Map, Schedule & Programme
The full map, schedule & programme for BIG HOUSE is now available! Have a look and plan your visit!
Read more → BIG HOUSE happened August 2013.
The inaugural BIG HOUSE Festival - A Cultural Carnival of arts, music, film and entertainment - took place in the magical surroundings of Castletown House and Parklands on 3-5 August 2013. At BIG HOUSE, there was a new experience around every corner, whether you’re looking for top-drawer culture and entertainment, fab food and drink, or a daytrip with a difference in extraordinary surroundings. One ticket gets you a full day of amazing entertainment. All 50+ events happened every day of the festival, except for our 'Special Guests' who appeared for one night only each.
Experience
BIG HOUSE is a biennial festival set in the house and beautiful parklands of Castletown House, in Celbridge, Co Kildare. The inaugural BIG HOUSE festival happened over the August Bank Holiday weekend 2013, with the next one being planned for summer 2015. Enjoy tea-time theatrics or dance in the colonnades, discover rock ‘n roll in the ballroom or tap your toes to trad with a twist, picnic on the lawn as an opera plays out before you, pause by the silver screen, or bathe in the sounds of a classical quartet by the lake. And later get lost in a forest full of mechanical birds, or speak your mind at the BIG HOUSE Parliament. Explore the house and your imagination! Visitors come along at lunchtime and stay until last light at what is Ireland’s first site-specific arts festival.
Venue
While Castletown House is the heart of the festival, when we fling open the doors the festivities will spill out into the 120 acres of surrounding parklands…
Full day of fun!
In addition to all the scheduled performances, there will be pop-up events, interactive games, secret expeditions and a huge range of art, sculpture and video installations which will run all-day-every-day over the festival. Come along at lunchtime and stay until last light…
Picnics & Food
If you are feeling a little peckish during the day, then why not head to the food village in the east courtyard of the house for a bite to eat, or set up a picnic on the lawn…
Getting here…
Dublin Bus is our transport partner, but depending on where you are travelling from there are a number of options for getting here…
Volunteer
We are looking for vibrant individuals with expertise and passion, who will play a part in making BIG HOUSE an exceptional experience for all.
Family & Kids
From ages 1-100, there’s something for everyone at BIG HOUSE - so bring the whole family! What the kids will like most…
Behind the scenes...
Latest news, behind the scenes blogs from the makers of the festival, insights in to the artists, and lots of other stuff that we like!
Have your say!
The Dáil may have risen for the summer and the Seanad may have cleared the way for the people to vote it out of existence, but democracy never rests!
The BIG HOUSE Parliament – a citizens’ …
Read more →Michael Trainor on his Auction of Important Things
The Auction of Important Things
I am in the process of collecting objects – tickets, ornaments, trinkets, records, anything that feels like it is calling to me …
Read more →The Performance Corporation
BIG HOUSE is the brainchild of The Performance Corporation – Ireland’s award-winning site-specific theatre company, based at Castletown House.
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Why Castletown House?
Castletown House has a history of arts and entertainment on-site for over 300 years. BIG HOUSE – as Ireland’s first site-specific arts festival, will build on this tradition with a distinctly contemporary twist.
Read more →Big House Festival Team
A little more about the team behind BIG HOUSE and how to contact us…
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