions and events, crowds are set to hit a new record for 2019. Chief organiser, Jo Breheny, says it’s shaping up to be a fantastic, family fun day with loads of stall and stand-holders, Artisan food and crafts and so much more.
Date: 8th June 2019
Location: Portlaw, Co. Waterford
Web: www.curraghmorehouse.ie/country-fair
Southeast Science Festival
The Southeast Science Festival, the regional celebration of National Science Week, is coordinated by Calmast, Waterford Institute of Technology’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Outreach centre with support from SFI, Waterford City & County Council and local industry.
More than 100 events take place including activities for schools, afternoon shows for families and evening events for the general public.
Over 10,000 are expected to participate in the 2019 Southeast Science Festival.
Date: 6th to 9th November 2019
Location: Southeast
Web: www.wit.ie/events/education/southeast-science-festival
Blackwater Valley Opera Festival
The Blackwater Valley Opera Festival was established in 2010 by a small group of opera professionals and is Ireland’s only summer opera festival. The Festival attracts international visitors to the heritage town of Lismore and the scenic Blackwater Valley where audiences can discover emerging new talent performing alongside international stars of the classical music world.
Date: 28th May to 3rd June 2019
Location: Lismore
Web: www.blackwatervalleyoperafestival.com
Well Festival of Arts & Wellbeing
Well Festival of Arts & Wellbeing celebrate the health benefits of participation in the arts by everyone. We warmly invite you, the people of Waterford, to embrace colourful, thought-provoking music, art, film, theatre and literature and to experience the joy of creativity through our kaleidoscope of workshops, performances and nature trails.
Date: 7th to 12th October 2019
Location: Waterford
Lismore Tower and Tales
Towers and Tales is a celebration of children's books, stories and illustration, designed to give young audiences unforgettable, creative and transformational experiences with books
Date: 4th May 2019
Location: Lismore
The Booley House
The Booley House Show is proud to present the very best of Irish music, song and dance. Resident Seanachaí James Lenane is a well known personality, All-Ireland winner in his field, and is sure to have you laughing as he regales times past.
The Booley House also includes the Michael Ryan School of Irish Dance, which encompass a wonderful range of original step dancing routines that always generate enthusiastic audience response. A number of former Booley House dancers from this school have continued to have successful careers performing in Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and other well-known shows.
Date: 25th July to 29th August 2019
Location: Lismore Heritage Centre
The Golden Years Festival
The annual ‘Golden Years Festival is for members of Active retirement Association’s and which is head in Waterford each year around the month of November. Over 500 senior citizens from all over Ireland take part in the event which is held in the Tower Hotel, Waterford.
The festival involves three days of activities including a song contest, a talent contest, a bowling contest, day trips and tours of Waterford and Dungarvan, 3 course dinners each night, Cabaret each night, Dancing each night and a festive Gala Ball to end it all.
Date: November 2019 TBC
Location: Waterford
Web: www.waterfordvikingtriangle.com/whats-on/festivals/golden-years-festival/
Dunmore East Harbour Festival
The Dunmore East Harbour Festival is a fun-filled jamboree of events based around the iconic Lighthouse down in the Harbour at Dunmore East. There will be various activities over the two days with marquees, stages including pop up stages, food stalls, well-being activities, exhibitions, walks etc, to name but a few of the exciting events that are promised.
Date: 18th to 19th May 2019
Location: Dunmore East
