Just a quick idea if you are going out tonight, and a free one on top. Rock Candy!

Back once again, with “something to get your teeth into” taking place in both Shebeen Chic and Sweeney’s Bar in city centre!

Friday the 19th November

2 Venues
5 Stages
20 Live Acts
All for FREE!

You’ll find more info and a complete line-up over at their Facebook-page.

A good thing, and maybe someone wants to send the IMF-representatives there to show them there’s still life and culture and art in this insolvent country, despite all gloom…

I just read on Twitter that bookings for Open House Dublin 2010 start today. Open House is an annual event (held this year on October 7th-10th) where tours are held of many buildings normally closed to the public. Why would you be interested in this you may ask? Have you ever wondered what the view from the top of Liberty Hall is like, or what the inside of the Leinster House is really like? This is your opportunity to visit these buildings and be taken on a guided tour admire the architecture and see a different view of the Dublin skyline.

While most of the buildings are opened on a first come first served basis some, such as Leinster House, require pre-bookings. Bookings start at 10am this morning so if you want to see what goes on behind the scenes at some of the most iconic buildings in Dublin you should make sure to check out their website this morning and put your name down.

We in Dublin had our fair share of festivals this year already – the Dublin Writer’s Festival, the Dublin Soul Festival and the Latin America Festival to just name a few – but we’re not done yet. Which is a fact I very much appreciate. So, without further ado, here are my favourite festival picks for the upcoming months:

Image by Absolut Fringe

Phizzfest (09. – 12.09.) – The Phibsborough Arts Festival has its premiere this year. This promises a fantastic opportunity to explore this touristically underdeveloped working-class neighbourhood from a different perspective. Also is Anne Enright reading at the festival and I live here, so there are two things that speak for the festival

Absolut Fringe (11. – 26.09.) – This year’s edition of dublin’s own Fringe Fest seems even more packed with great events and artist then last year. I’m especially looking forward to the Icelandic Music Weekend with my friends FM Belfast.

Arthur’s Day (23.09.) – This may come as a surprise for some, but after the success of last year’s worldwide Arthur’s Day the Guinness Brewery decided to have a ball on this special day again this year. And the line-up is nothing else than fantastic.

Hard Working Class Heroes 2010 (07. – 09.10.) – In my opinion the HWCH is Dublin’s most likeable music festival. Battalions of bands and musicians will spread out to 7 venues all over town to provide a showcase of what’s hot in the Irish scene at the moment. Don’t miss it.

Remember the friendly guys from Friend?, one of the first bands we featured in the Discovered in Dublin-series? The 5-piece has intensively toured in the last year, and has also secured a deal with local label Eleven:Eleven. And they are playing in Whelan’s this week. On Thursday, to be more precise. Together with two other Alternative/Rock bands from the North, Kasper Rosa and Axis Of.

So, if you are interested in getting a glimpse of the next generation of Irish alternative hopes from both sides of the border, why not head to Wexford Street on Wednesday – even to celebrate the German win over Spain after the game on Wednesday. To whet your appetite, here are Axis OF with the video for their new single “Port Na Spaniagh”:

Even though the weather is not really made for any indoor activity these days, we know that it can start to rain any day in Dublin. And so it is good to have some kind of indoor alternative in case the current sunny spell ends. Therefore, as the pirate fan that I’ve been since I was 5, I’m happily announcing: The Goonies Pirate Party.

Goonies never say die! On Thursday 1st of July the Screen Cinema will host a special screening of the classic adventure movie The Goonies. This is an unmissable screening for anyone with an inner Goonie that needs to be embraced. To make it extra special we’re making it socially acceptable to dress up as pirates in the cinema. In fact, we’re actively encouraging it! And hoping that you’ll join us for some ale and swashbuckling afterwards in Doyle’s pub.

June 7th marked the 25th anniversary of the film’s release, and The Screen wants to give Irish fans the chance to celebrate the much-loved film’s anniversary with a celebration as boisterous as the movie.

This marks the second film in the wildly popular ‘Screen Hearts 80’s’ season of 80’s blockbusters which commenced with ‘Ghost Busters’ on Monday the 21st of June to a packed house.

Screen Hearts 80′s’ will run throughout the summer including gems such as Gremlins and Top Gun and will also feature an Arnie action season and a John Hughes tribute in August that will open with the teen classic The Breakfast Club on August 6th.

The Goonies is a thrill-a-minute adventure film. When brothers Mikey (Sean Astin) and Brand (Josh Brolin) learn that greedy developers are forcing their family to move, they and their friends decide to have one last adventure together. With the help of a treasure map they’ve found in the attic, the group, known as the Goonies, go in search of buried gold hoping against hope that if they find it, Mikey and Brand will succeed in keeping their home.

So get your cutlasses and eyepatches, and board the Screen cinema on Thursday. Tickets for the event are available on www.screencinema.ie, in the Screen’s box office or by calling 1520 927005.

The good people of Dublin hit the streets of Dublin in their thousands over the weekend to check out the Street Performance World Championships. We made it along but not quite in time to participate in the world record attempt. From what I read on Twitter it seems like too many people hopped along! Congratulations to all who particpated in this wonky bit of history!

Congratulations too to the staff and volunteers at SPWC for organising another great free festival. We managed to catch JP Koala, Dr. Kaboom and Thom Sellectomy. We couldn’t get next or near last year’s winners, USA Breakdancers, but had we managed to catch them we would have missed our favourite this year, Dr. Kaboom so all’s well. Like last year the Festijeux were a big hit with three generations of our family and I eventually had to drag my father away!

This Friday (i.e. the day after tomorrow!) the Hyperbolic Crochet Reef, which has been on display in the Science Gallery in Trinity College Dublin since March, will be packed away to continue its world tour elsewhere. I have yet to see this exhibition myself – the timing was a bit off for me with all that has been going on but I am heading to the gallery on Friday to catch a tour of the reef. I’m sorry to be leaving my trip to see this fascinating marriage of science and craft so late, being a bit of a hooker myself. I even rustled up a few pieces of coral myself which are still languishing at the bottom of my crochet box: as I said there’s been a lot of changes recently!

Photo owned by superfem (cc)

What in the heck is hyperbolic crochet I hear you ask? Well you can read Karlin Lillington’s excellent column from last week’s Irish Times to get an idea of this amazing process of modelling 3 dimensional geometry which was first developed by Latvian Dr Daina Taimina. Taimina was in the Science Gallery during the week to talk about her work. This was one of many events organised by the Gallery throughout the coral’s visit to Dublin.

You can also watch this brilliant TED talk given by Margaret Wertheim who, with her sister Christine, has used this modelling method to raise awareness of the dangers to the world’s coral reefs.

Some of my co-bloggers here on Dublinblog.ie have written a post or two about the Science Gallery and really it’s a gem. If you are visiting Dublin, planning a trip to the Gallery via the grounds of Trinity is well worth it. It’s easily accessed from a number of bus routes or you can alight at Pearse Dart Station and the Science Gallery is just around the corner. There’s a full calendar of events with something to suit all types, from ubernerds to schoolkids.

While I don’t think my children’s patience will stretch to it on Friday, I’m delighted to see that the Science Gallery’s Friday Tapas are back as I heard a number of favourable comments. Some day I’ll make it

You’ve probably heard the cringe worthy advert currently running on national radio stations in relation to MenuPages.ie giving vouchers for restaurants. The advert might be annoying, but the offer is definitely worth a look. The value from each restaurant varies considerably. From taking a quick scan today, I noted good deals by Buenos Aires Grill and Cafe en Seine.  Should you find yourself on Dublin streets accompanied by hunger pangs, these vouchers might come in use. The majority of offers cannot be used during the weekend, however, dining out on school nights is more fun anyway.

I took myself and my three children along to the RHA Gallagher Gallery on Ely Place (map) to check out their annual exhibition. It runs until 31st July and I would recommend that you get yourself along to it. It’s a hop, skip and a jump from Stephen’s Green so we combined our visit with a picnic in the park. (This was originally supposed to be a playground post but the playground in Stephen’s Green is closed for refurbishment but looks like it will be ace!)

To be honest my visit to the exhibition was kind of a duty: my brother, Blaise Smith, and brother-in-law, John O’Reilly, both have paintings on display. The painting right is by  the brother in law.

That’s the thing about the RHA Annnual exhibition: if you know any Irish artists chances are you will see some of their work exhibited here. It’s a great opportunity to see the work of up-and-coming or established artists. I am the farthest thing from an art critic. I look at the paintings and think about what they make me think about. I like this or that because the colours appeal to me or it evokes memories or reminds me of a person, place or thing. Some paintings I enjoy because they make me smile or conjure up other emotions. I have a very rudimentary art history education so I won’t even attempt to review the exhibition in those terms but as a way to spend an afternoon in Dublin you could do a lot worse. You are bound to see something that will make you melt inside, raise your hackles or that will feature in your dreams or nightmares. All types of materials are used and while painting features heavily there are also prints, photography, sculpture, architecture and even one brooch featured! The refurbished gallery is a beautiful exhibition space (it’s probably been refurbished for ages but y’know I don’t get out much!) It was a fine way to spend the afternoon with two lively under 7s and there was no difficulty getting the buggy around and up and down.

My husband was very glad when I told him I didn’t get a catalogue and buy any paintings but if you are looking to invest in some work this is a great place to pick up some iconic Irish art as many of the items are for sale. I hadn’t planned to write a blog post about the exhibition so while I know which items would be my top five I can’t remember all the details. I do plan to go back so I might take notes next time!

180th Annual Exhibition, Opening hours:
The RHA Gallery will revert to opening ALL Exhibition AREAS, 7 days a week, for the 180th Annual Exhibition, from 24 May – 30 July.
Monday & Tuesday 11 – 5pm
Wednesday – Saturday 11 – 7pm
Sunday 2 – 5pm

As a mammy-ish aside I also note that the RHA run children’s workshops throughout the year. My older son was very interested in the exhibition so I’m off to book him into the workshop that focuses on the exhibtion.

This year’s Dublin Writers Festival kicks off on June 1st, and I have to say that this year the list of featured authors is impressive: Ian McEwan, Anthony Beevor, Joseph O’Connor, Anne Enright, Hanif Kureishi, Yann Martel a. m. m. mark this year’s edition a festival not too miss. You’ll find the full programme here, and you can follow the festival both on Twitter and Facebook as well.

I’m really disappointed to miss it, as I’ll be on holidays at the time, but if you’re into books, please give it a go – tickets are between 12 and 20 €, and events take place at different venues throughout town, such as the Project Arts Centre, the Sugar Club and the Dublin Writers Museum. Go bookworms!