Tallafest ‘16 was a colourful and vibrant collage of Tallaght life

By Mary Dennehy

ALL that’s positive and unique about living in Tallaght was showcased last Saturday when community-led celebration Tallafest took centre stage.

Now in its fourth year, the festival, which attracted hundreds into Tallaght Village, was a clear reminder of why Tallaght is such a great place to live – and the area’s unique sense of volunteerism, community spirit, participation and activism, which has built Tallaght into what it is today.

Organised by Tallaght Community Council (TCC), with support from local businesses and an army of volunteers, Tallafest 2016 presented a colourful and vibrant collage of Tallaght life with the line-up featuring more than 80 participants including local sports clubs, youth groups, resident-run support organisations, artists, poets, musicians, volunteer groups, education centres, members of the rural community and more.

Tara De Buitlear, festival organiser with TCC, said: “Tallafest16 was a complete success – our best yet – a wonderful varied program of creative and imaginative fun for all the family.

“The day went very smoothly, and that was testament to the dedicated organising committee who were simply amazing on the day.

“I was extremely proud of everyone involved and found the opening parade emotional – it was the culmination of months of tireless volunteering behind the scenes.

“To march down Main Street behind the talented groups and to the upbeat Sonna Samba band was the highlight of the day for me.”

The diverse festival kicked off with a parade from IT Tallaght to the Main Stage on the grounds of St Mary’s Priory, where over the course of the day Tallaght’s talent was on display as groups including Xquisite Dance, South Dublin Dance Academy, Bipolar Empire, The Level Heads and the Brookfield Musical School entertained the crowds – as they moved from food stalls to poetry sessions, craft tents to play spaces and animal petting to storytelling.

There was also a strong focus placed on body and soul this year through the sports zone and the presence of local groups including HOPE suicide awareness, Pranic Healing, Tallaght Cancer Support Group and youth mental health organisation, Jigsaw.

Gerry Stockil, Chair of TCC, told The Echo: “TCC would like to extend a huge thanks to all our local sponsors, the volunteer bureau, the ITT, St Maelruains, The Priory, South Dublin Libraries, Dublin Fire Brigade, the Civil Defence, the Air Corps, The Echo and all the community groups who took part on the day – even the weather was on our side last Saturday.

“It was wonderful to see families come down to the village area to soak up the festival program – everywhere was smiling faces and laughter and that was truly satisfying for me and all the TCC committee.

“A final word of thanks to my committee colleagues, who have spent 100s of hours preparing for Tallafest16 – it was all worthwhile to see the enjoyment across the massive crowd on Saturday.”

Check out lots more pictures from Tallafest on pages 58, 59 and 60 of this week’s edition of the Echo.