Appeal for contributions to mark 50 years of Mayo arts and music festival

TERTULIA Bookshop in partnership with Westival’s 50th anniversary are inviting public participation in ‘Echoes of Westport’, a commemorative collection of stories and memories celebrating the spirit of Westport and the Festival that has shaped the town’s creative soul. The book will be launched during the Festival on October 23.

This is an excerpt from The Mayo News in January 1976; “Plans are now going ahead for the staging of a Festival of Music and the Arts in Westport. The Festival will be known as the Westport Mid-Summer Arts Week. The purpose of the Festival is to bring the best of musical and dramatic entertainment to Westport for one week, concurrent with an exhibition of art works ... It’s felt that this type of programme will benefit both the people of Westport and the surrounding area and also the tourist trade at the leading edge of the season.”

Amazingly, 2025 is now the 50th anniversary of the staging of that inaugural festival. As part of the celebration, we are so excited to be publishing a collection of the top 50 stories about Westport, entitled ‘Echoes of Westport’. We are calling for anyone whose has a treasured memory, a story handed down through generations or even a fictional story inspired by Westport, to put pen to paper. The business of storytelling is akin to my heart as you all know, but we all value stories in many different ways. They are such a part of our history and culture. This is a wonderful opportunity to share those stories.

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We are asking for anyone over the age of 18, whose has a memory or even fictional story inspired by Westport, to put pen to paper. The word count is max 500 words. For submission, there is a simple form for submission on www.westival.ie or contact us at Tertulia Bookshop. Once again, the story can be real or imagined, memoir of fiction. Only words submitted, no images. The deadline is midnight on July 31, 2025. Some writing prompts might be: ‘I’ll never forget the day ... ’; ‘The Fair Day of ... ’; ‘A stranger in town ...’; ‘Out of the Way ...’; ‘That time at the Westport Arts Festival ...’; ‘It’s a small world ...’; ‘I remember ...’; ‘Back in the day ...’; ‘Who would have ever thought ...’; ‘It could only have happened in Westport ...’;

We will continue to share writing prompts on social media throughout July, to help spark your imagination - so whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or trying something new, there’s a place for your voice in this community celebration. Let’s come together to capture the essence of Westport in words. Get writing. Get inspired. And join us in creating the ‘Echoes of Westport’.