OVER 50,000 people are expected to descend on Limerick for the May Bank holiday weekend’s tenth annual Riverfest family festival, splashing out an estimated €5.5m on the local economy.
Running from May 2 to 5, Riverfest delivers Limerick’s busiest weekend of the year. Attendances for this year’s event are expected to be the largest ever thanks to heightened interest due to Limerick National City of Culture 2014.
Some 12,000 people alone will come in for the Great Limerick Run this Sunday, one of the anchor events for the Riverfest weekend.
Other major events in the city over the weekend include Ireland’s largest barbecue cook-off, the continental fair of European artisan producers and Fashion Friday, a outdoor fashion show extravaganza on Thomas Street. There’s also an impressive line-up of new additions this year including Wired and Free by Fidget Feet – a spectacular performance by Ireland’s leading aerial dance company at Arthur’s Quay this Sunday, May 4, at 2 and 5pm.
In a message of welcome, Mayor Kathleen Leddin said, “You can only be proud of what has been achieved by Riverfest. It’s the top destination nationwide for this first weekend of the summer.”
Riverfest is run on behalf of Limerick City and County Council by Futurama Productions and marketed by Limerick Marketing Company, whose CEO Eoghan Prendergast predicts that 2014 will be another growth year for the festival.
“We are expecting this to be our biggest year to date,” Mr Prendergast commented.
