Killarney

<h3>Last weekend as Killarney basked in lazy sunshine it welcomed a frenzy of excited festival goers for the very first Wander Wild Festival.</h3>
The festival, which was originally planned for 2020, is a celebration of Killarney&#8217;s great outdoors and exploded into life on Friday evening with a wonderfully crafted opening ceremony where, with the help of Fifth Class from Lissivigeen National School, The Lord Winter and Lady Spring did battle for supremacy until Lady Spring prevailed and lit the flame of life to ignite springtime and throw open the outdoors.
 With over 50 different activities taking place in the park, on the lakes, in the mountains and in Killarney town, the weekend included much of what makes Killarney unique and so special.
 The opening ceremony was quickly followed by a guided night walk in the National Park, live podcast with Shane Finn who interviewed local Arctic hero Kevin Leahy and &#8216;Everest Without Oxygen&#8217; hopeful James McManus. Later on, best-selling writer and columnist, Michael Harding, enthralled and entertained a packed St Mary&#8217;s Church.
 &#8220;We are blown away by the success of the very first Wander Wild,&#8221; a beaming Pat Chawke, festival committee chairman, said.
 The festival base camp was located at the church grounds, where activities ranged from urban orienteering to a bongo orchestra, the Wander Wild kid&#8217;s zone, film festival and speaker events. Local schools attended the short film festival which featured educational films on the plastic pollution of our oceans, the damage that forest fires do to our local ecology and how to change our habits to save our planet.
 ANAM, Killarney&#8217;s Arts and Cultural Centre, hosted a number of talented local yogis practicing in a peaceful and beautiful wellness hub.
 Pat is very optimistic about the potential of the festival.
 &#8220;With all the uncertainty surrounding COVID, we weren&rsquo;t really certain that we could run the festival until late January. I think, what we have managed to produce in that time is a testament to local providers and volunteers and of course the wonderful product that is Killarney. We also had great support from F&aacute;ilte Ireland, Kerry County Council, NPWS (National Parks and Wildlife Service) and Nature Valley. The feedback from festival goers is off the charts.&#8221;
 He said they are ready to take a well-deserved break for a while but have set the 2023 dates for March 24 to 26.
 &#8220;Many of this year&#8217;s participants have already booked their accommodation for next year. We do plan to expand the festival and grow it to an international audience next year and beyond.&#8221;
 If this weekend was anything to go by, Wander Wild is a the rising star in the calendar of Irish festivals, he added.

First Wander Wild Festival hailed a massive success

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