Fooling around

I missed what was on offer at the Belfast Film Festival--some 130 films and events. The catalog was just too overwhelming. How many films can you read about? All the ones I read about sounded good--so I went to none. Today I went to the Festival of Fools--another catalog of dozens of events every day. Rather than read the catalog I just showed up and took my pick from the six things on offer each hour. I stayed for five hours, so I saw five performers. Jugglers, comedians, circus performers. My favourites were Les Dudes, two amazing Canadians, and Umami Theatre from Spain. The Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival has begun before the Festival of Fools has ended--another thick catalog that I don’t want to read--they make every poet/singer/comedian sound so amazing that you’d be a fool to miss it. I’ve been told the reason Belfast has so many festivals (all very well attended) is because for decades, no one dared go out at night or stray beyond a few well-trod routes. Now it’s just one big party all the time.

Here’s an American comedian/juggler named Dan Holzman, just to give you a feel for street entertainment in Belfast:

And this is a final shot from my Mount Stewart trip. Before I went home, I crossed the road from Mount Stewart for a view of Strangford Lough. While there, I skipped stones for a while, pleased to see I’ve still got my skimming skills.

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