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Cork City is preparing to host an open-air dance floor and playground this weekend as part of the first “Open Streets” days planned for this summer.
On Sunday May 19th, Cork City Council in association with its partners Cork Chamber, Cork Business Association, Cork Environmental Forum, Transport & Mobility Forum, Cork Cycling Group, Bus Éireann, Irish Rail, and An Garda Síochána will host the first in a series of events across the summer where members of the public are encouraged to come to town on these days without their car, either by walking, cycling or using public transport.
Open Streets on Sunday May 19 will take place on Cornmarket Street, North Main Street and St. Patrick’s Street, and will kick off at 1pm with a performances from big brass and percussion band Boola Boom. Cornmarket Street will transform into a dance floor from 1pm to 5pm, where you can travel around the world in 80 dances, and learn international dances from céilí to kizomba, break dancing to belly dancing.
There will also be fun and games on North Main Street with Let’s Play Cork organising a “pop-up playground” with games for young and old alike, from 1 p.m. There will also be a mini cycle village on St. Patrick’s Street, with various types of bikes on show including adaptive bikes as well as other cycling activities.
The quays and all car parks will be open to traffic as normal and street closures will be applied to St. Patrick Street, North Main Street, Cornmarket Street, Castle Street and Adelaide Street from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Buses and taxis will be able to access St. Patrick Street as normal. Access for blue badge holders will also be facilitated as normal.
This is a kick-off event in a series of 5 planned events, the subsequent events to take place on:
Sunday June 16 – Cork Midsummer Festival Parade on Oliver Plunkett Street along with a performance form street art group Kamchatka
Saturday August 24 – North Main Street Carnival
Sunday September 1 – Autumnfest – Douglas Street
Friday September 20 – Culture Night – Cornmarket Street and North Main Street
The organisers welcome suggestions from other groups in the city and its suburbs who wish to host similar events in their communities.
Cork City Council are also encouraging people to use city centre spaces on a day-to-day basis for recreational and leisure activities. A brochure has been developed which maps various pockets of space in the city centre which can be enjoyed by everyone, and this brochure can be found on the Cork City Council website – Cork City Centre Spaces.
While car parks are unaffected for those who do need to take the car, the organisers are encouraging everyone to walk, cycle or take public transport into town that day. For a detailed map and further details see www.corkcity.ie
Notes:
Running order for Around the World in 80 Dances on Cornmarket Street:
- 1 p.m. Boola Boom – jazz & acoustic grooves
- 1.30 p.m. Craic’d Céilí – trad with a twist
- 2 p.m. Gotha – improvised dance & body percussion
- 2.30 p.m. – Kizomba
- 3 p.m. Disco
- 3.30 p.m. House & Contemporary fusion
- 4 p.m. Break Dance
- 4.30 p.m. Belly Dance
The “Open Streets” series comes following research, commissioned by Cork City Council’s Climate Action Unit, that revealed 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in Cork City are caused by road transport. A further study revealed that 64% of Cork people strongly agree “Cork must transform into a more sustainable place to live and work that is climate neutral and resilient’ and that 86% of Cork people want more pedestrianized streets. Further research, as presented by the National Transport Authority/Sustrans Cork Metropolitan Area Walking & Cycling Index, showed that 80% of Cork inhabitants agree that increasing space for residents socialising, walking, wheeling, and cycling on their local main street would improve their local area.