The Festival of Fools in Belfast Ireland

Festival of Fools Performer

When I first started planning my trip to Ireland I read about a festival called the “Festival of Fools” that was taking place in Belfast.  I mistakenly thought it said the “Festival of Food” and was excited to attend an Irish Food Festival.  I then did some research and found that it had nothing to do with “Food” but instead was a Street Performance Festival.  That sounded interesting to me so I arranged my trip so that I would be there for the festival.

Fatt Matt

The festival has been held for the last nine years and is free to attend.  It brings in street artists from all over the world to perform during the five day festival.  The artists are paid by the organization that runs the event.  They do however pass the hat at the end of their performances to help fund the next years festival.

This kid volunteered for every act

The performance areas were all within easy walking distance of each other in downtown Belfast.  There were all kinds of acts including uni-cycling riding jugglers.

The performer “Fatt Matt” was very popular with his ballerina balancing act.  The break-dancing kid in the video below was a volunteer from the audience.  I saw him get involved in many performances.  I think he has a future in street performing.

Fatt Matt’s Grand Finale.

There were over 100 performances during the festival.  I only had time to see about  five of them.  Some of them were good and some of them were not so good but they did have something for everyone.

I enjoyed the Festival of Fools and would recommend attending if you are in Ireland when it is happening.

Check out the Festival of Fools Website or their Facebook Page for more information.