Family News and Events

Family News and Events
A festival that is no mere flight of fancy

One of the greatest feats of aviation history, the first ever non-stop transatlantic flight, will be celebrated in the surroundings of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way as part of a centenary commemoration.

Alcock & Brown 100 Festival will mark the remarkable achievements of aviation heroes Sir John Alcock and Sir Arthur Whitten-Brown 100 years after flying from Newfoundland, Canada and crash landing at Clifden, Connemara.

Taking place in Clifton, Galway, from June 11-16, the summer festival is jam-packed with events.

Bringing to life one of the most significant moments in history, visitors can experience a live re-enactment of the 1919 landing, featuring the journey of Alcock and Brown to Clifden and a street parade welcome. Visitors will also have a front seat at the premiere of the Alcock and Brown feature length, factual documentary featuring Tony Alcock MBE and more. There will not only be talks, exhibitions and street entertainment throughout the week, there will also be the Traditional Boats Regatta and Tour De Bens to name a few of the spectacles promised. More info can be found at https://alcockandbrown100.com/

Paint the town red at Clonakilty carnival

The Clonakilty Street Carnival, winner of the best West Cork event award, will see the streets of Clonakilty take on a festival vibe and the town will be fully pedestrianised from 9am until 9pm on Saturday June 15. Throughout the day – amidst the colourful ribbons and bunting – there will be street performers and costumes, live music, a kids zone with supervised bouncy castles, face painting, magicians, bubbles, popcorn machines (Ashe Street), giant games, ping pong, crazy golf and much more.

Last year more than 2,000 people were served the best of Clonakilty fare from the West Cork town’s top restaurants. The Clonakilty Street Carnival dinner party will run the length of the town’s main street. Food service commences at 3pm providing €15 adult meals and €7 children’s meals. Up to 2,500 meal tickets are available to purchase locally and online.

A children’s meal area has been added on Astna Square in the centre of Clonakilty where Clonakiddy meals will be available, as well as free pottery classes for kids.

Fat-shaming youth can cause increased obesity

Young people who are bullied or teased about their weight end up gaining more weight in the long run than those who weren’t ridiculed according to a US study.

The study, from the National Institute of Health, was published in the journal Pediatric Obesity.

Childhood obesity is connected with a myriad of health problems including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea and orthopedic complications. In addition, weight-based teasing is one of the most common reasons for bullying cited among youngsters in the US. According to previous research, 90% of high school students have witnessed their peers made fun of for their weight, and 60% of overweight youngsters have reported being teased about their weight by peers and family members. The study involved 110 youths who were an average age of 11.8 years when they were enrolled.