🪁 Basant In Ireland 2022

Since 2022, this joyous tradition has found a home in County Cork, Ireland, where the Cork Basant Festival is held annually at Carrigaline Community Park. Supported by Cork County Council, the festival invites people of all backgrounds to come together, fly kites, and wear yellow keeping the essence of Basant alive in a new land while building bridges through shared culture and celebration.

The event was organized by Amna Walayat, Creative Producer in Residence with Cork County Council, in collaboration with the South Asian Community, and held at Carrigaline Park on Saturday, 10th September. The event was generously supported by Cork County Council, with additional sponsorship from Spice Garden, Lavish, and Ignite. We were honoured to welcome The Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Danny Collins, as the Chief Guest of the event.

🪁 Basant In Ireland 2024

The Basant Festival 2024 continued to grow as a vibrant multicultural celebration, held at Carrigaline Community Park, County Cork, with an expanded program of art, dance, food, and family fun. Once again organized by Amna Walayat with the support of Cork County Council, the festival was made possible through funding and the generous contributions of sponsors including Spice Garden, Asian Grocery Store, and Sample Studios, along with support from Rethink Ireland and Creative Communities. The 2024 edition featured an exciting lineup of activities for all ages, including a Kite-Making Workshop, Kite Flying, Bhangra and Bollywood dance performances, family games, face painting, a DIY creative zone, and an immersive art exhibition.
A new and much-loved feature of the 2024 event was the Mango Party, celebrating the cultural significance of mangoes in South Asian traditions. The event was curated by Sana Asam, with support from Muhammad Asam, owner of Spice Garden, and attended by Cllr. Audrey Buckley, deputizing on behalf of the Mayor of Cork County.
Artist Kim-Ling, from Sample Studios, returned with her “Shoal” project, showcasing koinoburi (carp fish kites) created by students from Gaelcholáiste Mhuire, highlighting a fusion of Japanese and Irish storytelling through sustainable art.
Tomiwa Morris, a student of English and Philosophy at UCC, volunteered as the media coordinator, capturing the colours and community spirit of the day. Basant 2024 welcomed hundreds of participants from across Ireland, including attendees from Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Portlaoise, and Tralee, uniting under the sky filled with kites and the warm hues of spring. The festival reaffirmed its role as a joyful celebration of spring, culture, and togetherness for all communities.

🪁 Basant In Ireland 2023

The 2023 Basant Festival was organized by Amna Walayat in collaboration with Good Day Cork. The event received generous funding support from Cork County Council, with additional sponsorship provided by Spice Garden, an Asian grocery store located on South Douglas Road in Cork. Spice Garden had also supported the festival in 2022.
Mr. Ali, a representative of PTI, was another generous donor who contributed personal funds. The Pakistan Overseas Community (POC) volunteered in managing the event, alongside other dedicated community members. Tomiwa Morris served as the festival’s media coordinator.
The event was officially inaugurated by Cllr. Ben Dalton O'Sullivan.
Held on May 6th, 2023, at Carrigaline Park, the festival welcomed over 500 attendees, including local residents and South Asian families from cities and towns across Ireland such as Killarney, Clonakilty, Kilkenny, Dublin, Portlaoise, Drogheda, and several areas within Cork County, including Macroom, Mallow, Blarney, and Midleton.
A special highlight of the event was an art installation by Kim-Ling, a Japanese artist based in Cork and affiliated with Sample Studios. She installed Japanese koinoburi (carp fish kites), created in collaboration with students from Gaelcholáiste Mhuire. These kites were made from recycled materials, including broken umbrellas and a spinnaker sail, as part of Kim-Ling’s initiative to launch her “Shoal” project, promoting creativity and cultural fusion through sustainable art.

🪁 Basant In Ireland 2025

Carrigaline will once again come alive with the sights and sounds of South Asia as the Basant Kite Flying Festival returns for its fourth annual celebration from 27th to 29th June 2025. What began as a one day small community gathering has grown into a major cultural event, rooted in the centuries-old South Asian tradition of Basant, a springtime festival that fills the skies with vibrant kites and honours the spirit of renewal and joy. In the fields of the Indian subcontinent, this time of year is marked by blooming mustard flowers and joyful communities dressed in yellow—symbols of energy, sunshine, and hope. This year, the festival stretches across both Cork County and Cork City, offering an expanded programme that reflects Ireland’s rich and growing cultural diversity. At the heart of the celebration is Carrigaline, where families, artists, and community members will gather for a day of festivities on Sunday, 29th June. Visitors can expect an immersive cultural experience featuring kite flying, kite-making workshops, traditional South Asian attire showcases, lively dance performances, live Punjabi drumming (Dhol), art displays, food stalls, and the much-loved Mango Party a joyful highlight of the festival. Surrounding events include a screening of the popular Pakistani film Legend of Maula Jatt at Triskel Arts Centre, and a travelling exhibition of South Asian art in Ireland, opening at Carrigaline Library (27 June–18 July) before continuing at Cork City Library (22 July–22 August). Featured artists include Iqra Iqbal, Hina Khan, Aditya Labhe, Antonio D’Souza, and Amna Walayat, who is also the festival’s founder and artistic director.