Mayor looks forward to St. Patrick's Day

She said: “I have no doubt that the St. Patrick’s Day Spring Carnival will be a great weekend of family fun, music, culture, dance, food and folklore.

“We have a beautiful city and district and a great reputation for welcoming visitors and making their stay enjoyable.

“Our St. Patrick Day’s celebrations traditionally attract families and visitors from near and far, all keen to join us for the weekend festivities.

“To ensure we keep our reputation and you keep yourself and others safe, please be aware of your own actions and that of others, as it is important that people of all ages thoroughly enjoy the celebrations.

“To be certain this happens I would ask the public to adhere to the advice issued by Council regarding issues such as; personal safety, alcohol consumption, overcrowding and fire safety.”

She added: “This year we celebrate the carnival to the theme of ‘Forever Young’ – a celebration of youthfulness of mind and spirit.

“Let us all celebrate our youth, young and old and have a safe, enjoyable weekend together. I wish you all a very safe, fun and happy weekend!”

The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations will run concurrently with the LegenDerry Food Festival and a host of arts and multi-cultural events including The Ubuntu Global Festival, Urban Villages and Communities United Spring Festivals. St. Patrick’s Day Carnival Parades will take place on Friday, March 17 in the city centre and in Strabane. Over 500 people from community based carnival programmes will take part in the parade which can be viewed in the city centre from 2pm as it departs from Queen’s Quay. This year’s city centre parade follows a new route from the Council car park, to Strand Road, past the City Hotel roundabout and along the Foyle Embankment to Water St (Sandino’s).

The parade will then turn and continue back along the same route, before finishing at Queen’s Quay, Council car park.

There will be entertainment throughout the afternoon in both Waterloo Place in the city centre.

For more details visit: www.derrystrabane.com/springcarnival.