Donegal Town is the place to be next weekend when Christmas officially arrives in Ireland’s Foodiest Town.
Three days of unmissable food events, festive fun and shopping are taking place from Thursday 28th November to Saturday 30th November 2019.
Donegal Town’s restaurants and cafes are hosting a ‘Savour the Flavour’ experience all weekend, while the Christmas lights switch-on, a shopping spree, ‘A Little Taste of Christmas in Donegal Town’, food tours of Donegal Town, and an afternoon of festivities at the Donegal Festive Craft Village will ensure there’s something for absolutely everyone.
“With all the Festive activities taking place next weekend; as part of “Savour the Flavour” Donegal Town promises to be most Christmassy place in the County. The twinkling lights and decorated shop windows will create a magical experience for all who visit Ireland’s Foodiest Town,” said Bernie Mulhern, Chairperson of the Donegal Town Community Chamber.
See the programme of events in the poster below and scroll down for more details on all the exciting happenings:
SAVOUR THE FLAVOUR OF DONEGAL TOWN
“Savour the Flavour of Donegal Town” will create a distinctive experience by immersing visitors in the best food and drink Donegal Town has to offer.
Local hotels, restaurants and cafes will be creating dishes with local produce that will create a sense of place to include seasonal food and drink pairings, interactive experiences e.g. Food Tours of Donegal Town, Children’s Mexican Cookery Workshop, Meet the Butcher, Barista Coffee, Cocktail Making, Food and Craft Fair with Cookery Demonstrations, Kids Entertainment, Cultural and Heritage Activities, Guided Squirrel Walk. Something for everyone!
“This event is part of Failte Ireland’s Taste the Island Initiative and is the perfect opportunity to showcase why we are Ireland’s Foodiest Town – the town that offers a unique stand-alone Food and Tourism Visitor Experience,” said Mary Mc Gettigan, one of the organisers.
DONEGAL TOWN CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SWITCH ON
Thursday November 28th @ 7.00pm
Final preparations are being put in place to create the most magical atmosphere in Donegal Town for the annual “Switch On” of Donegal Town Christmas Lights taking place on Thursday 28th November 2019 @ 7.00 pm.
Of course, the “Switch On” wouldn’t be complete without visits from the big man himself Santa Claus and his many MERRY friends!
GET WRAPPED UP WELL come along and join us as the community prepares for most magical time of the year with a special appearance by the Bluestack Special Needs Foundation Choir.
DONEGAL TOWN BUSINESSES FOCUS GROUP SHOPPING SPREE
Come and capture the festive mood and get your Christmas shopping all wrapped up during a special shopping extravaganza on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th November.
“With the Christmas Lights already switched on the previous evening and late-night opening in participating stores; shoppers will be able to enjoy the Christmas ambience around town with discounts, special offers, in-store promotions and our €1000 mega prize draw and much more,” said Raymond Rooney, the Chairperson of Donegal Town Business Focus Group.
Plus, you can meet the producers and crafters from Leghowney Country Market in The Weavers Loft of Magee of Donegal from 7.00pm on Friday 29th.
A LITTLE TASTE OF CHRISTMAS IN DONEGAL TOWN
The finale of the weekend will be “A Little Taste of Christmas in Donegal Town” held in the Abbey Hotel on Saturday 30th November from 11.30am to 6.30 pm. There will be Exhibitor Stands where businesses can promote, sell, and take orders for Christmas etc.
There will be a large variety of products not always available to the public, ranging from, cosmetics, jewellery, fashion, art, and loads of gift ideas for the Festive season.
It will also give customers the opportunity to place orders for all their Christmas food requirements, and all of this can be done with very little effort in one venue.
Getting the Festive Culinary Cookery Demonstrations off to a start will be Award Winning Author & Chef Brian Mc Dermott, Chris Mc Menamin – Ireland’s Best Chef and Executive Head Chef Harvey’s Point, Anthony Armstrong – Nesbitt Arms Hotel Ardara and Chef Influencer Zack Gallagher Irish Food Tours. Festive cocktails will also be shaken up by Wild Atlantic Distillery and Sliabh Liag Distillery.
For the children there is a live interactive magic show with Mr Majestic from 4.30 pm – 6.00 pm, Face painting by Susan, Meet & Greet Mickey & Minnie. Bring your cuddly forever friend to life with Tj’s Teddies for Festive Family Photography Shoots.
Ernan Mc Gettigan, Chairperson Christmas Lights Committee says “As you can see from all the above events Donegal Town is the must visit town to kickstart Christmas with family and friends. A draw will take place on the day for seasonal hampers and a year’s free parking in any of the public car parks in the town. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Donegal County Council who has given us this prize to help us with this fundraising event for Donegal Towns Christmas Lights.
“On behalf of Donegal Town Community Chamber we would like to encourage everyone to come out and join in the festivities and support all that is local in particular Donegal Town’s Christmas lights display as with all events a lot of hard work is required to make these happen.”
For further information follow us on: www.atasteofdonegal.com and also on Donegal Town Community and A Taste of Donegal Food Festival Facebook Pages.
DONEGAL FESTIVE CRAFT VILLAGE AN AFTERNOON OF FESTIVITIES
The Christmas at The Donegal Craft Village event takes place on Saturday 30th November between 1-4pm.
Why not call by the Festive Craft Village to sip on some cosy mulled wine, nibble on festive home bakes, treat yourself to fabulous discounts in all the craft shops and all this whilst listening to the extremely talented Donegal Contemporary Chorus as they gather around our giant Christmas tree, singing festive and contemporary songs! It’s going to be wonderful and for the children we have children’s face painting, festive treats and hot chocolate and marshmallows. This is a FREE event.
The event sees the craft village gathering together each Christmas to thank all customers for their support and custom each year.
With all this and more – a visit to Donegal Town is a must!
