Athlone Castle and Luan Gallery to host Cruinniú na nÓg events

Athlone Castle will host a free story-telling event for children with Athlone actor, director, and writer, Leah Egan, as part of the national Cruinniú na nÓg celebrations from 11am to 2pm on Saturday, June 10.

Leah, and her mum Anne Hoey, are the authors of ‘Smokie the Dragon’, a children’s book which tells a wonderful story of friendship, kindness, and bravery. School teacher and storyteller Anne has almost 40 years of working with children and Leah is an award-winning actor, director, narrator, and playwright with over a decade of experience in the audiobook, theatre, and film and tv industry. Together, they released their first children's book publication together - Smokie the Dragon - in 2020.

Children will have an opportunity to listen to the author reading the story of Smokie. They will also be encouraged to participate in a pre- and post-chat with the author and enjoy fun activities, including colouring, board games and an opportunity to take photos with Smokie - the puppet who thinks she is a real dragon!

Cruinniú na nÓg is a national day of free creativity for children and young people under 18 and is an initiative of the Creative Ireland Programme’s Creative Youth Plan. The storytelling event is supported by Westmeath Arts Office and Creative Ireland.

The event includes access to the Athlone Castle visitor centre, museum, and grounds. The event is suited to children between 3 and 8 years old. Pre-booking in advance is essential. Bookings are online via www.athlonecastle.ie

Meanwhile, Luan Gallery will host a free Dreamcrafting Workshop for children as part of the national Cruinniú na nÓg celebrations from 11am to 2pm on Saturday, June 10

The workshop starts at Luan Gallery at 11am with a tour of the current exhibition, PORTALS with curator Aoife Banks where children will explore the artwork’s themes of fantasy and dreamworlds. Following the tour there will be a two-hour visual arts workshop at Abbey Road Artists’ Studios with artist Varvara Vorobei (Artbox). In this workshop, children will be guided through the stages of artistic creation from the initial concept to the final output and will be encouraged to use PORTALS exhibition as an inspiration for their dreamcrafting. The children’s creations will be exhibited in Luan Gallery over the weekend of Cruinniú na nÓg (Saturday and Sunday, June 10 and 11).