Weekly Roundup - Wildlife, Walzes and Colour Dashes

What a great summer in Dublin it is, and our Weekly Roundup has plenty of great suggestions for things to do around the city over the coming week.

Another busy weekend and week ahead of us here in the capital, and we’ve got all you need to know about the latest events, gigs, festivals, markets and everything else. And be sure to check out our sister site, Dublin Gigs for your daily dose of What’s On around the capital.

The summer festival season continues with KnockanStockan, a three day, open air, independent music and arts festival held annually beside the picturesque Blessington Lakes in Lacken, Co. Wicklow. This festival is non-profit making, the crew all work on voluntary basis and promise that any profits are reinvested for the following year. The festival prides itself on its independent stance and diversity, which is evident in the line up, the majority of which are smaller underground musicians and artists. Tickets are €75 for 2 days camping Friday 25th, and Saturday 26th of July, and are available online.

The Dublin City Soul Festival takes place this weekend with the 8th annual City Soul Picnic in the beautiful surroundings of Merrion Square Park in association with Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland and as part of Laya Healthcare’s City Spectacular. Founded in 2007, ‘Dublin City Soul Festival ~ a celebration of peace, unity & love‘ is Ireland’s feel-good festival, a unique annual celebration built by a dedicated group of people living and working in Dublin. Admission is free but donations are accepted in aid of their charity, the Musical Youth Foundation.

This Saturday, we have an evening paying hommage to David Bowie at the National Concert Hall, as part of the Summer @ NCH series of concerts. Tickets cost from €30 and may be purchased online.

The smash hit show Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage continues at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, coming to an end this Saturday, 26th July. The show has been a smash hit in London, breaking box office records. Tickets cost from €35 and are available online.

The Gate Theatre hosts Arthur Miller’s play The Price, directed by Tony Award-winner Doug Hughes, which is playing this July and August. Tickets are priced at €25 for the performances, and may be reserved online.

The phenomenon that is Riverdance continues its run in the Gaiety, celebrating its 20th anniversary. Who will ever forget that memorable interval act in the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin back in 1994? Tickets from €20.

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Enjoy an evening of great waltz music at the National Concert Hall tomorrow night, Friday, 25th July, at 8pm. The concert, entitled ‘Viennese Delights‘ features the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, and is their last outing before their well deserved summer break. Tickets cost from €12 and may be booked online.

Staying at the National Concert Hall, the Summer Lunchtime Series continues next Tuesday, 29th July, featuring Rόisín Walters on violin and conducted by John Finucane. The concert starts at 1:05pm and tickets cost €10, available for purchase online.

Brian Friel’s revealing family drama, Aristocrats, directed by Peter Mason, continues at the Abbey Theatre, running until 2nd August, 2014. Performances take place at 7.30pm Monday to Saturday on the main Abbey stage, with matinee performances at 2pm on Saturdays. Tickets cost from €13 and may be purchased online.

Nirbhaya, a play based on the horrendous events on a New Delhi bus in December 2012 that shocked India and the world, is playng at the moment at the Pavilion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire. Written by internationally acclaimed playwright and director, Yael Farber, Nirbhaya runs until the 2nd August. Tickets costing from €22 (€18 for matinees) may be booked online. There will also be a post-show talk on Tuesday, 29th July, with Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, amongst others. Tickets may be reserved by contacting the Box Office on 01- 231 2929

Gúna Nua presents Genevieve Hulme-Beaman’s award-winning play Pondling in the Project Arts Centre tonight, Thursday 24th and Friday, 25th July. Creepy, award-winning and hilarious … A story of love, beauty, chicken-chasing, daisy chains, catkilling, French singing, dress-wearing, ensuite bathrooms and the day at the pond. Tickets cost €10 and are available online.

The Terracotta Warriors exhibition continues at the Ambassador. This exhibition has over 150 perfectly executed replications of The Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China, along with 70 display cases. Tickets cost €14 and may be reserved online.

The 184th RHA annual exhibition continues in Ely Place, bringing together the works of RHA members, invited artists and artists selected from open submission. A little something for everyone on offer, including painting, sculpture, print, photography, drawing and architectural models. Admission is free but donations are also gratefully accepted.

The James Joyce Centre hosts an exhibition of Lee Miller photographs of James Joyce’s Dublin in 1946. The exhibition features 60 previously unseen images from the iconoclastic American photographer. In this exhibition we see Miller traverse a desolate, post-War Dublin in 1946, capturing streets and buildings that were connected to Joyce’s life and work. Admission is €5.

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition is currently running at the Chq Building in the IFSC. The photographic competition is now in its 49th year, attracting entries from professionals and amateur photographers alike – it provides an important perspective on the natural world around us. The exhibition runs until 31st August, and admission costs €6.50

‘The weakened eye of day‘ is a new body of work by Irish artist Isabel Nolan, conceived as a single project for IMMA. The exhibition explores how light manifests as a metaphor in our thoughts, obsessions and pursuits and includes text, sculpture, drawings and textiles.

IMMA presents a major retrospective exhibition of the work of the internationally renowned Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica (1937–1980). The exhibition, Propositions, will include a selection of works by Oiticica, including vital examples from throughout his prolific career.

There are two exhibitions on at the Hugh Lane Gallery at the moment, both well worth the visit. Irish artist Eva Rothschild’s exhibition is the first solo museum presentation of her work in Ireland. She is one of the most important protagonists of a generation of artists dealing with the expanded concept of sculpture. The second exhibition is entitled ‘A Modern Panarion: Glimpses of Occultism in Dublin‘, featuring contemporary artists whose works resonate with ideas central to beliefs of The Theosophical Society. Admission to both exhibitions is free.

The Merrion Square Lunchtime Market is back today, Thursday, 24th July, running from 11:30am until 2pm, with a wide-ranging selection of foods from around the world. Admission free. Also check out the other Irish Village Markets running throughout the week including Stillorgan on Tuesdays, East Point Business Park on Wednesdays, and Percy Place on Fridays.

The Temple Bar Night Market continues this evening, Thursday, 24th July, from 6pm. A market that features the best of local crafts people, artisans and artists, what better way to enjoy a summer’s evening that a stroll around a sun-drenched Temple Bar?

Happenings are holding another one of their instant pop-up cultural events in Dublin, this time it’s open air cinema at IMMA tonight, Thursday, 24th July. The film in question is ‘Labyrinth’, and starts around 9:30pm. Admission is €5 and, as always, there is a strict no alcohol policy.

The fourth edition of the internationally acclaimed Vodafone Comedy Festival takes place in the Iveagh Gardens, starting today, Thursday 24th, and running until Sunday, 27th July. In what is one of the city centre’s most beautiful but lesser-known green spaces, you will find no dearth of comedic talent – and with 85 listed acts and four fully-seated indoor theatres, you’re guaranteed that there will be a little of something for everyone. Tickets available online.

This Saturday, 26th of July, the Phoenix Park will be inundated by hordes of well-meaning runners who have signed themselves up to an afternoon where they’ll complete a 5k while being pelted with multi-coloured powder. Which is all well and good…but why? To raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society, of course! The 2014 Colour Dash is back and promises to be a great day for all the family.

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DIFFpix is a new iniative from the Dublin International Film Festival, and this weekend they have an open-air screening of Dublin’s Favourite Film — which is…The Commitments! The screening takes place on Saturday, 26th July at 8pm in Smithfield Square.

Summer Rising, the inaugural Irish Museum of Modern Art summer festival, is underway in the grounds of IMMA. Highlights of the festival include a very special edition of the THISISPOPBABY performance, art and club extravaganza WERK; GRACELANDS, artist and chef curated food events, including lunch time and evening banquets, family workshops, and much, much more! The festival runs until this comng Saturday, 26th July.

PhotoIreland Festival is Ireland’s first international festival of Photography and Image Culture, and the only festival dedicated to Photography in the country. It celebrates Ireland’s photographic talents – oftentimes only recognised abroad – as well as bringing international practitioners and artists to Ireland. The festival highlights, promotes and elevates Photography in Ireland – conferring on it the importance it duly deserves. The event runs throughout July in a variety of venues around the city.

The Monday Echo, an event that features a mixture of open mic and featured acts, songwriters and storytellers, traditional poets and their slam cousins, takes place each and every Monday in the International Bar on Wicklow Street. Get yourself along there for a great night out!

So, that’s the Weekly Roundup for this week. Have a great weekend and week ahead, and do remember to keep checking back with Dublin Buzz for all the latest and local news, and Dublin Gigs for your up-to-the-minute What’s On guide. You can of course stay connected with us on our Facebook and Google+ pages, follow us on Twitter, or even join us on Pinterest!