Sophie Clarke: Culture Night walked so the Fleadh could run
For years, Culture Night was one of the highlights of Belfast’s calendar.
I remember going as a teenager and experiencing a totally different vibe around the city centre.
There was live music, street food, performances and packed venues with people moving between different parts of the city and discovering new and exciting things they probably wouldn’t usually have sought out.
In many ways, it was a smaller version of what Belfast experienced during the Fleadh this summer.
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Which is why, in the aftermath of a hugely successful Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the return of Culture Night next month feels particularly significant.
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The Fleadh showed that Belfast’s problems are all solvable. When the occasion demands it, public bodies, businesses, event organisers and city services can work together around the experience........