Derry set to come alive for Hallowe’en festival

Some of the thousands of people who enjoyed the installations and performers during the first night of the Awakening of the cit's 400 years old Walls last year. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 28.10.18

Tens of thousands of people will begin gathering in Derry and Strabane later this week as the Hallowe’en festivities gets under way.

The festival officially commences on Saturday and runs through until next Friday, November 1.

Among the events taking place this weekend will be ‘The Heart of Samhain’ in Guildhall Square and Waterloo Place, with the City Walls coming alive with creepy ghosts and ghouls. This will provide the backdrop for the Legenderry Food Village at Waterloo Place.

Saurus meanwhile will return to stalk the streets of the city centre from this Saturday and Sunday, October 26 and 27 at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm, before making their way up towards Bishop Street next week.

The Museum of the Moon returns to the Guildhall’s Main Hall from 10am to 12pm each day of the festival and is free.

The hugely popular Awakening The Walls free trail is back from Monday, October 28 to Wednesday, October 30 from 6pm to 8.30pm.

Suitable for all ages, the magical event will feature a combination of fantasy and folklore, with illuminated installations, music, dance and theatre,, along with local lore, Celtic myths and a few exotic twists along the City Walls.

In a change from previous years, the four main streets within the City Walls will be closed to traffic during the performance to alleviate congestion and enable the large crowds more space to plot their trail and take in the sights and sounds.

Highlights include a Wicked Wonderland, which is filled with flashmobs and fire eaters, and Eyes to the Skies, an aerial dance spectacle with musical compositions and a human Catherine wheel.

Trail maps will be available from the information point at Guildhall Square.

Other highlights will include Little Horrors at the Guildhall from this weekend, the Village of the Damned at the Craft Village from October 28- to 30 from 6pm to 8.30pm and the Carnival Parade and fireworks finale next Thursday night.

There will also be Ghost Bus Torus from the city centre.