THE August Bank holiday weekend saw the return of the much loved B –Fest at Condron’s Bar in Ballingarry, Co. Limerick. A huge ‘well done’ to everyone involved with organising the unique annual event which is not for profit and this year raised funds for two fantastic charities, TLC4CF and CRY.
TLC4CF is a regional branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, founded by friends and families of people suffering with Cystic Fibrosis in Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. The group is dedicated to improving services for people with Cystic Fibrosis living in the Mid West .
CRY (Cardiac Risk In The Young) was founded in Ireland in March 2002 by parents who had experienced the effects of sudden and unexplained death within their families. They strive to raise awareness of cardiac risk in the young and provide counselling and support to families affected. They also rely on funding to help support a National Screening Centre where families and individuals at risk can be evaluated.
The weekend long festival was a great success from start to finish, with so many highlights it’s hard to pick out just one. On Friday 2 night the residents of Ballingarry got into the spirit of things, donning their favourite ’80s’ looks with a Fancy Dress ’80s’ Disco’ kicking things off.
This was followed by more dressing up with the hilarious ‘Nuns on the Run’ event in conjunction with ‘The Gathering’ on Saturday which ended with plenty of Craic & Ceoil agus ól.
Other highlights included a BBQ and ice-cream van, face painting and activities for the kids, Pig Racing, live music, Go Kart racing, a Monster draw and.. wife-carrying, of all things!
The After Dark team paid a visit on Sunday night for the main event as Ireland’s official U2 tribute band Zoo 2 took the ‘Big Rig’ outside Condron’s, much to the delight of the waiting crowd and this was followed by Trad rock show BRISLA.
This year’s nominated charities TLC4CF and CRY will now benefit from the funds raised over a fantastic weekend of entertainment at B-Fest.
