So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, goodbye....

Summer is nearly over, and so too is this season of the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair! We plan to go out in style, and will be jam-packed with your favourite stallholders, and even a few newcomers! So if you’ve been putting off a visit, or just want to visit one more time before it’s over for the season, now is the time to come down to Doolin for the Saturday Market!

One of the things we love about the Market is the great mix, not just of products, but also of people from nearly every continent, music for every taste, and art of every description. Some visitors come for the food, which can be eaten on the spot at our stage-top café, or taken home to savour later. We have a great selection of local and imported fruit and organic veg, bread, baked goods, fresh waffles, cheese, local ice cream, salads, curries, chutneys, jams, and sauces. And besides that, you will see all manner of handmade items such as ceramics, photography, locally made willow baskets and chairs, quilted and crocheted items, handsewn bags and purses, plants, and natural cosmetics, made locally with seaweed and other organic ingredients. Often we have craftspeople working away, spinning yarn, or making ceramic figures, and always available to answer questions about their craft!

We have also introduced a “Local’s Table” where writers and musicians who live in Clare can sell their books and CDs. We have been delighted with the talent of locals who have produced children’s books, books of local interest, a cookbook, and CDs of Irish music. And we have also introduced the Lightning Strike Gallery, a unique art gallery featuring the work of a different Clare-based artist each week. This week we welcome Jennifer Hornsby, fresh from her exhibit at Glor!

The Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair takes place this Saturday, 29th August at the Russell Brothers Community Centre, Doolin, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Russell Community Centre is located on the road between the village and the church.

Everywhere was a song and a celebration!

One of the unlikeliest of the many parties planned around the world this week to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Woodstock will take place at the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair on Saturday!

Always up for a good time, the folks at the Doolin Market can’t resist this opportunity to wax nostalgic for the Peace and Love era. We love the music, we love the clothes, and even the rain seemed warmer and friendlier than the rain we have been seeing lately! To celebrate, we are having a Woodstock theme at the Market this week. Our famed music mix will be given over entirely to music from artists who played there, including Crosby, Stills, and Nash, The Who, Janis Joplin, the Incredible String Band, The Band, and a host of others.

Stallholders will be wearing their finest 60s apparel, and visitors are encouraged to dress up as well. Prizes will be awarded for best dressed, as well as for winners of pop quizzes on Woodstock trivia. So bone up on your Woodstock knowledge before you come!

Special foods, face painting, and other attractions will be ongoing, and all of the usual attractions of the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair will be available as well. The Market is one of the largest in the area, with over 20 stallholders most weeks, and a fantastic mix of products including fruit and vegetables, cheese, plants, baked goods, and local ice cream. Visitors can enjoy snacks and light meals, tea and coffee at our pleasant café overlooking the Market.

We also have local craftspeople who make bags and purses, textiles, natural cosmetics, willow chairs and baskets, jewellery, ceramics, and photography. Often we have craftspeople working away, making baskets, spinning yarn, or making ceramic figures, and always available to answer questions about their craft!

For more information, contact Toby at doolinmarket@gmail.com.

Art and Crafts

The Lightning Strike Gallery is entering its final month, and it has been a fantastic addition to the Market. Visitors and stallholders have been delighted to find a new show each Saturday and the variety and quality of the artworks have been inspiring. We have seen paintings, etchings, pastels, photographs, tapestry, and batik, all from artists who currently live in Clare. The artwork displayed so far include pieces that reflect the artists’ experience and vision of Clare, through landscapes, seascapes, portraits of local people, and images of local wildlife. We have also seen artwork by artists who drew on their travels to places as far away as Thailand, Laos, and Timbuktu, who produced photographic landscapes and portraits from those far-away places. Other artists have displayed surreal and imaginative work evoking a spiritual connection with place, music, and nature.

The Lightning Strike Gallery continues to exhibit a new show every week through the end of August. Some of the artists who will exhibit this month include, Sonja O’Brien, Kaye Maas, and Jennifer Hornsby, as well as an exhibition this Saturday by a group of emerging artists known as the Hopeless Romantics. The gallery hours coincide with the Doolin Saturday Market and Craft Fair from 10 until 4 at the Russell Brothers Community Centre in Doolin. Admission is free.

Next week, August 15th, the Doolin Market will celebrate the 40th anniversary of
Woodstock! Watch this space for more info next week!