Macnas 2018 - Out of the Wild Sky - Galway Halloween parade by Julia Dunin Photography
Each year towards the end of October, we can all feel something magical is about to happen in Galway. As days are getting shorter and evenings colder, air is filled with a delicate scent of turf and crows are a bit bolder when crowing to children's ears, we are all know it's time for Macnas...
'Between the white fire of the stars and the whispering woods, you can hear the breath of small kingdoms rising and falling… Dreams floating light as moths among the branches of the trees, where sweetness and tangibility flickers amongst the dark hug of time.
This years parade, titled Out of The Wild Sky tells a story of wild and free creatures, gentle giants and delicate forest fairies befriended with wolves. This is the spectacle filled with dancers covered in moon-dust, old legends told by three witches and playful characters: some are whimsical, some are mischievous, each one of them fierce and magical. Drums, dancing fire and scent of rosemary crates a background for a world-class performance.
'Out of the Wild Sky is about transformation. It is set in a wild woods full of magic, mischief and the marvelous. The inspiration for this work comes from the landscape, poets, musicians, painters, people, imagination and a belief in making room for the extraordinary in the ordinary of our everyday lives. '
I love the anticipation before Macnas and when it finally appears on the streets, my heart is filled with excitement. It brings magic and turns this one cold and dark evening in the year into an unforgettable experience for over 50.000 people. The amount of work, dedication and creativity is unreal. This year was no exception - I enjoyed photographing the parade and it's been a great honor to be invited as an official photographer this year again. Huge congratulations to Noeline Kavanagh and the whole Macnas team:, performers, actors, make-up artists,designers, musicals and all the volunteers. I hope all you are very proud of yourselves.
For those, that haven't seen the spectacle, I hope my photos will give you a glimpse of it. For those, who had, I hope you can feel the magic and mystery again thanks to them.
*Prints available upon request, please contact me via e-mail at info (at) juliadunin.com*
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