AN Tulca Kinsale Halloween Festival returns on Saturday October 31and  Sunday  November 1 for its fifth year as a festival, celebrating Samhain through creativity, folklore, music, dance and community participation.

Part of Creative Kinsale, An Tulca, as it became known in 2024, is a festival made with the community, for the community.

Led by voluntary chairperson and artistic director Yvonne Coughlan, who has been at the heart of the initiative since 2014 and developed it into a festival in 2022, An Tulca offers a distinctive alternative to simply watching a parade: everyone is invited to help create the celebration.

“An Tulca is about giving people of all ages the opportunity to make something, learn something and become part of something wonderful together. Whether you join a workshop, carry a lantern, learn a song, dance at the céilí or simply come along to enjoy the atmosphere, there is a place for you. And importantly, everything is free,” said Yvonne.

The festival’s two signature events are the Trick-or-Treat Parade at 4pm on Saturday  October 31 and the Lantern Parade at 6.30pm on Sunday November 1.

Each year, new creative elements are added to these much-loved community celebrations, with local people encouraged to contribute their own costumes, lanterns, characters, stories and songs.

In the lead-up to the festival, Tara de las Casas will lead lantern-making workshops, Paddy Doyle will facilitate storytelling workshops, including a family session at Kinsale Library, and Fiona Tierney will lead community singing workshops. These free workshops invite participants to develop the lanterns, stories and songs that will help bring the Samhain celebrations to life. Participation remains open to everyone, including those who cannot attend a workshop. On Samhain itself, Fiona will teach simple call-and-response songs so that people can join in on the day.

Sunday’s celebrations include the Lantern Parade, followed by Céilí Chionn tSáile Samhain, presented in partnership with Gaelscoil Chionn tSáile. The parade culminates in Songs at the Threshold, a lantern-lit celebration of storytelling, music, song and movement, with returning UK-based performance collective Carnifølk helping bring community-created stories and Irish folklore to life. Storytelling workshop participants can share their stories or have the performers interpret them.

The weekend concludes with After Dark at The Lord Kingsale from 8pm on Sunday evening, featuring DJs, games, and live music with  Zurito, a Spanish guitar duo.

Keeping An Tulca free is central to its mission. The volunteer committee works hard to ensure that families can enjoy the programme without the financial barriers often associated with cultural events, while still paying the artists who make it possible. The festival gratefully acknowledges the support of Cork County Council, Fáilte Ireland, Pure Cork and Transition Town Kinsale (TTK) and Eli Lilly, alongside its wider network of community partners, local businesses, artists and volunteers. Its place within Creative Kinsale reflects the festival’s commitment to nurturing local creativity, cultural participation and community connection.

With just over two weeks to go, the committee is launching its 2026 iDonate appeal to help fund this year’s programme and secure the festival’s future. Collection buckets will also be available at festival events. There is no expectation that participants donate to attend; rather, those who are able are invited to help keep the celebration accessible to everyone and make a return in 2027 possible. “Every contribution helps us pay our artists and keep these opportunities open to the whole community. We hope that local people, businesses and visitors who value what An Tulca brings to Kinsale will support us,” said the committee.