Countdown to Dowth Point-to-Point and Country Fair
With less than a week until Ireland’s largest autumn Point-to-Point and Country Fair takes place on Sunday, 27th October, further details of the day have been released.
This unique Point-to-Point and Country Fair is hosted by Devenish and organised in conjunction with the Meath Hunt and Tara Harriers. As the current award-holder for ‘Outstanding Boyne Valley Festival’ in the Meath Business and Tourism awards, the day celebrates the very best of country living and pursuits with a wide offering of racing, food, shopping and family fun. Building on the success of last year, the 2019 event has pledged to be as “green” as possible.
As part of the Dowth-Goes-Green initiative, all vendors will use compostable and recyclable materials and the Birch Bar will offer a reusable cup system to minimise waste. A key message of the 2019 Dowth Point to Point and Country Fair is to encourage visitors to reuse, recycle and reduce plastic. Supporting this will be an educational stand provided by event partner; Panda recycling.
With this year’s addition of a Champagne bar, gun dog demonstrations, more interactive country fair stands and the new Dowth Bale Maze, visitors can enjoy a jam-packed entertainment line-up including: -
• Bale Maze
• The Ladyrath Lane Pumpkin Patch
• Racing
• Live Music
• Birch Bar
• Boyne Valley Flavours Food Fair
• Pony Rides
• Champagne Horse Trailer • The Dowth Dog Show
• Country Fair Exhibits & Demonstrations
• Gun dog Demonstrations
• Artisan Picnic Paddock
• Free Kids Zone
• GAA Skill Zone
• High-end Shopping
• Artisan Craft Market
• GIY & The Cottage Market
With six Point-to-Point races over three miles and fences on the card and the exciting pony club race to sign off the day after the last race, visitors can follow first hand, top amateur racing talent and rising stars in action in what promises to be great excitement on and off the track.
In addition to the racing action, visitors will enjoy live music from Jazz Bassoon and The Blinders on stage beside the Birch Bar and Giddy Box Champagne bar. There will be an array of gourmet food vendors and barista prepared coffees to enjoy in the picnic paddock.
In the Boyne Valley Flavours Food Market, local artisan producers will offer a taste of the Boyne Valley which promises to be an epicurean delight. The craft and high-end shopping village will showcase everything from international artists to luxurious interiors and chic-country lifestyle brands to peruse at one’s leisure with brands such as Carol Sheridan Interiors, John Fitzgerald Art, H&S Basket Weavers, Jack and Ory, Sports Den, Burr Clothing, Willow Farm Ceramics and Carol O’Connor Millinery.
Now in its third year, the ever popular Dowth Dog Show returns with prizes sponsored by Equipet and Feedwell. The show will see prized pooches compete in categories will including Best Family Pet, Best Toy Dog, Dog most like its Owner, Best Dressed Dog, Best Junior Handler, Waggiest Tail and the overall prize for Best in Show. Entries will be taken on the day. Dog enthusiasts can also enjoy international champion dog trainer Séan Diamond’s Gun Dog Demonstration as he showcases his highly trained working dogs in the dog show ring prior to racing.
Country Life is central to this unique event and bringing that to life are interactive demonstrations and country fair exhibits which will give children the chance to meet the friendly animals of Maperath Mobile Farm, Alpacas, admire rare birds of prey with Newgrange Falconry, and learn about the importance of bees in our shared environment from The Royal Meath Bee keepers. Inland Fisheries will also be on hand to raise awareness of our waterways and children can plant their own seeds at the educational GIY (Grow it Yourself) and Sonairte ecological centre pop-up.
Throughout the day, families will enjoy a wide range of free children’s entertainment and wholesome outdoorsy fun. New for 2019 is a Bale Maze which adjoins the Ladyrath Lane Pumpkin Patch, where families can enjoy selecting and carving their own pumpkin at the pop-up. There is also a host of bouncy castles, puppet shows, magic shows, tractor fun, arts and crafts, outdoor games, the Slane GFC Skill Zone, pony rides and face painting. Children’s entertainment is free and admission to The Point-to-Point is free for under 12s. For further information on the Point-to-Point, visit www.P2P.ie