Uisce Glan- A Celebration of Clean Water Festival

On Saturday, 21.6.2014 about 100 people attended the Uisce Glan- A Celebration of Clean Water Festival on the square in Bantry.
There were four live bands to keep people entertained during the afternoon and seven speakers like Bernadette Connolly from the Cork Environmental Forum talking about the importance of conserving water, Ed Harper from People before Profit, who talked about the issues relating to water charges, and Alec O'Donovan from the Save Bantry Bay campaign, who gave an update about Marine Harvest's intentions to have another salmon farm in the bay.
 
Martina O'Shea from the Clare Fracking Free Ireland campaign cancelled at the last minute but luckily Vanessa O'Sullivan from People before Profit was able to get a short talk on fracking prepared during the afternoon and saved the day.
 
The group organising the event had prepared a number of information boards on fracking, marine littering and water pollution through septic tanks and bad farming practices. A lot of people who may have missed some relevant talks found these and the chance to pick up some flyers very helpful.
 
The children's activities on the square and inside the old cinema were well attended, a lot of parents enjoyed listening to music and the talks while the kids had their faces painted or doodled with chalks on the square.
 
Many people were delighted to see the old cinema in use where Marianne Slevin from the Groundup artists collective in County Clare and the local primary school children exhibited their water related art. Five out of the six schools that were approached took part in the exhibition and the kid's art will be shown again at the library in Bantry during the first three weeks in September.
 
Additionally there were more activities for children in the cinema and a chance to get out of the sun and sit down for a coffee and a piece of cake, very much appreciated especially by parent of young children.
 
Stephanie O'Toole from StreamScapes offered children and adults alike a chance to have a look at numerous water creatures like the may fly larva that are used to assess water quality in wild water inside the cinema in addition to her very informative talk on the issue.
 
The event had been advertised locally through billboards, posters and flyers and got a full page feature in the Evening Echo on Friday 20.6.as well as being mentioned in the Southern Star and the Cork Times. Numerous websites and Facebook pages helped spread the word.
 
 
The organisers were very pleased with the outcome of the event and are very grateful for the support they received from organisations like Gluaiseacht for Global Justice, Cork Environmental Forum, Rebel County Books and others. A complete list of supporters was available at the back of the stage during the event.