The Making of an Event: Tricks of the Light

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This time three years ago I remember sitting over a Guinness in a dingy bar in Belfast, telling my friend Adam about an event I was planning. I was in the early stages of putting together a retreat in Northern Ireland where a small number of people would be invited to hang out, unwind, and talk about the project of Radical Theology. In response Adam, who spends much of his life setting up and running up amazing arts festivals, looked at me in bewilderment and laughed,

“You mean people would actually come here to listen to you talk for two days?”

“Yeah”

“And they’d pay for this?”

“Um, I guess so”

“Listen, I don’t know your world, and I don’t want to tell how to do things, but if it was me, this is what I’d do…”

He then leant in and started to describe a mythical event in the cultural heart of the city, an event spread over multiple bars, cafes and galleries, all within spitting distance of each other. He talked wildly about musicians, poets, parties, tours, story telling, whiskey tasting, workshops, movies and more. Then he described how he would have me curate the whole thing,

“You’d still speak,” he told me, “but you’d also hand pick artists, activists and thinkers who’ve inspired you. You’d create an immersive experience that people would remember for life”

He knew about my work with the transformance art initiative ikon, and openly questioned why, when I knew so many creative people, I’d want to do a retreat. Why do that when I could do a festival, a festival of incendiary ideas.

There and then I scrapped my original plans. Sure it would be a lot more work, but I couldn’t go back. This was not simply an event I’d like to make happen, it was an event I’d want to go to.

Over the drink I offered my friend the job of helping me put it together. And, being a little worse for wear, he foolishly accepted. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

As I write this we’ve already had two festivals and are currently planning a third.

I love my work. I get to travel the world and meet wonderful people. But out of everything I do, these festivals have turned out to be highlight. Not only do I get to introduce people from all over the world to my beloved home. But I get to bring together some of the most important and influential people in my life to contribute to the program. We create a four day community of friends, and then throw in an eclectic mix of magicians, musicians, politicians, peacemakers, poets, activists, artists, writers, therapists and filmmakers.

What’s more, this year is already shaping up to look like the best one yet. We’ve just confirmed the philosopher and theologian John Caputo (who is a prime influence in my own work), and other great additions are in the works.

We fully expect to sell out this year (the early bird tickets went in less than a day), so if you want to be part of this experience, book now by following this link.

I’m inviting people who’ve been before to say what they thought in the comments section below  (so keep an eye on it).

You can see pictures from the previous events here and here.