Dublin is getting a brand new festival that celebrates viking culture and its impact. Dublinia's VikingFest 2018 will take place across Easter weekend (March 30th - April 2nd) at Dublinia and Wood Quay.
The four day event will include Living History demonstrations and Viking ships moored and on display in Wood Quay. The highlight of VikingFest is a live outdoor spectacle with the Follow the Vikings audio visual and theatrical performance on Saturday 31st March at the historic Wood Quay amphitheatre.
Speaking about the festival, Dublinia Director Denise Brophy said:
“Dublinia is delighted to be part of the Creative Europe Follow the Vikings project which seeks to create a borderless tourism destination focusing on the Viking World. Working with our international partners we have created the Follow the Vikings roadshow which travels to 12 important Viking heritage sites across Europe with Dublin and Waterford being two of those sites. With the support of our partners Dublin City Council and Failte Ireland we have up-scaled this event to bring you VikingFest.”
Here's a list of some of the exciting events taking place during VikingFest:
Big Dig: March 24th - 28th
Dublinia is hosting their annual Big Dig in the Dublinia courtyard, where they dig for Viking treasure! This will run from the 24th to the 28th of March.
Living History, Viking Weaponry, Coin Minting and Crafts at Dublinia: 30th March -2nd April.
See Viking weaponry on display along with the art of coin minting and many other activities from Viking times.
Vikings Ships moored and on display: 31st March – 1st April.
The Vikings are coming back to Wood Quay with two Viking ships moored on the Liffey, on display for all to see. There will also be a Viking ship aground on Winetavern Street with Lakes Viking warriors on hand to tell you all about Viking life and the sea.
Follow the Vikings: 31st March
Highlight event - Follow the Vikings audio visual and theatrical extravaganza on Saturday night, 31st March. Audiences will be enthralled by the international Follow the Vikings show, taking place outdoors in the wonderful historic Wood Quay amphitheatre.
The creative narrative of the show uses the life and times of Icelandic warrior poet Egill Skallagrímsson as inspiration. Egil the revered and fearsome warrior saves his own life, not with the sword or axe as you would imagine, but by reciting a poem to make his great enemy Erik Bloodaxe immortal.
The audience will experience 45 minutes of film, animation, projection, sound, dance, drumming, battle re-enactment and live action.
The performance takes place at 8.30pm with a second show at 9.45 pm. The show is free of charge but is ticketed, and tickets are available now here.
