Cruinniú na nÓg: Westmeath to come alive with youthful energy and creativity

Westmeath County Council, in partnership with the Creative Ireland Programme, have announced a line-up of free creative events for Cruinniú na nÓg, taking place nationwide on Saturday 6 June.

Cruinniú na nÓg is Ireland’s national day of creativity for children and young people, a unique celebration that invites every young person to try something new, express themselves, and explore their imagination.

With the national theme ‘Unleash Your Creative Spark’, Cruinniú na nÓg 2026 invites children and young people to explore their imagination, try something new, and take centre stage in a day packed with inspiration and fun.

This year’s programme in Westmeath features a mix of workshops, performances, digital arts, music, and hands-on making experiences, designed to be inclusive, accessible, and free of charge. Activities will take place across libraries, theatres, arts venues, and digital spaces.

Activities include:

• Garageland Galaxyz at Dean Crowe Theatre. A high-energy creative experience perfect for young performers featuring Music Generation, Westmeath.

• Young Voices After Dark at Yoyo Café. A safe, youth-led evening space featuring spoken word poetry workshop and performance.

• PRISM and Pride: A Colourful Collaboration. Heartlands Pride are teaming up with Foróige’s PRISM group for a series of creative activities in the approach to Cruinniú na nÓg and a final celebration at the inaugural Heartlands Pride Parade in Athlone.

• Festival of Events in Westmeath Libraries. Creative facilitators in each branch will be running workshops for children of all ages including Kind Kids Club, Pottery Jam, Artists Claire Guinan and Clare Daly Madden as well as Art Box and Music Generation. Drop-in Imagination Stations in each branch will support families to explore these local spaces through art and play.

• Divergent Drawing at Luan Gallery. Participants will experiment with materials like graphite, charcoal, and ink in a supportive and encouraging environment.

• Whispers of the Forest at Tuar Ard. Across a series of hands-on workshops taking place in Moate, children will design and create their own forest-inspired costumes using recycled and upcycled materials.

• Our Wall, Our Story at Dún na Sí. Children will design and create colourful pieces for a new community feature wall, encouraging creativity, imagination, and teamwork while leaving a lasting artistic contribution to the park.

• Art-Flight! Action! With Cara Phort Family Resource Centre. This will be a nature inspired mixed media art workshop using drawing, painting, collage, sculpture and installation.

• I Map My World. The children of Scoil Mhuire Loughegar will explore the geography of their rural landscape and the positive aspects of living in the area and/or going to a country primary school.

• Creative Hub: 85db Studios and Athlone FRC. The hub will give young people hands-on creative experiences through workshops in sound engineering, music production, lighting, stage and event production, podcasting, and DJ skills.

Commenting on the plans for Cruinniú na nÓg, Westmeath county librarian Paula Leavy McCarthy said: “Cruinniú na nÓg is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the creativity and imagination of our young people, giving them the space to explore, express and be inspired in their own community.

"Investing in creativity at a young age helps build confident, curious citizens and we are delighted to support the young people of Westmeath and help them to express their creativity in myriad ways.”

All events are free, but some require booking due to limited capacity.

• cruinniu.gov.ie/events/location/westmeath/

• westmeathculture.ie/westmeath/cruinniu-na-nog-2026-programme-of-events