Volunteers sought to ‘rock the docks’

Date Published: 27-May-2010

By Dara Bradley

The organisers of the powerboating festival in the city next week have issued an appeal for 200 local volunteers to help out with the staging of the event, which is expected to attract up to 140,000 people to Galway City and Salthill over seven days.

Let’s do it Galway needs enthusiastic helpers to volunteer to ‘help rock the docks again’ at the powerboat race village from Saturday June 5 to Sunday June 13 where a series of events will take place in a set-up modelled on last summer’s Volvo Ocean Race at the docks.

The Galway Powerboating Festival will include Around Ireland Offshore Powerboat Race which begins in Galway on Monday, June 7 and ends in Galway on Saturday, June 12 as well as the second round of the P1 Superstock Powerboat championships, which will take place in Galway Bay for a week beginning on June 5.

The first round of the championships kicked off in Penzance, Cornwall last weekend and the teams are expected to begin to arrive in Galway from the middle of next week.

The festival village at the docks will be about two thirds the size of the Volvo Race Village and will be opened from 10am to 10.30pm with food and craft stalls, bars, DJs, street performers, busker’s, face-painters and balloon modellers.

There will also be live acts performing on stage throughout the seven nights including Crystal Swing, Emmet Scanlan and What the Good Thought, Dublin boys 21 Demands, The Cartoon Thieves, The Black Magic Band, Supermodel Twins, A Band Called Wanda.The festival is estimated to be worth around €30 million to the city.

Around 200 volunteers are needed to help out in every aspect of the event including helping with the festival stage and stewarding and so on mainly at the docks but also in Salthill. Maria Moynihan Lee of Let’s do it Galway said they have had a good response to their call for volunteers but more are needed.

“Being a volunteer is really the best way to experience the event. It’s great craic, you are part of a great team and it’s a great experience. Volunteers will be fully briefed and will be provided with t-shirts and lunches,” she said.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune