Yay, the long-awaited long May weekend is almost upon us. And if you’re still looking for something to do over the weekend, we are here to help. You could try these things:

First of all there’s the SoGo Arts Festival in and around South Great George’s Street all weekend. This 3 day bonanza kicked of today, but there are loads of activities and things to see over the next 2 days as well, like “The Best of Busking” featuring the Mighty Steph, a screening of “Once” in Walton’s music store and a flea market on Sunday.

Next on the list is the recently opened Glasnevin Museum – a museum on Dublin’s most famous graveyard, dedicated to Irish heritage & genealogy, and the history of the graveyard itself.

If a proper Indie rock festival is more of your liking, you could also head to Balbriggan on Saturday, where the Sibin Festival officially opens the Irish open air-festival season. For those of you who prefer electronic tunes, you can either keep on partying or start your own festival season on Sunday with the Yes Festival down in Clontarf.

And if this is too much activity for you, you can always relax in one of Dublin’s beer gardens – the weather permitting…

Image via

I’ve been doing a little thinking about this blog over the past while, why I started it, where we’ve come from since those early days when I started it, 4 years ago today, where it’s going and how it can be used to do some more good.

The idea I had when starting the blog was to create a community resource, where people living in and around Dublin could contribute an interesting and relevant dialogue for people in and around Dublin (and beyond).

The highlight for us as a contributory team was obviously winning Best Group Blog at the 2009 Irish Blog Awards. But this blog wasn’t created to win awards (great and all as they are!), it was created to do something good.

Recently, as a team, we were provided by a PR agency a number of prizes to give to our readers and we have been debating amongst ourselves how best to distribute these prizes. We’ve had similar approaches in the past that we’ve knocked back as we didn’t know how best to distribute them. We’ve considered competitions, but have since come up with a better idea. Here goes:

We want to start a campaign to make Dublin smile. We hope that this campaign goes a little viral and gets some support from fellow blogs and also some more business around town.

The concept is relatively simple, we want people to do something good, at random and document this for us. Ideally if we can get photos or videos of you doing this, then all the better, but we want to hear your story of how you made someone smile first and foremost.

The main focus of this campaign is to look out for people in need. For example, if you see a homeless person on the street, stop, say hello and buy them a sandwich or a coffee. Get their name, tell us a bit of their story and your time with them, get a photo of you together and we send you a prize. Another example could be if you see someone unable to find change for a parking meter, put your hand in your pocket, give them the change if you have it and again, send us the story. It’s quite simple really. If we can get corporate Dublin involved in sending us some more gifts to assist this process, this thing could become a big success.

I’m really interested to see if people think that this could be a runner. We would really love to see other blogs get involved in this, touching up their corporate contacts and starting off a wider campaign to make Dublin and indeed the rest of the country smile.

Maybe we’re being over optimistic. Maybe people really aren’t interested in making others smile. But I, and the rest of the team here at Dublinblog.ie believe that we can at least start to make the world a little happier!

There is a fan page on Facebook called Secret Dublin. Secret Dublin aims to provide a forum for Dubliners to share their insights on places and talent in Dublin to discover “hidden gems”. The idea is romantic, but sadly a short peruse of the page shows few suggestions. With this in mind, I am going to share my little bit of Secret Dublin I happened to stumble across two months ago.

Weeks and weeks ago, my French friend, Maryline, told me of an evening called Milk & Cookie Stories.

“It is a group of people that come together to tell stories and have cookies,” she explained. She described the event as if it were common place.

“What has cookies got to do with stories?” I asked in puzzlement.

“I don’t know, replied my friend. “It’s just what they do.”

“How much is it?”

“It is free.”

I was suspicious. I gave the first two events a wide berth by politely declining an invite. Then came a funny phase of mine; I realised I needed to be more open to new things and new people. When Maryline reminded me yet another Milk & Cookie Stories evening approached, I agreed to attend. I remained sceptical, but reminded myself of the new things and new people I craved.

On a wet Tuesday evening Maryline and I made our way to the Dublin Exchange, Temple Bar. We arrived to be greeted by friendly faces, most of whom –  I guessed – were students. We were early. Rows of seats and large cushions on the floor remained vacant. Across the open plan room were tables bearing baskets of biscuits. We were offered tea and helped ourselves to the fare on offer.

When I asked one of the organisers about the evening, I was told that it was an open mic evening where attendants were invited to share a story. The story could be anything from a lament to a personal experience. An emphasis was placed on first timers. Anyone interested in spinning a yarn was invited to put their name on the list. They would be called up when their moment came.

My friend and I warmed ourselves next to a solitary radiator in a remote corner of the gallery. We watched as the number of attendants slowly and steadily increased. We were both taken aback by the friendly atmosphere. I was introduced to a considerable number of people. I noted how simple it was to strike up conversation with relative strangers. My thoughts were suddenly interrupted.

“We will be starting in around five minutes,” a girl named Sarah announced to the eighty or so people gathered. This prompted a hush to descend on the room.

The first story teller was called up. He received a supportive applause from the congregation. He told his story. Following another round of applause, the next story teller was called. The most memorable performances from the evening were a recital of Arabian Nights, an Hungarian folktale and a Celtic myth. The featured performer of the evening – whose name has unfortunately slipped my mind – told a personal story that was both moving and humorous.

I went again last Tuesday and had an equally enjoyable experience. The featured performer, Clare Murphy, told two Irish stories and a Nigerian tale. Her performance was uniquely engaging and animated. Clare drew loud laughs and planted ideas in our minds. I would gladly have listened to her for hours had I the chance. Clare embodies the skill and art of storytelling that Milk & Cookie Stories strives to promote.

Milk & Cookies Stories meets on the first/second Tuesday of every month at Dublin Exchange, Temple Bar. The atmosphere is friendly, the stories are entertaining and the cookies are tasty. The event is free, but the organisers do encourage attendants to make a small donation when the “cookie jar” is passed around.  Should you find yourself available from six o’clock Tuesday, 9^th February, you should come along.

What’s the worst that can happen? You enjoy a unique experience and open your mind to some new ideas? Come along, it’s a great evening.

If, like me, you’re passionate about coffee, and you want to meet like minded people, learn a load about coffee as well as taste some of the finest that Dublin has to offer in a fantastic new venue, I suggest that you make your way along to the Third Floor Espresso (3FE) launch party this Sunday, the 24th.

Our own Colin Harmon, who is the current Irish Barista Champion is the man behind 3FE, and by all accounts, the venue is the place that you really need to be if you’re seeking some of the best coffee that Dublin has to offer.

There’s more details on the launch event, including an outline of some of the guests of honour in Colin’s blog about the launch party

I have to confess that I completely nicked this off the good people over at culch.ie, but this is so incredibly good it has to be reposted. Visual artist Eoghan Kidney’s video for Underworld vs Mark Knight and D.Ramirez, played “on” Liberty Hall. Could someone please convince Dublin Tourism to make this the official video representing our city?

- Or an ode to Dublin

So, here I am now in a dirty old town that I reached while the Celtic Tiger was already preparing to go into his final hibernation. And fell in love with it, though I could not tell you when exactly it happened and why. Maybe because of the fact that things are not perfect here (busses never on time, railway-bridges collapsing, city development postponed – but then who needs perfection anyway?), maybe because the Irish are such welcoming people (in spite of the knackers who tried to rob me twice and threatened me with physical violence even more often), or maybe because (again, in spite of the recession) Dublin still is a city filled with loads of interesting people from all over the world. And mixed with the very own ways of the Irish, it’s like the whole of Europe meeting in a pub on a Friday evening. You never know if you’ll be drunk at 10 and go home or stay all night listening to a band from Senegal and conversing until the wee hours with a random acquaintance. Who might well be Quentin Tarantino.

This praise may be influenced by the fact that I still have a quite well-paid job amidst global downturn, and that I come from a town of the same size (and grew up in an ever smaller one). But Dublin still rivals Berlin for the density of pubs and bars, our bands are world class and I do prefer to be around in a town where you can reach everything by foot and meet interesting people over and over again. And I prefer to be around in a town where new and existing places open (and sadly close) every month.

Living abroad has really “broadened my horizon”, so to say. I am interested in whatever Mr. Cowen has to say, and do not think that NAMA is such a good idea (it is the taxpayers and so also my money fronting up for it), I am able to distinguish why a country with 4 million people has other problems than one with 80 millions. And yet still I view the happenings in my home country from a different perspective. And with the help of the internet and postal vote I can still try to influence whatever’s going on in Germany. But after every stay with my family I’m glad to return to the shores of the Emerald Isle. Because here all the “German” things that would have driven me mad long ago do not bother me that much.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those people with a master in economics who takes on a new job and new country every 6 months and lives in a hotel without caring for anything else besides the price of the drink at the bar (though I am very interested in the prize of a pint). I am also not one of those stereotype German expat-types looking for a cottage in the woods, complete with attached flock of sheep. But I love my dirty old town and being in the thick of things. And hope to stay here for some time.

And even though I pretend not to be one of the Germans getting teary-eyed when watching a good session, here’s Damien Dempsey with the Rocky Road To Dublin for you. Next one’s on me.

PS: Images are by jackace and darkmavis – there are more on the brilliant Dublinblog-flickr-photostream.

It seems the cold weather came quite suddenly earlier in the week. So why not embrace the chill in the air and celebrate winter with a little ice skating? You wouldn’t know it from the online promotional buzz (or complete lack thereof), but an ice rink is now open in Sandyford’s Beacon South Quarter (PDF). Last year’s Dublin on Ice site has yet to be updated (as of this post anyway) and I can’t confirm that the rink is opened in Smithfield. (If YOU can, please let us know in the comments.)

The lack of information on the rink(s) is a bit odd, begging the question, why spend money and other resources on something like an ice rink without getting the word out? Where are the models in Santa outfits? (Maybe we’ll see the advertising ramp up a bit the closer we get to Christmas.)

For now, here’s last year’s promo video from City Channel.

The Norsemen are upon us again! As last year, the Dublin Viking Festival is taking place next weekend.

The Dublin Viking Festival takes place on Dublin’s Wood Quay and Temple Bar from Friday the 16th October until Sunday 18th October 2009.The Vikings were the first settlers at Dublin and old reminants of their settlement have been found at Wood Quay in Dublin City Centre on the site of Dublin City Council’s civic offices.

Dublin City Council invites you to come down and explore our Viking Heritage from 12 noon – 6pm October 16th, 17th & 18th for a family fun packed weekend.

I’ve been there last year, and have to confess that it is a bit dull for a veteran roleplayer like me; plus the post-modern surroundings of the civic offices are not really helping in recreating the image of the Viking world. On the other hand it was great fun for the kids, and it seems the festival is generally more aiming at family entertainment than drinking mead from the skulls of slain enemies. And if there’s the same re-enactment group as last year, you’ll get at least an overview of how to form a propper Viking shield wall:

I’m not sure we could add this to our ‘recession busters’ or ‘how to get by on €15’ categories, but it’s a good deal nonetheless. The ‘Dine in Dublin-Restaurant Week’ campaign will feature a number of restaurants offering three course dinner menus for promotional rates of €25 or €30 (a 20% discount.) The initiative will run from the 12th through the 18th of October and there are over 50 restaurants participating. It may indeed include some of your favourites, so be sure to have a look at the full list HERE.

And if you can’t wait until next weekend for a culinary adventure, be sure to check out Marlay Park this weekend, where the Festival of World Food will be taking place again. (CLICK HERE to see DublinBlog’s write-up on it last year.)

[I'm having a hard time confirming the Festival of World Food event this weekend, so if anybody can provide further information or a website that confirms it, that would be appreciated. It's supposed to be a Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council sponsored event, but their website is showing nothin'.]