By Conchúr Richards
Georgian Day is an occasion in the Armagh City events calendar that just cannot be missed.
The street are always bustling with huge crowds, fantastic food stalls, arts, crafts and activities as well as actors dressed in period costumes to celebrate Armagh’s Georgian heritage in the run-up to Christmas. This year was no exception.
Walking around the town there are a number of things for the family to do. There is so much choice when it comes to food. The festive mulled wine followed by a scrumptious mince pie is always one that will get anyone in the Christmas spirit. There’s also plenty of sweet treats on offer especially around the Foster’s chocolate stand.
Many talented, local artists and craft makers also have stalls. Ciara Campbell had a range of her famous ceramic’s collections for sale, Keith Sheppard had his colourful glass artistry on show and Alan Kirk had a number of incredible oil paintings of Armagh’s extravagant cathedral city. A stark reminder of the creative talent that lives within the county.
There were a number of workshops that were being run to help keep all members of the family entertained. A wicker-basket making workshop allowed for a dying-art to once again thrive throughout the streets of Armagh and the Market Place Theatre had a number of acting workshops to have everyone feeling like they belonged on a red carpet.
There are many actors dressed in authentic, period costumes to help enhance the feeling that this is indeed “Georgian Day.” James Donnelly, an actor dressed in an incredible tux with tails stated “This is where Christmas really begins for me. I’ve been doing Georgian Day for five years now and I love the reactions we get from everyone, especially the kids who really get involved in this special day. This is an event that just can’t be missed.”
Georgian Day is always capped off by the switching on of the Christmas lights and this year’s show was wonderful. There was a great array of lasers, lights and a special visit from Santa Claus, all the way from the North-Pole itself.
Former Sinn Féin Councillor Gareth Keating said “This is such a great day for the city of Armagh. It sees a real boom in tourism and I couldn’t not fly the family home from Paris to be here.”
Everyone enjoyed Georgian Day 2022 and I for one am already super excited for Georgian Day 2023!
