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Join the countdown
to Sunday 18 May and Ireland's largest celebration of family diversity, our Family Day Festival in Dublin's beautiful Iveagh Gardens.
The Festival is the highlight of our national Family Day campaign which is inspired by UN International Day of Families and, in 2014, the 20th anniversary of UN International Year of the Family.
Television and Today FM presenter, Anton Savage, joined magician Brian Daly and Cormac, Marco, Edith and Toby for some balloon modelling fun and lots of tricks yesterday to launch the Festival. It runs from 11am to 5pm on Sunday with a jam-packed programme of workshops, performance, talks, spoken word, dance, music and lots more. Entry and all entertainment and activities are free. Don't miss it!
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Things to Do
Comedian Aidan Bishop of the International Comedy Club is Festival MC. He will introduce a variety of entertainers to the Main Stage including master magician, Brian Daly who performs throughout the day. Other highlights include captivating singer-songwriter Sinead White; the Nepalese Cultural Group; and the wonderful Roma Children's Choir, Musicantia.
Visitors can also enjoy the One Family Talking Tent which will present a series of expert talks on parenting and diverse family issues from One Family, Marriage Equality, GLEN and BeLong To; and acclaimed spoken word performers Colm Keegan and John Cummins.
Green Space workshops include yoga from the Elbow Room with a session to suit each member of the family; a Gaiety School of Acting workshop; and boxing. Arts and cultural organisations such as Fighting Words, Imaginosity, National Print Museum, Abracadabra, Irish Landmark Trust and many more will present workshops for children such as story telling, printing, writing, puppet shows, arts and crafts, butter making and much more.
As written today by Darragh Murphy in the Irish Times: "Although it comes with all the hallmarks of a 21st-century urban festival, with music, comedy, yoga and workshops, the event also carries a subtle but serious message: single parents matter." On hand are a variety of key organisations working for and with families and children in Ireland today, sharing information about their services and with fun activities to enjoy. These include One Family, Treoir, New Communities Partnership, ISPCC and Children's Rights Alliance.
There's lots to do that's under cover in marquees so rain or shine, the Family Day Festival will be great fun on Sunday! Bring a picnic to enjoy or purchase food at the event. Take a look at the full programme. |
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All Families Matter
One Family is the founding member of All Families Matter, a coalition of Irish NGOs also including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), Barnardos, the Family Resource Centre National Forum, Marriage Equality, New Communities Partnership (NCP), Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and Treoir who came together over a shared belief that a Constitutional review of how family is defined is required so that all families feel protected and recognised.
Yesterday we released a new viral video, Not A Real Family.This two minute video presents a series of everyday situations in which three ordinary families are told they are not a real family because only one kind of family, the marital family, is represented in our Constitution.
A quirky, fun and enjoyable video, it explores scenarios featuring a one-parent family, parents who are not married to each other, and same-sex parents to illustrate how the wording of our Constitution is so clearly out of line with the reality of the lives of hundreds of thousands of families in Ireland.
Watch the video here and please share it on Facebook, Twitter and other social media to spread the word about an issue that affects the real families that we all know and care about.
We are also pleased to let you know that Cherish All The Children, a radio documentary exploring our founding and history from 1972 to today and featuring fascinating interviews with former President Mary Robinson and our brave founders, has just been nominated for a prestigious New York Festivals award. The documentary was first broadcast on Today FM on 29 December 2013. You can hear it here.
Wishing you, your family and friends a very Happy Family Day! |
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