Look Mammy, he's standing on his head! SPWC 2008

Fair play to Conor McCarthy and Mark Duckenfield, two ambitious, enthusiastic guys who are bringing back one of THE BEST free festivals to Dublin this year.



Over three days and two nights from June 13 to 16, Merrion Square will once again be transformed into a huge playground where some of the best Street Performers in the world will do their best to entertain the crowds at the 2008 Street Performance World Championships.

I went last year with a group of friends and it was just brilliant. The performers were amazing and the crowd reaction was fantastic.



From the legend who is Australian Space Cowboy (balancing, juggling, sword swallowing) to performers from Ireland, Russia, Canada, England, Japan, Tanzania, Somalia and the USA this will be a great festival of juggling, acrobatics, comedy, magic, street theatre and balancing that will just defy belief.

Here's Space Cowboy from last year:



But that's not all. No siree bob. There's also face painting, a clay workshop for children, a 30 foot long sleeping pig (!) and an Elvis Simulator dotted around the Square.



One of the best features I think will be the hard of hearing performance area, where sign interpreters from the Centre of Deaf Studies will be helping out all day Saturday and Sunday to make sure that even people who can't hear all the craic can still very much be part of it.



Finally, there'll be two Once In A Lifetime (!) FREE "Bravoshos" on at Dublin Castle with all of the performers on stage doing their acts!

The shows are on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 June in the garden outside the Chester Beatty Library at 6pm for people aged 14+. You should arrive as early as possible to get their wristbands that will allow you entry.

All the performances will be free, though the customary hat will be doing the rounds to allow you to show your appreciation for some of the best performers in the world.

I was lucky enough to be at the volunteer meeting last night and saw these guys in action - the video's on one side and not great quality, but you'll get the idea:



You can check out all the great action on the website: http://www.spwc.ie

Hope to see you there!