ENTERTAINMENT: Christmas concerts and festive fun in Westport this weekend

This weekend will see Westport Town Hall wrapped in Christmas Spirit with two concerts, and an afternoon of free festive fun – with special guest, Santa.
After ten sell-out concerts from December 2016 to 2022, internationally renowned mezzo soprano Anne Marie Gibbons is back for the highly anticipated Festive Harmony concerts in the Westport Town Hall Theatre on Friday and Saturday, December 15 and 16, at 8pm.
She will be joined by professional vocalists Ronan Egan and Ewa Cieślak, the Cresham Academy of Irish Dancing, the Mayo School of Ballet, Gaelscoil Raifteirí Choir Castlebar, Brackloon and Carrakennedy School Choirs, Féile Chois Cuain Youth Group, pianist Richard Lewis and some very special guests, to present a varied programme including dance, popular classical and musical theatre favourites.
Mayo native Anne Marie Gibbons has performed all over the world in some of the most renowned theatres and concert halls. Such international credits include performances in Covent Garden London, Paris, Madrid, Adelaide, Lausanne, New York and Sydney. In Ireland she has appeared with orchestras including the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Irish Baroque Orchestra and the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Ronan Egan has come to prominence in the West of Ireland in recent years taking the lead male roles in a number of musical theatre productions including ‘Fiddler on the Roof’, ‘South Pacific’ and more recently ‘White Christmas’, ‘Annie’ and ‘All Shook Up’.
Ewa Cieślak is from Poland and graduated from the Academy of Music in Lódz. As a student, musical theatre productions included ‘The Lion King’, ‘Evita’ and ‘Dance of the Vampires’. She recently joined the Castlebar Musical and Dramatic Society and played the role of Sylvia in its most recent production ‘All Shook Up’ in The Royal Theatre, Castlebar.
Other soloists who will feature in the concerts include Emer Biggins, Nicole Fair, Patrick Ludden, Ava O’Malley, Anna Prendergast, Aimee McNamara and Hannah Sheridan.

Spraoi Na Nollag
On Sunday, Westport Town Hall Theatre becomes the focal point for Spraoi Na Nollag. Organised by the team at the Town Hall and Westport Chamber of Commerce, the space brings to life the joys of the festive season and our community spirit.
Themed and decorated by the very creative Elsie Higgins, Westport Town Hall has been transformed with all the characters of Christmas. With the crib and giant Christmas tree taking centre stage on The Octagon, the whole area will be the venue for some great free entertainment on the day.
Santa will be catching a lift with Paddy Joe Foy in his Clew Bay Jarvey from the Mall at 12pm and will then be transported in style to arrive at the Town Hall, led safely all the way with festive tunes provided by Westport Town Band.
He will then meet and greet children before inviting them into the auditorium for some free entertainment to include puppet shows and face painting. Mrs Claus will also be on hand for some cosy storytelling sessions, while Santy looks forward to meeting all the children with treats from Aunty Nelly’s Sweet Shop.
The Westport Town Hall Community Choir will also be on hand to sing some festive favourites. Please note, seating for the auditorium shows will be on a first come, first served basis. All Spraoi Na Nollag events are free.