Date

17-22 February 2025

Location

Various locations across Waterford

Price

All events are free of charge

Well Festival of Arts and Wellbeing 2025 will take place in venues across Waterford city and county, with an inspirational line-up of over 30 fun, free and sociable arts events for all ages. The festival includes dedicated activities for younger audiences through the Wellies programme.

Presented by Waterford Healing Arts and Waterford Libraries, festivalgoers will experience the joy of creativity through music, art, dance, literature, talks, workshops and interactive opportunities for all ages. The Wellies programme for younger audiences includes dance workshops, crafting, storytelling and more.

Now in its 12th year, the festival celebrates how the arts make us feel good and inspire us. Echoing nature’s journey from winter into spring, with the evenings getting a little brighter and new life beginning to appear, the Well Festival invites people to venture out, explore and make new connections.

In addition to events across the city, the festival has a special focus on arts for people in healthcare settings with a range of activities and immersive experiences planned for patients and staff at University Hospital Waterford.

Festival Highlights 

  • Fancy a lift? A daily postcard with poetry, curated by poet Kerrie O’Brien, delivered on meal trays to patients at University Hospital Waterford (UHW), and available to all through Central Library, Lady Lane, Waterford and Dungarvan Library, Davitt’s Quay, Dungarvan, Co Waterford and online via wellwaterford.com from 9am each day.
  • Why Arts? The Annual Réalta-Well Festival Keynote conversation, featuring Dr Austin O’Carroll, champion of quality healthcare access for all, with Waterford’s Dermot Keyes, Monday 17 Feb, 6pm at Réalta Centre for Arts + Health, UHW. Dr O’Carroll will talk about the value of the arts in his life. He has been a GP in Dublin’s inner city since 1997 and is passionate about improving access to quality primary healthcare for communities affected by marginalisation or deprivation.
  • Slow Stitching – Sip and sew for wellness: Discover the ancient art of mark making through needle, thread and fabric with Christina Drennan. A social sewing session, on Tuesday 18 February at Central Library from 10am-12.30pm. Booking essential.
  • Dance Yourself Free! An energising dance workshop for teens aged 15-18 with Sinéad Gould at Central Library on Tuesday 18 February. Booking essential.
  • Cuppa & Ceol: A sociable, music-infused tea party with well-known musician Liam Merriman, Monday 17 Feb from 10.30am at Carrickphierish Library, Carrickphierish Road, Gracedieu, Waterford.
  • Yutori: A unique ambient sound art installation by Patrick McGlynn aka Dr Mindflip, with sounds that change depending on the day, hour and minute. It will be positioned in the UHW main foyer during the Well Festival, and in various public and patient spaces at the hospital thereafter.
  • Fragments of Motifs in Nature: An exhibition by artist Rica Shimabukuro whose exquisite and intricate artworks transport the viewer away from stress and worry into a fantasy world of wild birds, plants and movement – at UHW. Rica will also run an interactive workshop on Monday 17 February – booking is essential.
  • Mystic Holistic: Nature Crafts & Mindfulness for children aged 8 to 12. Join artist Claire O’Sullivan for a fun workshop of creative, wild art and crafts. Thursday 20 February at Central Library, 1pm, and Carrickphierish Library, 3pm – booking is essential.
  • Sunshine – Sharing writings to brighten our souls: A friendly evening of poetry and song at the Book Centre, Waterford. With artist, writer and photographer Catherine Drea and musician Bill Stuart, Friday 21 February at 6pm – all welcome.

Thanks to the festival’s funders and supporters, including the Arts Council, the HSE and Waterford City and County Council, all events this year are free of charge. Some events still need to be booked to ensure a place.

Download the festival programme: Well-Festival-brochure-online.pdf

Detailed listings are also available at www.wellwaterford.com

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