WinterFest an umbrella term covering seasonal activities

WinterFest Mullingar – launched on Thursday at the ice rink – is an umbrella for seasonal activities including the Christmas lights switch-on, Mullingar Skates and the Christmas Markets.

This year, the markets are on December 13 and 14 on Mount Street, and they will offer the best of local food and crafts from members of the Taste of Westmeath, some of whom were present at the launch on Thursday evening.

The Market Square will also host live performances, so that a fantastic weekend is in store for the town.

Lauren Gregory, office manager at Mullingar Chamber, said: “A big thank-you to Westmeath County Council for their support of WinterFest, and especially for bringing skating back to Mullingar for another year – I think we can all agree it’s a fabulous addition. Special thanks also to MacDara and the Mullingar Skates team for hosting us here tonight.”

Among the guests at the launch was Barry Keogh, chief executive of the county council, who pointed out that as well as the opportunity to socialise and the entertainment the ice rink provides, it means people can get some physical exercise when it’s too cold or wet for outdoor activity.

“I’m delighted to see it back here in Mullingar again this year,” said Mr Keogh. “It’s great to have an additional attraction for the town that will bring people in, bring a bit of extra business into the town. Hopefully people will stay, have a bite to eat, maybe do a bit of shopping.

“But it’s also a great facility for people who live here and live in the vicinity. It’s an additional activity for them, a healthy activity, something different that they can do in the wintertime, given that it’s not that easy to get out and do exercise. So I hope that people enjoy it.

“I’d like to thank the organisers as well, MacDara and Brendan, and the members in Mullingar for supporting it, and the staff in Mullingar for facilitating it again this year in the council car park. I just hope that people enjoy it and that it’s successful.”

MacDara Hosty, co-owner, Mullingar Skates, agreed with Mr Keogh, and said that people can expect a family, festive fun experience: “Ice skating is not something people can do day in, day out, and it takes a lot of work to build a temporary ice rink, and to do it in a manner that’s welcoming and fun for families, children, adults, boys and girls, people of all ages, something different to do at Christmas, and it’s a fun, healthy exercise too.”

Taste of Westmeath

Taste of Westmeath will be central to the Christmas Market on Mount Street in mid-December, and Andrea Corroon, Westmeath Community Development, Leader development officer, who coordinated the set-up of the group, said they are working with the WinterFest, as well as a number of other markets in the area, including at Belvedere House this coming weekend.

Formally launched at Killua Castle in September, Taste of Westmeath has in fact existed for almost two years and is consolidating as time goes on. “It’s growing and it’s just about getting out there, providing different initiatives for them, to help. These are all growing producers. It started out small, some are still small, some are growing, some are big, so what we do is help them along, provide support.

“It’s an ongoing project and we plan to keep it going as long as possible, with the aid of Leader support, which we have, and also with the support through our local development strategy to support local food producers.”