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Green light for Christmas! …and lots of events: Dublin Book Festival, Sustainable Days, Other Voices and more

The news is good! ;-) Santa will be allowed to cross county borders after 18 Dec, so Christmas can now definitely go ahead! ;-) We might be in some more difficulties in January, but for now, we can start to look forward to Christmas. The announcements last night about the changed restrictions from the current Level 5 down to Covid Level 3.74 at some time in steps from Tuesday is a workable compromise. The details are explained here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/ad569-level-3/ It’s not perfect and won’t please everyone, but it is the right move after the last six weeks and ahead of Christmas.

Yes, Christmas will be different than normally, but that is no surprise, right? There won’t be any Christmas Markets (More details about that at the end of this newsletter!), there won’t be a Gardiner Street Gospel Choir concert this year (I would normally prepare for that right now.) or any other live gigs. Also no “12 Pubs of Christmas”, no Christmas Parties at work, lots more Zoom calls and still no hugging of friends.

But museums and other cultural venues will re-open on Tuesday, shops will re-open, sports training is possible again (and my newest passion “Padel Tennis” will resume ;-) ), we can go to restaurants again from 04 Dec. And then over Christmas, we can even visit family and friends (up to 2 other households).

BUT, let’s not forget that there are still risks out there especially – but not only! – for vulnerable people. So keep your distance, meet outdoors where possible and remember that it is OUR behaviour (not the rules given by the government) that decides what will happen next.

Events are NOT happening before Christmas unfortunately, so in that area there are no good news, but events WILL be back and in the meantime I will continue looking for online events for you and I will make sure that the Dublin Event Guide will keep going even in times when we all are waiting for proper events again.

I do need your help, though, during that time! The Dublin Event Guide is kept going by you and you only! This is the deal that has worked until now and I hope it will continue to work: I do the work and find lots of free events for you and you help me pay the bills through donations. As long as this works, I will continue. Promise!!

I am not asking for a lot, but I think one or two Euro per MONTH is a very fair suggestion. So for the year, this would be 12 Euro or – for people you can afford a bit more – just 24 Euro per year! That is ONLY 23 (or 46) cent per weekly Dublin Event Guide edition! An amazingly low cost for the great value that you get every week! :-)

I do need your help, though during that time! The Dublin Event Guide is kept going by you and you only! This is the deal that has worked until now and I hope it will continue to work: I do the work and find lots of free events for you and you help me pay the bills through donations. As long as this works, I will continue. Promise!!

I am not asking for a lot, but I think one or two Euro per MONTH is a very fair suggestion. So for the year, this would be 12 Euro or – for people you can afford a bit more – just 24 Euro per year! That is ONLY 23 (or 46) cent per weekly Dublin Event Guide edition! An amazingly low cost for the great value that you get every week! :-)

Please donate via www.paypal.me/DublinEventGuide
or for Revolut users among you just via 0872931571.

And if 12 Euro is too much for you, then it would be great if you bought one or two or even three virtual coffees for the Dublin Event Guide and you can do that on the “Buy Me a Coffee” page here www.buymeacoffee.com/DublinEventG

And come over to www.DublinEventGuide.com to check out some of the ads and click on the ones that you find interesting. It really helps if you do that! ;-)

Thank you!!

The EPIC Zone

And here are as many free events for you as I could find:

I hope everybody knows that all events in the Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events) are actually free. ;-)

Saturday

++ DUBLIN BOOK FESTIVAL Fri 27 Nov – Sun 06 Dec – Most of the events are free, but require registration. The full programme is here dublinbookfestival.com/programme2020/
++ Sustainable Days (Workshops, Online Events, Webinars & Talks, Competitions) Learn about Sustainability – Family Programme Sat 28 + Sun 29 Nov 10:30-20:30 sustainabledays.ie/programme (more information at the end of this newsletter)
+ Herbert Park Market 11:00-16:00 Herbert Park, Dublin 4 www.facebook.com/Herbert-Park-Market-405930226496273/
+ Blackrock Market 11:00-17:30 Main Street, Blackrock, Co. Dublin www.facebook.com/BlackrockMarket/
+ Dublin Art Book Fair 2020 – Temple Bar Gallery + Studios 11:00-19:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/198786541334642
+ EcoCraft Waste – Interactive Workshop with Rediscovery Centre – Sustainable Days 11:30-12:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/3714124138619479/ (Booking required)
+ Sundays@Noon Online: Deirdre Moynihan (Soprano) and Alec O’Leary (Guitar) – Concert 12:00-13:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/187770292960937/
+ Sunday Organ Recitals in Dublin’s Pro-Cathedral 12:15-12:45 Online www.facebook.com/events/3308268452781819/

+ Science and the Environment – Interactive Workshop with Rediscovery Centre – Sustainable Days 15:30-16:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/358559691872788/ (Booking required)
+ The Strays – Gig – Rock ‘n’ Roll from Cheltenham 17:00-18:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/1243559349356532/
+ Piper Sunday Seminar with Seán Gavin – Southern California Uilleann Pipers Club 19:00-20:30 Online www.facebook.com/events/647366659279655/
+ Motherload – Film screening & Discussion 19:00-22:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/469127437400386/ (Booking required)
+ Gardiner Street Gospel Choir – Online Mass 19:30-20:30 Online www.facebook.com/TheGSGC/
+ Thingamajig live on Irishgigs 20:00-21:00 Online www.facebook.com/events/274844227105706/
+ #TheAxisChats with artistic director of Druid Theatre Company and Tony award winning director Garry Hynes – Axis Ballymun 21:00 Online axisballymun.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173605997

I found a few more things to keep you going or that you might find interesting:

1) CHRISTMAS MARKETS IN DUBLIN
It is now official that there will be NO Christmas Markets this year in Dublin. We never ever heard about plans regarding the Christmas Market at Dublin Castle, so it is unclear if that was planned to come back. It was extremely popular last year and while some tweaks would have been required, the majority of people would definitely have come back. Let’s hope there will be a “Christmas at the Castle” market next year.
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A new Christmas Market was announced for the Fruit and Vegetable Market in Mary’s Lane, near Capel Street. The market was meant to be called “Mistletown” and would have been run by the people that organised the (previously not so successful) last Christmas Market at the chq building at the IFSC. I was hoping for an improved concept, but unfortunately we will have to wait until 2021 to find out more.
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And the Dublin Flea Market Christmas Market that took place at the Point Theatre/3Arena before had been cancelled already anyway because the venue is not available anymore.
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So as a result we have not a single Christmas Market in 2020. This is sad, but events with lots of people are just not the right thing to do at the moment and because of that, most other Christmas Markets have been cancelled all over Europe. Even the biggest and one of the most popular markets in Germany, the Nuremberg Christkindel Market (www.christkindlesmarkt.de/) has been cancelled. So our void in Dublin us shared all over Europe! Let’s hope for a MUCH better Christmas 2021!

2) CHRISTMAS FM
Christmas FM is back! The launch will be today at 12:00 and then they will be on air either via their website christmasfm.com/ or on your analog FM radio on frequency 105.2 in Dublin. Charity partner this year is ALONE, the organisation that supports older people to age at home. Christmas FM will play Christmas songs (and nothing else!) around the clock until 27 December.

3) DUBLIN BOOK FESTIVAL
The Dublin Book Festival will this year take place from Fri 27 Nov – Sun 06 Dec. As you can imagine, the events are all online but the good news with that is that they are easier accessible and also that most events are free. If you are interested in books and reading, check out the full programme here dublinbookfestival.com/programme2020/

4) SUSTAINABLE DAYS EVENT
Sustainable Days is a 2-day event to educate participants about the sustainability movement through constructive play, entertaining talks and activities. You will learn how you can make a difference to the world we live in with subtle, everyday changes. There are lots of events on Saturday and Sunday. Some are booked out, others are still available. The full programme is here sustainabledays.ie/programme and to give you an idea about the topics that will be discussed and the workshops that are planned, I have included the full list of events below:
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Saturday 28 November
10:30 am Address from the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu
11:00 am Rediscover Cycling Virtual Workshop with Rediscovery Centre
11:30 pm Dublin City Tree Map
12:00 pm Discover Rediscovery centre’s Social Enterprises with a Virtual Tour with Luke Murphy
12:30 pm What is a Pollinator Plan? Discover the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan via RTE Nationwide
12:45 pm Time for Cooking with Mary Louise and Eimear to reduce food waste and save cash!
1:00 pm What is the Home Energy Saving Kit? with CODEMA
1:30 pm Gardening For Wildlife with Rediscovery Centre
2:00 pm Dara and Small Changes to Reduce Plastic Pollution
2:15 pm Find out about Dublin’s Native Tree Trails
2:30 pm Fashion for You and the Planet – Learn how to take the Fast out of Fashion with ECO-UNESCO
2:45 pm Time for Cooking Stovetop Chicken with Mary Louise and Eimear to reduce food waste and save cash!
3:00 pm Biodiversity Interactive Workshop with Rediscovery Centre
3:15 pm What to do before, during, and after a flood – enabling resilience in communities
3:30 pm How to use Bat Detectors with Bat Conservation Ireland
4:00 pm How to Make A Reusable Mask with Rediscovery Centre
4:30 pm Explore Your Shore’s Presentation with Dave Wall
5:00 pm Time for Cooking Chilli Beef with Mary Louise and Eimear to reduce food waste and save cash!
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10:30 am SEAI Creative Art Workshop with Alan Nolan
11:00 am Homemade Bird Nesting Material Box with Rediscovery Centre
11:30 am EcoCraft Waste Interactive Virtual Workshop with Rediscovery Centre
11.30pm Live more Sustainably during Lockdown
12:00pm Love This Place – Minimising our impact on our parks and beaches
12.30pm Sustainable bathroom tips by Rediscovery Centre
12:45pm Ireland’s 1st zero-emissions Hydrogen Bus on the streets of Dublin
1:00 pm Time for Cooking Sweetcorn Chowder with Mary Louise and Eimear to reduce food waste and save cash!
1:15pm Biodiversity in St Anne’s Park, Dublin
1:30 pm Dara and Small Changes to Reduce Plastic Pollution
2:00 pm Fireside Chats with Climate Action Practitioners
2:30 pm How to use Bat Detectors with Bat Conservation Ireland
3:00 pm Rubbish Puppet Making Workshop with KanDo Arts
3:15 pm Our bee species are in trouble with Pollinators Ireland
3:30 pm Science and the Environment Interactive Virtual Workshop with Rediscovery Centre
4:00 pm Get Drastic about Plastic by ECO-UNESCO
4:30 pm Time for Cooking Grill Honey Salmon with Mary Louise and Eimear to reduce food waste and save cash!
7:00 pm Motherload Virtual film screening!

5) LEARN A NEW SKILL WITH ONLINE COURSES – Special Offer
I just bought two new Udemy courses last week, how about you? What skills are you adding during lockdown? Udemy courses are still super popular because as long as we still spend a lot of time at home, it makes sense to use some of that time to learn something new.
Did you learn a new skill in the last few months? There are currently still some Black Friday discounts as far as I know, so check out the website at  shor.by/GqCk And if you buy through that link, you help the Dublin Event Guide! ;-)

6) READ MORE BOOKS – BLACK FRIDAY DISCOUNT
A new free Book summary can be found here every week: readitfor.me/91927 Readitfor.me actually provides a number of weekly free book summaries or you can buy monthly or even Lifetime access to their book summaries.
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To buy physical books and e-books I recommend Book Depository because they are usually cheaper than others and they always include delivery for free (and by using this link you help the Dublin Event Guide). Please don’t use any other links than the one below!! (Book Depository changed all their links and with the old one you don’t help the Dublin Event Guide.) With this link you do help the Dublin Event Guide when you purchase a book and it doesn’t cost you a cent: shor.by/BookDepository There is a Black Friday discount of an impressive 15% on all books from 27-29 Nov, so you can still get discounted books on Saturday and Sunday. Use the code IEBF15 at the checkout.