Riverfest 2013

seachto7

bazz26 wrote: »

I have never understood the fascination with Nancy Blakes. There is nothing remotely special about the place imo. I certainly would not be queuing or begging to get in there anyways.

You got to be there to be seen man. If you're not part of the scene you're nobody dude! ;-)

Tech3

What a weekend! The riverfest is one hell of a festival now, much bigger than last year, weather made it worth the while too. Great buzz at the finish line Sunday

Nicely laid out on the old quarter and the Locke was very enjoyable Saturday afternoon as the sun was out and the crowds had yet to arrive. By the evening the music was on and it was chaos.

As for the debate about Nancys, the pub itself is not as good as others in town but it's probably the place to pull without having to go into a club. Didn't make it there Sunday night but Flannerys was packed.

seachto7

Got lucky with the weather. The last 2 days have been brutal!!

Buckeye

bigpink wrote: »

The Rivefest should try use the area from the Clarion hotel along by Cholessys and the other side by the up to Treaty stone aswell

Too much construction on the Clohessy's side this year, but next year we (residents & businesses in the neighbourhood) will be working on Riverfest events along our part of the river.

Your right about Clancy & Callahan, though. They put on a good show for the run, but the rest of the weekend it's all quiet.

bigpink

The family events like should not be taken over by the Market Quarter :i.e pubs and Coor Light

Serious scope to have the 2 lengths of the river going there and there just leave the Market quarter as the drinking zone

pigtown

Ya I think the redeveloped quays would be perfect for the BBQ, but if they get bad weather then it's a pretty exposed site. Do you think there is any suitable site for a funfair like they have in Merrion Square and Custom House Quay during Dublin's St. Pats Festival? I think our quays might be a bit narrow.

By the way one gripe I have about the weekend was when I tried to do a loop of the river. The pedestrian bridge behind the Hunt Museum was locked and Castle Lane beside the castle was closed off for the redevelopment works. A few signs of warning would have been nice.

Also as I was walking along one of the Strands a tourist stopped me and asked if there was anywhere she could get a boat ride on the river. I hadn't a clue. Is there anywhere?

Insect Overlord

pigtown wrote: »

Ya I think the redeveloped quays would be perfect for the BBQ, but if they get bad weather then it's a pretty exposed site. Do you think there is any suitable site for a funfair like they have in Merrion Square and Custom House Quay during Dublin's St. Pats Festival? I think our quays might be a bit narrow.

Off the top of my head, maybe the docklands area behind the Clarion. The Coors Light gig there a few years ago was good. It'd only be a small enough area though.

Poxyshamrock

I vaguely remember there being a Ferris wheel in The Potato Market years ago!
Anyone remember this?

Hooked

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

I vaguely remember there being a Ferris wheel in The Potato Market years ago!
Anyone remember this?

There sure was! And one if those 'hurdy gurdy' yokes as my ma calls them. You sit three to a seat and they spin in circles on an arm, while the ride itself spins around. Like using a Spirograph.

I stupidly sat on the outside and was crushed by my two mates with every revolution!

The same 2 pricks spun the cabin of the big wheel when we stopped at the top. Still not right after all these years!

Johnny_BravoIII

Ok, before a little "constructive criticism", the good:

Success: the festival got the punters in -I would think an increase on last years numbers.

- Moving the BBQ to Denmark street
- The Soapbox races
- The Fireworks
- The music on Saturday
- The atmosphere from the crowds of people milling about the streets was fantastic

Some thoughts:

Why not build on the river related activities already in existence?

Fishing is hugely popular throughout the city.
I counted hundreds of fishermen, their sons, grandsons, family's etc fishing the canal's and rivers over the weekend.(despite the "Riverfest").
Would a fishing competition be a good idea?

Rowing - another hugely popular traditional river based sport with a number of local clubs. Would it be possible to have a local regatta where the clubs face off?
I presume each club is tied into a programme of national competitions?

History - would it not be an idea to address the significance of the river in the development of the city in some way?
Is the castle closed for construction. If not, it might be an idea to open it free to visitors for the weekend.

Power-boating - why?
Cynically titled "The National Power boating Championships" - My impression is it's some guy and his mate hired to drive their fast boats in circles for a couple of hours.

Sailing -
Sailing boats drive to the new bridge, wait 5 minutes, turn around and leave?
Is this paid for?

French Market -
What's the point in this?
The limerick market is slowly becoming nationally recognisable.
Why is there a need to import a "french market" to take away from it?

Kess73

Johnny_BravoIII wrote: »

Ok, before a little "constructive criticism", the good:

Success: the festival got the punters in -I would think an increase on last years numbers.

- Moving the BBQ to Denmark street
- The Soapbox races
- The Fireworks
- The music on Saturday
- The atmosphere from the crowds of people milling about the streets was fantastic

Some thoughts:

Why not build on the river related activities already in existence?

Fishing is hugely popular throughout the city.
I counted hundreds of fishermen, their sons, grandsons, family's etc fishing the canal's and rivers over the weekend.(despite the "Riverfest").
Would a fishing competition be a good idea?

Rowing - another hugely popular traditional river based sport with a number of local clubs. Would it be possible to have a local regatta where the clubs face off?
I presume each club is tied into a programme of national competitions?

History - would it not be an idea to address the significance of the river in the development of the city in some way?
Is the castle closed for construction. If not, it might be an idea to open it free to visitors for the weekend.

Power-boating - why?
Cynically titled "The National Power boating Championships" - My impression is it's some guy and his mate hired to drive their fast boats in circles for a couple of hours.

Sailing -
Sailing boats drive to the new bridge, wait 5 minutes, turn around and leave?
Is this paid for?

French Market -
What's the point in this?
The limerick market is slowly becoming nationally recognisable.
Why is there a need to import a "french market" to take away from it?

Some very good suggestions there.


On the fishing one. There were a number of fishing competitions over the years in the city centre. One that stands out is where a number of trout were released into the canal and they were fished for.

It got good numbers but a problem was that it drew out a lot of once off fishermen/kids who ended up leaving discarded line/hooks etc after them. Now not all did this. but a good number did.


There are also regular fishing competitions (fully regulated with decent prizes etc) in county Limerick and in other nearby counties every year. Most do quite well, so a properly regulated competition could do well.

But there would be a few issues with a fishing comp on the city centre stretch of the shannon. One would be the lack of good (as well as safe) spots to fish from. The safety of the fishermen, onlookers and of course the fish would have to be an issue.

Another issue is the range of species that can actually be fished for in the city centre, and also how many there would be of those that are available. Eel cannot be touched by law now so they are out. The water is brackish so the coarse fish option is minimal at best. So you are left with game fish which do require a permit to be fished for and who would also not be present in massive numbers in that particular stretch (certainly not in the kind of numbers that could withstand having a number of them killed in one go, and a number would be killed as there would be inexperienced fishermen present).

The high number of swan/duck etc on the stretch would be another thing I would be wary of. Discarded lines/hooks would be lethal and would cause terrible injuries and/or slow lingering deaths for many birds.


Maybe a salmon fishing competion between celebrity fishermen (and they do exist as is seen by the money made by them in the UK and mainland europe) and a number of local experienced fishermen.Two teams if you like. Biggest fish caught in a five hour span or the team with the most fish wins.



Love your idea regarding the local boat clubs as well. Maybe a Riverfest race between the club with a proper trophy for the winning club. The river being tidal would mean that the race would not start at the same time each year, but it does not take a genius to read tidal charts and be able to arrange a suitable time each year.


Agree about the castle as well. If there is work to be done in an area that could benefit from the Riverfest crowds then the work should be scheduled around that weekend and not to happen during it. The new Riverside walkway is another example of this for me.

Free entry into the castle and also art galleries/museums seems a good idea for the Riverfest weekend or even for one day during the weekend. They could make back the money they lose out on by having stalls inside selling refreshments/gifts.

sioda

Being back the Duck race was great craic

Poxyshamrock

Maybe something like the Thomond Swim as well.

Gallee

What a great weekend in Limerick. Great weather and lots of people. The fireworks were fantastic on Saturday night. The BBQ was great in Denmark St but all condensed in one small area so moving around was difficult, my Sister had kids in a pram so we left. It will probably be on Howleys Quay next year with the new river front. The French Market is always nice to walk around but as someone else said our own Milk Market has a growing reputation. We had a few pints in the Locke (outside, lovely!!!) which was packed after the Run and ended up in big Flannerys which was packed then spoiled the benefits of getting fit with a feed from the chicken hut at some hour.
Lots of great reports from visitors which is very welcome.