The Big Family Fun Day took place in Tipperary Town on Saturday, July 18th, as part of the Tipperary Together Festival. bringing families from across the region together for an afternoon packed with free entertainment, live performances, creative activities, and community spirit.

Held in the grounds of The Abbey School, with the funfair located in the Abbey Street car park, the event transformed the heart of Tipperary Town into one of the county’s biggest free family celebrations. Visitors enjoyed circus shows, live music, giant games, delicious local food, sweet treats, and activities for all ages in a welcoming festival atmosphere.

One of the highlights of the day was the amazing performance by Circo Goyo, who travelled from Argentina with his larger-than-life balloon act. Families also had the opportunity to join the Wobbly Circus workshops, where children and adults learned circus skills including wire-walking, plate-spinning, juggling, and more.

The Big Family Fun Day showcased the incredible talent within the local community, featuring performances from the Tipperary Community Choir, St. Anne’s Junk Kouture, Golden Vale Performing Arts, and the vibrant Community Samba Carnival, keeping crowds entertained throughout the afternoon

There was plenty for children to enjoy, with face painting, badge-making, drawing, handmade crafts, giant games, and interactive activities creating smiles throughout the day. The event was expertly hosted by youth MCs Daniel and John, whose energy and enthusiasm kept the celebrations flowing from start to finish.

💚 Thank You for an Incredible Big Summer Family Fun Day! 💚

Our Tipperary Together Big Summer Family Fun Day was a true celebration of creativity, community and connection, and we are so grateful to everyone who joined us. Seeing over 1,500 people enjoy the shows, creative activities in Abbey School Field, and the Fun Fair in Abbey Street Car Park was simply incredible, and a wonderful reflection of what can happen when a community comes together.

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing artists, performers, facilitators, community groups, volunteers, local businesses and partners who filled the day with joy, colour, music and creativity. A very special thanks to the Abbey School for kindly lending us their space on the day.

Performers & Artists
Wobbly Circus, Circo Goyo, Tipperary One Town One Voice Choir, St. Anne’s Secondary School’s Junk Kouture designers Aoife Butler and Isabel Slattery, Andy Spearpoint (Community Samba Carnival Drumming Facilitator), Mags Rudnicka (Community Samba Carnival Mask and Costume Making Facilitator),  Golden Vale Performing Arts, Fable Lane, and our wonderful MCs, John Bradbury and Marko Grubo.

Creative Activities
A special thank you to Eddie and Lucy Barnfather for badge making, Brigid Teehan for creative drawing, and our fantastic face painter Miah.

Special thanks to Knockanrawley Family Resource Centre and Lisa Kennedy, Tipperary Town Tidy Towns, and Tipperary County Council Environment & Climate Action for helping make the day such a success. Thanks also to the Tipperary Town Red Cross & the Tipperary Town community Gardai John and Ray for taking such good care of us.

Festival team: Aysegul Yuzel (Project Coordinator/Festival Artistic Director), Annemarie Ryan Shiner (Festival Producer), Lucy Barnfather (Local Artist Network Facilitator), Ciara Hickey (Project Assistant), Lisa McGrath (Big Summer Family Fun Day Event Manager), Casey Walsh (Big Summer Family Fun Day Site Manager) and Caleb Barrett (Photography & Videography)Thank you to Anne Hadnett and Sharon O’Dwyer from the Tipperary Town Business Alliance team for their invaluable partnership and support in bringing the event to life.  

Special thanks also to Stevie O’Donnell, Mutt Crowe, Seamie Curtin, and Georgina Barrett for all their support throughout the day. To our wonderful volunteers: Snizhana, Edward, Muhammad, Liudmyla, Anastasiia, Oleksii. Thank you for your enthusiasm, generosity and hard work. We couldn’t have done it without you. Also, to Paddy Dalton, Mikey and Johnny Ryan Doe, Seamus O’Grady, Pa Ryan, John Cross & Eamon Ryan for the heavy lifting!

We would also like to warmly thank all of our funders, partners and supporters for their incredible welcome, generosity and continued support: the Arts Council of Ireland, Youth Work Ireland Tipperary, Tipperary County Council and Tipperary Arts Office, SICAP, the Ukrainian Community and Kateryna Rodriguez, Tipperary ETB, and Tipperary Town Revitalisation

Most importantly, thank you to every child, family, friend and visitor who came along, laughed, danced, created, explored and celebrated with us. You are what makes Tipperary Together so special.