St Patrick Festival celebrations continue at SOLAS Eco Garden Centre in Portarlington this Bank Holiday weekend with the carnival on site set to run until Sunday March 20 and a huge array of events planned.
SOLAS – Carnival
The Spin City Carnival has been a major success to date with huge crowds in particular last Sunday.
As the forecast is for good weather for the rest of the week with temperatures reaching 14 degrees C, large crowds are expected over the remaining days of the festival which runs until this Sunday.
David Maher of SOLAS explained: “our customers have been delighted with the sheer range of rides which are available – in total there are 13 different options which covers all the age groups from Tiny Tots to teenagers.
“The atmosphere at the event has been great with absolutely zero hassle to date. The whole operation is very professional we have found the Spin City team very good to deal with. It is great to bring a buzz to SOLAS and the town”
The opening hours of the carnival has been arranged so to not interfere with SOLAS gardening customers with Carnival starting from 4.30pm (3pm on St Patrick’s Day).
David Maher of SOLAS continues: “It is great to be able to offer visitors to the carnival the option of great food and coffee when they are here with their kids in our covered and heated food courtyard.
“It is of course also a great chance to spread the word about SOLAS as we continue on our journey to become a national destination for gardening, food and events.”
SOLAS – Shop
This is of course the traditional week when gardeners plant their early potatoes and start thinking about vegetable growing.
A great option for gardeners with limited space or reduced mobility are the range of Raised beds by ‘Vegtrug’.
Raised beds are Ideal for growing herbs, fruit and vegetables. See our range – Made from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) cedar timber online:
SOLAS – Plants
With Mother’s Day just around the corner the focus is very much on flowering pots for the day. Our Horticulturist Veronica has used a range includes a mix of Heathers, Primroses and Violas which will give a blast of colour right into the summer season.
As most of the plants are perennials it means that with a little love and care this is a gift which can bring colour to your garden for years to come.
SOLAS – Food
This weekend our Food court will be dishing up some more healthy options!
- Lentil Dahl Baked Potato and a Falafel,
- Pickled Onion and Hummus Flat Bread.
- Our popular SOLAS Croque for the meat lovers (see photo)
SOLAS – St Patrick’s Events
Starting from noon on the 17th March events will include:
- Potato Planting Demonstrations
- Irish Dancing performances from two local dancing groups
- Irish dancing workshop (Free)
- St Patricks Day face Painting (free)
- St Patricks Day Eco Craft workshop
See more on https://www.ecogardenshop.ie/events
Farmers’ Market
This Saturday 19 March from 10am-2pm sees the ever-popular Farmers’ Market, with a wonderful range of fresh local food and craft including
- Corleggy Cheeses are back with their amazing range of Raw Milk cheeses
- ‘Stinky & Scorchy’, Cakes, bread, fresh vegetables, Fish, 2 expert confectionary baking stalls ….
SOLAS – Spring is Here
And finally, the 8,000 daffodil bulbs we planted over the last 3 years on the Dublin Road entrance to Portarlington are back in flower and proud to let the whole world know that “SPRING IS HERE!”
SOLAS – Build it and they will come
