About Tradoodle Festival Monaghan and Regional Events

Tradoodle Festival (est. 2017) is Co. Monaghan’s Traditional Arts Festival for Young Audiences. Ceol Connected also produces Tradoodle Regional Events with a range of regional partners including Hawk’s Well Sligo, Roscommon Arts Centre, and Belltable Limerick.

Artistic Objectives of Tradoodle Festival Monaghan

Our aim is to enhance traditional arts through diverse, innovative, & high quality programming for school/family audiences incorporating traditional music, song, dance, storytelling, and much more.

Reimagining the traditional arts for children

The festival seeks to offer an artistic programme which will engage children in Co. Monaghan in a rich and meaningful experience of the traditional arts. To achieve this, Tradoodle Festival will position the experience of children at the heart of what it sets out to achieve. The artistic programme presents high quality performances and collaborations that are innovative, that draw on best practice, and importantly, that connect with, respect, and are of relevance to the experience of children.

A focus on the local/regional

The festival seeks to invigorate and emphasise the value of the traditional arts in Co. Monaghan for young audiences. To achieve this, the festival looks to the local & regional while also embracing the wider world of traditional arts. In recent years, there has been significant work carried out in nurturing awareness of Monaghan’s cultural traditions & musical heritage. Tradoodle Festival seeks to build on this potential.

Access

The festival will provide access to and participation in the artistic programme for children, by breaking down barriers both real and perceived, whether financial, educational, social, cultural, geographical, intellectual or physical. This includes providing opportunities for children to inform and evaluate the artistic programme. It also includes collaborating with a range of partners to create a strong festival infrastructure and to present the programme – local partners include preschools, community groups, primary schools, libraries, venues, etc.

Tradoodle Festival is funded by the Arts Council and Creative Ireland, and supported by Monaghan County Council and local partners. 