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Child Item

Winterval 24.

greenspurs

I couldnt find a thread ?!??

Anyway - i, and most people i have spoken to , have found Winterval very poor this year.

Its in decline, and really needs new ideas , fresh places to see/go.

The same stuff every year will soon lose its appeal.
The light show used to be the highlight, now its just a mish mash of random images and music - Is it meant for the kids ?? Or the parents??

The few stalls are just mostly selling tat (the lad with the "del boy" accent and attitude selling perfume/after shave??) …. Have they priced decent stalls out of the running to rent the spots?

The movie showing in the Reg , The horse and Carriage, the "real" santa in the Bishops Palace , Cathedral Sq was magic, the train around the town (not the toy train they have now !!??!)

All gone now, and for the overall experience , they are missed badly….
I know they added the Big Top music gigs (not sure how they went?)

All the hype about "European city of Xmas" … but it felt a bit flat …….

It needs rethinking and a few fresh ideas to reinvigorate it? Or is it ok ?

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azimuth17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123038917#Comment_123038917

One would be forgiven for suspecting a new account opened to back up opinions expressed elsewhere. All a bit too glib for me.

greenspurs

Keep up the fight boy…

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123024539#Comment_123024539

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123038723#Comment_123038723

You seem to have the big problem with people from outside yere boundry not saying Waterford is the best?

Twice you have mentioned and insinuated it ….. 😂 🤣

"There speaks a poster from County Kilkenny who describes our city as "your town". Says it all really."

"Forgive me if I thought from a previous thread that you said you were not from Waterford."

So only waterford natives can have an opinion? Maybe thats the root of the problem ??

azimuth17

I have a problem with begrudgers who cant wait until something in Waterford is over before rushing in to open a thread with a litany of negativity.

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123039995#Comment_123039995

Honest assessment = Begrudgery nowadays? 🤔

Yeh, looks like it … Anyway "enjoy Waterford" .. ❤️

Slán ..

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123039995#Comment_123039995

Okay - just for you ….. I will go through my post.

Anyway - i, and most people i have spoken to , have found Winterval very poor this year.

Its in decline, and really needs new ideas , fresh places to see/go.

My opinion - Allowed to give it?

The same stuff every year will soon lose its appeal.

An observation - and true in most things

The light show used to be the highlight, now its just a mish mash of random images and music - Is it meant for the kids ?? Or the parents??

Simple question - is it now aimed at kids or their parents?

The few stalls are just mostly selling tat (the lad with the "del boy" accent and attitude selling perfume/after shave??) …. Have they priced decent stalls out of the running to rent the spots?

Yep - Plastic swords, dodgy aftershave/perfume, not many of the stall holders of previous years have returned - priced out?

The movie showing in the Reg , The horse and Carriage, the "real" santa in the Bishops Palace , Cathedral Sq was magic, the train around the town (not the toy train they have now !!??!)

Examples of things that were there , and worked well, All points pretty optimistic ? Yeh ? Litany of negativity ?

All gone now, and for the overall experience , they are missed badly….

I know they added the Big Top music gigs (not sure how they went?)

A statement of fact - with a personal opinion.
And then a question - sort of….

All the hype about "European city of Xmas" … but it felt a bit flat …….

It needs rethinking and a few fresh ideas to reinvigorate it? Or is it ok ?

Again, closed it with my opinion.

Hardly the "Litany of Negativity " as you have said?

And if you thought it was so good, why wasnt there a thread about it before i posted ?

I started it , and you and your buddy came in and derailed it with your " your not from around here, how dare you" posts.

azimuth17

Greenspurs: No one said you could not comment. The number of people who attended speaks for itself.

"Anyway - i, and most people i have spoken to , have found Winterval very poor this year."

Your first sentence, the first post on the first thread, setting the scene, the position of some Kilkenny people, as ever. Default to the dark side about anything in Waterford.

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123040676#Comment_123040676

Who said they were Kilkenny people??

They were actually from Waterford …..

The Kilkenny chip on your shoulder is hysterical …..

🤣 🤣 🤣

azimuth17

When you're explaining you're losing…! And you've lost!

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123040394#Comment_123040394

Had you have wrote this 3 or 4 years ago I might have been more inclined to agree with you, since winterval has come back under Eventbrite they (I feel) have turned it around.

The numbers are there to prove that. 1.8 million unique visitors attended the festival (this includes removing the local population), if it was flat we would see numbers fall over the years but they continue to increase.

I said this previously you feel it's gone stale and your solution is to bring back old items? Surely rather than going back the way new ideas should be suggested?

You spoke of the train and horse drawn carriage, every week there were complaints of both of those holding up traffic and animal welfare claims, so where would the argument be to bring them back?

The comment about the "real Santa", did you visit Santa this year? Pure curious as the lad we saw was excellent, his look, clothing and personality, both kids even remarked, that was definitely the real Santa, can't ask for much more than that.

I agree with some of your points, I think the light show is better on a building such as in cathedral square (possibly increased numbers or wanting to keep people around the shopping areas is why it is where it is),

The waiting area for Santa this year could have been a little better.

I prefer the santa box in the apple market and perhaps the portal could have been located in or around JRS.

That said anything I said above I didn't feel took from the event and definitely (in my opinion) didn't make it feel flat or that it is on its last legs

But other than that I felt it was a great year for winterval, even before the numbers where announced I felt it was the biggest crowd that I have seen at it.

The big top events were very good with good crowds, the parade was very good with the pyrotechnics show after it. The atmosphere around the city was fantastic, the shops, pubs, cafes etc seemed to be doing well from it.

Perhaps when the horses, train etc were present you were the bones of 10 years younger and just don't find the same joy in it now?

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123040974#Comment_123040974

Great comeback …….

without dealing with any of the points ……

If you have no relevant input why troll the thread???

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123041135#Comment_123041135

Numbers in the door, dont always equate to 1.8mill (how do they get that figure?) satisfied customers though does it?

when i spoke about the 'old items' … it was more a case of - Why did they remove them? , but i would think they should be brought back.

The light show was really the 'marquee' event of the visit, Cathedral Sq was perfect , a fine beautiful building being used … Now its just kind shoe horned in, and doesnt seem as 'special' …….

Santa Box and Portal - i agree.

Maybe, just maybe , i am too old then 😯

Meatball.Martin

BTW as an aside..trying to access Winterval via the Ferrybank side was an absolute nightmare… the bones of an hour to travel barely a mile.. WTF's going on?? Last time I was in Waterfjord the roadworks were starting… IIRC is twas August 20-23.. yet almost 18month later the roads still a complete mess… why so long to fix or relalign this tiny section?? I mentioned it some locals told me that is been chaos @ peak hours since the roadworks started. I did a bit of research & saw that the main contractor is BAM. Enough said. Waterfjord will be lucky if its done b4 the end of the decade if the Nat Childrens Hospital is anything to go by! Visitors do not want to be stuck in a long tailback for an hour funnelled onto a dirt track dangerous road than a tiny piece of dual carriageway before snail-like progress over the bridge where it seems the traffic lights only allow about 10 cars through at a time. And before someone says take the newer bridge than a lot of ppl would just continue to Cork or elsewhere given the choice. Fact. It took me 1hr 20min to drive from Dublin + 1 hr to drive from a church in Ferrybank to a car park on The Kay.

And all that hassle for a new train station. And sweet FA else on the Quays. What a waste IMO. Any other Irish City would be up in arms at losing two developers on the site.

azimuth17

Greenspurs" You jumped in with a new thread and let fly.. Your first line"most people I spoke to have found Winterval very poor this year" versus 1.8m visitors, said it all.

You should really look up the meaning of confirmation bias before you press that big post comment button!

914

"The visitor data was collected through Smart City Data Collection which is operated by Three Data Analytics on behalf of Waterford City and County Council.

According to the data, 3 per cent of the visitors to Winterval were from outside of the country with the UK, Netherlands and the US featuring highly as the visitor's country of origin followed by France and Spain. Ninety-seven per cent of visitors came from Ireland, with a large proportion of these visitors from the Southeast region and also from Dublin.

Five per cent of attendees to Winterval were overnight visitors to the festival (accounting for 53,000 people) with the remainder being daytrippers."

Not sure how it's gathered that would be a question for Three Ireland I guess.

1.8 million doesn't say 1.8million happy people but you would expect a fair chunk of that were happy, even if only 50% we happy and it only attracted 900k next year that would still be a 200k increase on 2023, even worse case it dropped to 500k, that is still a massive boost to the city, when traders desperately need it.

While it might not have ticked everyone's box, it's a huge boost to the city.

914

Sweet lord.

First Winterval, then Spraoi, now the North Quays.

Feel free to have a pop at anything of comment in the correct threads. There are already threads on Spraoi and the North Quays. Keep these comments to Winterval.

Boooourns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123041894#Comment_123041894

😂 How did you end up by the Ferrybank church if you drove down from Dublin?

Yes this profile is perfectly fine, not made up to agree with another one in any way.....

greenspurs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123043803#Comment_123043803

poor attempt by 914 ..

Meatball.Martin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123043803#Comment_123043803

There is an alternative coastal route if you drive from SoCoDub - via the M-11 and the N-25… If you happened to live in South Co Dublin its an oxymoron to drive back the m.50 to the Red Cow and then on via the m.7-m.9 to Waterford… so IIRC if one were to take the m.11 route via New Ross I think you'll find you do indeed pass the Ferrybank Church when entering Waterford, Mr Bourns,,, so get out of the parish once in awhile and you'll discover there's multiple ways of reaching your little town!

914

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123077422#Comment_123077422

Well you obviously haven't discovered multiple ways of reaching our little town.

As you pass the Rhu Gown you can take the by pass and enter via the far side of the train station or even continue over the TFM bridge and enter the city via the south.

A bit of pre planning with Google maps and you would have known that the Ferrybank entrance was blocked up.

914

Out of interest Meatball, if Waterford is so bad why bothering visiting?

You seem to have a lot of issues with Waterford and a lot of negativity towards Waterford.

If it's not enjoyable why visit? Why so much negativity towards Waterford?

Major infrastructure works are taking place on the North Quays, Dock Road, Abbey Road and surrounding areas.

This is the construction of a new train station, new river crossing, realignment and construction of new roads, roundabouts, access bridges, footpaths and watered improvement works.

Add all that it with 1.8 million people visiting the city over Christmas and one night expect tailbacks.

Would you honestly think that level of work about being completed any quicker?

azimuth17

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123077567#Comment_123077567

Why bother answering those miserable posts?

Boooourns

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123077422#Comment_123077422

1hr 20mins on the coastal road 😂😂 and then 1hr from Ferrybank church 😂

Fantastic storytelling.

If you knew there was multiple ways of reaching our city then why didn't you use the easiest route 😂, oh dear.

This second boards account is failing badly.

Valhalla90

I see some of the lights are back on along the quay yet they were off over Christmas. It’s these things that I can’t understand.