There’s Something In The Water out Headford way – the town’s community arts festival running for the second year this October.

The festival was born last year as a legacy of the Reimagine Headford project, when research undertaken by the group highlighted the importance of the arts to the town’s sense of place and belonging.

Respondents to research highlighted that the development of the art and a cultural centre, were key to the revitalisation of the town centre.

This year, the festival plans to build on the achievements of 2023, with workshops and performances from local artists and creatives, who are being supported to develop new work. It will foster a culture of creativity in the community, by offering open-access events for non-artists, that will allow participants to explore their own creativity.

The festival, with the support of the Arts Office in Galway County Council, and the Arts Council of Ireland, will use venues and vacant premises along Main Street as performance and exhibition spaces.

The organisers hope the event will reanimate the town and generate greater footfall for local businesses for the duration.

Programme events have been priced so that cost isn’t a barrier to participation for children, young people or families, while accessible venues and relaxed performances are designed to encourage all ages and abilities to attend.

The festival opens on Wednesday October 2, with the launch of the Lough Corrib 471 Project, facilitated by Helena McElmeel Architects, in association with Architecture At The Edge which also runs during early October.

These temporary installations on Knockferry Pier and Kilbeg Pier are the culmination of collaborative fieldtrips and design workshops that connected four local primary schools – two on each side of the narrowest point of Lough Corrib, which measures only 471 metres.  The temporary installations will be formed using scaffolding and will incorporate lighting and visual artwork created by the groups.

On Thursday, October 3, there will be poetry reading and storytelling in The Homeplace Café on Main Street, and the festival’s official launch takes place Friday with concerts.

On Saturday and Sunday there will be family workshops in visual art, performance and clay-making, as well as music, amateur drama, children’s theatre, and a flax festival.

Headford Lace Project has developed a musical performance, A Meitheal for Molly, which involves four local choirs and other local talent in a community performance of music, song and dance to celebrate the ancient tune and song Molly St George, which has historical links to Headford’s lace industry.

ConTempo string quartet will feature as part of their Galway Music Residency, while the festival programme is also promoting four artists selected from its inaugural artists’ award scheme.

Local textile artist Ester Kiely will be in The Angler’s Rest Hotel on Friday and Sunday, working on her community quilt project, Leath na hOibre, while local visual artist Veronika Straberger will be facilitating her Born of The Land workshops at a venue to be confirmed.

Dr Mindflip will perform new music, Samhain Cycle, which will consist of an intricate, ever-changing ambient soundscape – sculpted and explored live, using a selection of synthesisers.

Accomplished local pairing, Matthew Berrill and Eoin Wynne, will present a newly composed suite of music informed by a project incorporating historic river-water-level data, translated to musical notation.

Full details available on the festival’s Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Pictured: Local musician and composer Matthew Berrill.