JuneFest Family Fun Day returns to Newbridge

Newbridge, Co. Kildare will swap cars for colour on bank-holiday Monday, June 2, when JuneFest Family Fun Day turns Lower Main Street into a traffic-free playground from midday to five o’clock.

“Every corner of the street will have something to lift your spirits,” says Trina Walsh, the event’s coordinator.

“A live DJ will keep the energy high while circus artists tumble past, the Garda Station welcomes visitors for behind-the-scenes tours, and more than eighty community, craft and food stalls tempt everyone from toddlers to grandparents. Add gentle fun-fair rides and a brand-new inflatable obstacle course and you have a brilliant, pocket-friendly day out for all ages.”

Celebrating its thirtieth birthday this year, JuneFest has grown from a one-day event in 1995 to a twelve-day celebration of local creativity.

Annie Morris, chairperson of JuneFest, calls the Family Fun Day “the festival’s heartbeat”: “For three decades the people of Newbridge have backed JuneFest in sunshine and showers alike. Monday’s Fun Day is our big ‘thank-you’—an open, inclusive celebration of the town’s talent and community spirit.”

Visitors can browse handmade jewellery, vintage vinyl and up-cycled furniture, refuel at food trucks and an old-fashioned ice-cream van, watch stilt-walkers and jugglers weaving through the crowd, and test their nerve on a mini big wheel before stepping inside a fire engine or Garda patrol car. Anyone who needs a breather can slip into the sensory-friendly space in Riverbank Arts Centre, which will remain open throughout the afternoon.

Lower Main Street will be pedestrian-only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Drivers are asked to use the Whitewater, Gables or St Conleth’s car parks; Newbridge railway station is a ten-minute stroll and Dublin Bus route 126 stops at the top of the street.

The site is flat and wheelchair-friendly, with accessible toilets in both Riverbank Arts Centre and Newbridge Town Hall, plus a quiet-space marquee clearly sign-posted.

JuneFest Family Fun Day is delivered by the volunteer-run committee with support from Life Credit Union and Kildare County Council.

Live updates, weather alerts and the day’s best photos will appear on Instagram, Facebook and X — festival-goers are invited to tag their moments with #JuneFestNewbridge.

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