With just a few weeks to go, anticipation is building for the first ever Cork Rebel Week. From October 14th to 20th October, the festival being run jointly by Cork County and City Councils and supported by The Gathering Ireland and a wide range of local organisations, will celebrate Cork’s rich heritage and strong identity, with over 60 leisure, entertainment and corporate events and activities taking place throughout the county and city in nine Cork Rebel Week Host Towns.
An event attended by invited County Councillors and Cork Rebel Week Host Town representatives at the Vertigo Suite, Cork County Hall on Tuesday 1st October, highlighted the wide range of events lined up around the county for Cork Rebel Week
County Manager, Martin Riordan spoke about the range of events, with something for people of all backgrounds and interests, where it be business or leisure. Speaking about the Global Cork Economic Forum, which takes place on October 17th and 18th, he said “Great efforts have been made to invite home influential Cork Diaspora for meaningful discussions on economic revival and job creation specific to Cork. I am delighted to announce that, to date, 100 strong Cork Business Diaspora have been confirmed to attend together with a further 150 delegates invited from key industry in Cork and from around Ireland.”
For a culinary Cork Rebel Week experience the County Manager outlined the Rebel Food Market: “Cork County Council is also organising a spectacular Rebel Food Market which will be held here on the grounds of County Hall on Cork Independence Day from 5pm to 9pm. We expect to have up to 60 food stalls at the event and foodies will get the chance to taste some of the delights of Cork’s artisan food industry with free samples available at every stall. It’s certainly not one to be missed.”
Speaking at the event, County Mayor, Cllr. Noel O’Connor commended the committees working around the county for putting a great schedule of events together: “I would like to pay a special thanks to each of our nine Host Towns: Mallow, Fermoy, Youghal, Cobh, Kinsale, Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bantry; who will welcome International Marching Bands from France, Poland, Italy, Sweden, UK, Czech Republic and Germany. The bands will arrive to each of our Host Towns during Rebel Week where I know Host Town Committees have been working very hard in organising a great programme of events for their visitors during their visit.”
He added: “This is a wonderful opportunity for our Towns to showcase what they have on offer to our visitors. I, as Mayor for Cork County, am really looking forward to welcoming returning Corkonians, tourists to Cork, the International Marching Bands and the International Naval Crews to see what is on offer in our wonderful City and County of Cork.”
For full details on all events and activities see www.corkrebelweek2013.com, and follow the festival’s facebook and twitter feeds for the latest updates.