Riverfest 2017

Insect Overlord

Is there much interest or excitement around these parts for this weekend's festivities?

I'm running the half marathon on Sunday morning and heading to the Hermitage Green gig in the castle in the evening. Apart from those I haven't been paying much attention to what's planned.

https://www.limerick.ie/discover/eat-see-do/festivals/riverfest

Arthur's Quay Park was good fun last year anyway.

pigtown

I'm going to attempt the 6 mile race and hopefully the gig in the castle too. (If anyone has a spare ticket for the gig I need another one)

panda100

I'm doing the half marathon too! Its my first time doing more than a 10k race. Is it your first half marathon too? They've changed all the routes this year and they look much better imo.

I'm looking forward to doing the zipwire over the river shannon, though I expect the queues for it to be crazy. Aside from that i'll probably just have a wander around. There is always a great atmosphere in town.

zulutango

The highlight for me will be Mark Black, live at the Lime Tree Theatre.

dashoonage

I'm going to have a sleep in and a brekkie roll on Sunday morning and blissfully ignore the whole ****ing thing. :P

Poxyshamrock

I'm not in Limerick for Riverfest this year. I really enjoyed it last year. I thought the set up in Arthur's Quay Park was unreal. I'm sickened I won't be able to do the night time kayak trip, it sounds really good.

Parchment

The zipline looks interesting/scary.

d1980

Anyone any idea when fireworks are on and the time they start?

Thanks

davo2001

d1980 wrote: »

Anyone any idea when fireworks are on and the time they start?

Thanks

Sunday night @ 10:15pm

d1980

d1980 wrote: »

Anyone any idea when fireworks are on and the time they start?

Thanks

Ignore, I got it. Sunday 1015

jonders

anyone know where to apply for the night time kayak tour?

Insect Overlord

panda100 wrote: »

I'm doing the half marathon too! Its my first time doing more than a 10k race. Is it your first half marathon too? They've changed all the routes this year and they look much better imo.

Best of luck! Even with the hills near the Gaelic Grounds, the Limerick course isn't really considered too tough.

I've run the HM three times before, as well as Dingle twice and both of the races in Achill Island. I'm way off the pace I used to be though. Managed it in 1:56:00 a few years ago. Will be lucky to break 2:10:00 this weekend.

browne_rob5

jonders wrote: »

anyone know where to apply for the night time kayak tour?

Get west are running it so give them a call or book online.

http://www.getwest.ie/contact/

jonders

browne_rob5 wrote: »

Get west are running it so give them a call or book online.

http://www.getwest.ie/contact/

cheers

Harambe

Will there still be parking in Arthur's Quay around 12ish on Saturday do people think or will it be chock a block?

zulutango

Harambe wrote: »

Will there still be parking in Arthur's Quay around 12ish on Saturday do people think or will it be chock a block?

I'd say it will be busy. It generally is on Saturday mornings, so presumably it'll be busier than that. And the weather forecast is poor too so more people will be driving.

panda100

An File wrote: »

Best of luck! Even with the hills near the Gaelic Grounds, the Limerick course isn't really considered too tough.

I've run the HM three times before, as well as Dingle twice and both of the races in Achill Island. I'm way off the pace I used to be though. Managed it in 1:56:00 a few years ago. Will be lucky to break 2:10:00 this weekend.

Ha, I was planning to do my first one in at least 1.55! was planning to stick to the 2 hour pacers and then make a sprint for it the last km or two. We will see how that works out :pac:

OfTheMarsWongs

Harambe wrote: »

Will there still be parking in Arthur's Quay around 12ish on Saturday do people think or will it be chock a block?

Might have better luck in Cruises St or Cornmarket car park. They're only a couple of minutes extra walk. Barringtons Car Park is less than a 10 minute walk.

bigpink

What a aload of crap this year
2 major points
Traffic should be closed off for the day around arthurs quay with all the people walking that way.The whole broadwalk wasnt used either just the bit in front of House again traffic flowing through
Very few stewards around
All the local characters in the area move them on.
The BBQ seems to have gotten tiny altho i only got down at 4 it was all over
Badly needs a rethink or new festival

James Bond Junior

bigpink wrote: »

What a aload of crap this year
2 major points
Traffic should be closed off for the day around arthurs quay with all the people walking that way.The whole broadwalk wasnt used either just the bit in front of House again traffic flowing through
Very few stewards around
All the local characters in the area move them on.
The BBQ seems to have gotten tiny altho i only got down at 4 it was all over
Badly needs a rethink or new festival

A move to the June bank holidsy would be a great start. Was in town this morning and only for seeing the attractions in Arthur's quay park, you'd be forgiven for thinking nothing was happening..

testicles

This post has been deleted.

bigpink

The whole quay shoukd be closed from brimstone down to arthurs quay for the weekend.
Have maybe a family picnic area and kids events free ones

Silentcorner

Riverfest is not a great festival, it is essentially a BBQ/Fun Fair wrapped up with some watersports/fashion???/fireworks display.

It is well run, I guess, at least I think so.

This is however a great weekend in Limerick, the GLR is a fantastic event which packs the city out with a great crowd, it is not long ago when this weekend would see a huge exodus down to Kilkee leaving the city empty.

You gotta think tho, with the depth of history and culture that this city has to offer, we could do a bit better than this for a headline festival...

panda100

bigpink wrote:

What a aload of crap this year 2 major points Traffic should be closed off for the day around arthurs quay with all the people walking that way.The whole broadwalk wasnt used either just the bit in front of House again traffic flowing through

It's madness that traffic is being allowed along Honans Quay! The traffic lights stopped working earlier as well making it very tricky to walk easily between arthurs quay and the bbq at house without dodging cars.

What did everyone think of the Great Limerick Run goodie bag this year? At least the people of Limerick will have fresh smelling breath from now on!

bigpink

Its not even well run.
The traffic was very bad and dangerous today
Lack of stewards
I spend 15min walking from brimstone to the park and back out.
The BBQ looked tiny this year.Is the french market on again?

1moreyr

So disappointed. The queues were so long getting into Arthurs Quay park we gave it a miss. When we were passing 45 mins later same people in the queue. Looked pretty chaotic. They should have closed off streets like they do for the french market.

Entonces

Can anyone recommend somewhere to park tomorrow in or near city centre? Hoping to travel in and soak up some atmosphere. Haven't been to River fest before

Entonces

Entonces wrote: »

Can anyone recommend somewhere to park tomorrow in or near city centre? Hoping to travel in and soak up some atmosphere. Haven't been to River fest before

Arthurs Quay if its not full would be ideal. Failing that, Howleys or Harveys Quay. Both are in town. Failing them, the train station. Despite what some people say, there is more than enough parking in the city.

1moreyr

We parked in Steamboat Quay which was quiet today but tomorrow will be hectic with the run on so you should check online what roads will be closed before heading in

Entonces

Thanks for that.
Is the city hard to get through while the marathon is on?

AlanOB

Entonces wrote: »

Thanks for that.
Is the city hard to get through while the marathon is on?

More impossible than hard, to be honest!

FutureGuy

I've always felt the GLR should be on a separate weekend. Nothing worse that not being able to pig out around town on the Saturday with the run on the Sunday. Traffic is also a nightmare on Sundays.

Berty

Was in town. You'd be broke if you had kids in Arthur's quay park but lot of dead space. It's like they didn't get the retailer's they wanted.

The only thing that annoyed me was the supposed only place to cross by Penney's, other than the lights, was blocked by some BBQ crowd, who only had sausages.

Town was packed though. We spent money in town today, money normally spent in the crescent. Riverfest wasn't the draw though, darkness into light t-shirt collection was it.

Had it not been so windy it might have been a nicer day in the park though.

zulutango

panda100 wrote:

It's madness that traffic is being allowed along Honans Quay! The traffic lights stopped working earlier as well making it very tricky to walk easily between arthurs quay and the bbq at house without dodging cars.

They switched the traffic lights off to enable traffic to move more freely. All it really did was create chaos and make the city hostile for people trying to walk around it.

If the Council were serious about creating a good, annual festival that would attract large numbers of visitors and put the city on the map then they should have closed the entire city centre to traffic for the weekend and given most of the streets given over to people and events.

Riverfest 2017 is as ill-conceived and unambitious as all the previous years. But because of the Great Limerick Run and some activities on the river and a fun fair in Arthur's Quay Park we'll no doubt be told that it was a roaring success.

um7y1h83ge06nx

The wife and I popped in on Saturday. Arthur's Quay seemed a bit mad with a big queue at the entrance. What made it worse is that there was a bottleneck as people were allowed exit though the entrance. They should have been directed to the exits instead. We moved on as it looked like it wasn't going to move any time soon.

Then we walked down in the direction of the BBQ competition. Was surprised that the boardwalk wasn't used for entertainers. The BBQ area was very cramped, they really should have spread things out more. Reminded me of that food festival in the Milk Market last year, and not in a good way - a poor use of space causing bottlenecks.

Maybe we didn't give things a chance but there didn't seem to be all that much happening. About 5 years ago I was down in Waterford at the Spraoi festival and thought it was a great example of a street festival. Something they could take some inspiration from.

Insect Overlord

The concert and the fireworks were both class last night. I dunno where that weather came from for the run, but it was glorious. Great day for the Great Run.

Parchment

I am just back from a walk around the city - i cannot get over the mess left by the race. There were bottles EVERYWHERE - the small kids water bottles that were being given out at the race. also gel packs and random bits of clothes people discarded as they ran.

I was chatting to a few residents near me and everyone is appalled. I remember last year posting about the same thing - rubbish left everywhere, race specific rubbish.

These people who organise this race do so for profit - we are then supposed to put up with the mess behind and i assume they are waiting for the council to clean it up. I saw some volunteers for the race picking up bottles on the Ennis Road but walk down the North Circular Road and the place is littered. Its disgusting.

I will be emailing the council and organisers to voice my anger about this - im sure it will fall on deaf ears.

browne_rob5

Parchment wrote: »

I am just back from a walk around the city - i cannot get over the mess left by the race. There were bottles EVERYWHERE - the small kids water bottles that were being given out at the race. also gel packs and random bits of clothes people discarded as they ran.

I was chatting to a few residents near me and everyone is appalled. I remember last year posting about the same thing - rubbish left everywhere, race specific rubbish.

These people who organise this race do so for profit - we are then supposed to put up with the mess behind and i assume they are waiting for the council to clean it up. I saw some volunteers for the race picking up bottles on the Ennis Road but walk down the North Circular Road and the place is littered. Its disgusting.

I will be emailing the council and organisers to voice my anger about this - im sure it will fall on deaf ears.

That's very poor alright. I walked along the green way and around part of the city and that has been cleaned up.

Might be good to let the organisers know too.

seachto7

What is it with Limerick and problems with festivals .

AlanOB

Hey, at least the biannual Siege of Limerick continues to go off without a hitch!

Not really a festival, but requires a lot of organisation I imagine.

Parchment

Parchment wrote: »

I am just back from a walk around the city - i cannot get over the mess left by the race. There were bottles EVERYWHERE - the small kids water bottles that were being given out at the race. also gel packs and random bits of clothes people discarded as they ran.

I was chatting to a few residents near me and everyone is appalled. I remember last year posting about the same thing - rubbish left everywhere, race specific rubbish.

These people who organise this race do so for profit - we are then supposed to put up with the mess behind and i assume they are waiting for the council to clean it up. I saw some volunteers for the race picking up bottles on the Ennis Road but walk down the North Circular Road and the place is littered. Its disgusting.

I will be emailing the council and organisers to voice my anger about this - im sure it will fall on deaf ears.

12000 people did the run. I wasn't one of them but I drove passed them in Dooradoyle on my way to Cork yesterday morning. Yes, there was litter during and after the event but that is to be expected after an event like that. I left Limerick from my house in Dooradoyle at around 11 am for Cork and and was back home at roughly 3 pm. It was like nothing had happened when I returned. Streets cleared, fences removed etc. By all means, voice your anger to the council but I hope you realize that this event is one of the best things that happens in this city every year. The volunteers are incredible.



Also, huge respect to the soldier who I saw running the half or full marathon in full army gear including boots with a heavy looking backpack in aid of Sophies Journey. Incredible.

Insect Overlord

Where's the best place to look for photos of the run? Richard Lynch's site has over 1000 pictures up, but a lot of those were of groups at the starting line or marathon runners finishing. I couldn't find myself in any of them, so I'm hoping some of the other photographers might have snapped me during the race!

Parchment

Snotaul Goodman wrote: »

12000 people did the run. I wasn't one of them but I drove passed them in Dooradoyle on my way to Cork yesterday morning. Yes, there was litter during and after the event but that is to be expected after an event like that. I left Limerick from my house in Dooradoyle at around 11 am for Cork and and was back home at roughly 3 pm. It was like nothing had happened when I returned. Streets cleared, fences removed etc. By all means, voice your anger to the council but I hope you realize that this event is one of the best things that happens in this city every year. The volunteers are incredible.



Also, huge respect to the soldier who I saw running the half or full marathon in full army gear including boots with a heavy looking backpack in aid of Sophies Journey. Incredible.

I have no issue with the run - where did you get that from?

I have an issue with litter being left around the city after an event. The run is a business event for the organisers - if any other business left the city strewn with rubbish it wouldn't be acceptable.

bigpink

Best day weather wise and the bar in the park closed

phog

An File wrote: »

Where's the best place to look for photos of the run? Richard Lynch's site has over 1000 pictures up, but a lot of those were of groups at the starting line or marathon runners finishing. I couldn't find myself in any of them, so I'm hoping some of the other photographers might have snapped me during the race!

The GLR will email you a link with photos of yourself in the run and at or near the finish line.

Reputable Rog

Parchment wrote: »

I have no issue with the run - where did you get that from?

I have an issue with litter being left around the city after an event. The run is a business event for the organisers - if any other business left the city strewn with rubbish it wouldn't be acceptable.

The mess left behind by the market traders on the streets every Saturday is unacceptable and never commented on here.
For years the debris was turning up on Patrick's Street, Cruises Street and Arthur's Quay.

phog

Parchment wrote: »

I have no issue with the run - where did you get that from?

I have an issue with litter being left around the city after an event. The run is a business event for the organisers - if any other business left the city strewn with rubbish it wouldn't be acceptable.

The road is closed for a period of time during and after the race, once reopened the bottles are collected.

What time did you see the litter?

I was in town yesterday evening and can't say I noticed too much litter that you could say was there because of the race.

Parchment

phog wrote: »

The road is closed for a period of time during and after the race, once reopened the bottles are collected.

What time did you see the litter?

I was in town yesterday evening be can't say I noticed too much little that you say was there because of the race.

This morning at 11am- all along the north circular road - the entire loop is covered in rubbish.

panda100

bigpink wrote:

Best day weather wise and the bar in the park closed

Chez le fab is always closed on a Monday as far as I'm aware. Also, they were brilliant for all of Riverfest and had a fire show on until quite late last night. There was huge crowds there and it was great to see them doing so well.

I am well and truely wrecked after my weekend in Limerick! Was great fun from start to finish. Had a great time doing the half marathon yesterday. The support along the route was incredible and there was a great buzz around last night. Cracking weekend, though the weather did help enormously.

phog

Parchment wrote: »

This morning at 11am- all along the north circular road - the entire loop is covered in rubbish.

That sounds a tad casual from whomever is responsible, a few hours is acceptable but leaving it there overnight is close to giving the 2 fingers to the residents.

Parchment

phog wrote: »

That sounds a tad casual from whomever is responsible, a few hours is acceptable but leaving it there overnight is close to giving the 2 fingers to the residents.

Exactly. I doubt anyone was coming to clean it.