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family · Friday 3 July 2026 · 11:00am 
Carlow Arts Festival Children's Circus Workshop
At Visual Carlow · Old Dublin Road, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow
At Visual Carlow · Old Dublin Road, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow
If your children are at the age where they want to throw things, spin things, and balance on anything that isn’t the floor, this workshop gives them a proper outlet for it. Carlow Arts Festival’s children’s circus skills session at Visual Carlow is a free, hands-on morning for kids aged 5 to 12 - no experience needed and no booking required. It is the kind of event that looks like fun and quietly builds coordination, concentration, and confidence at the same time.
Professional circus artists lead the workshop, taking children through juggling, plate spinning, hula hooping, and basic balancing skills. The format is relaxed and drop-in; children can try everything or focus on whatever catches their eye. There are no performances or assessments - just guided play with circus equipment in a safe, supervised space.
Carlow Arts Festival has been running since 1979, when it started as Éigse Carlow, a gathering of poets and musicians. It has grown into one of only six strategically funded multi-disciplinary festivals in Ireland, and family programming has always been central to its aim of making art accessible to everybody. Visual Carlow - one of Ireland’s leading contemporary art centres, opened in 2009 on the grounds of Carlow College - is a fitting host: its galleries are free to enter, and it regularly runs workshops and learning events alongside its main exhibition programme.
Visual Carlow sits on the Old Dublin Road, about five minutes’ walk from Carlow Train Station. The Dublin-Waterford rail line serves Carlow directly, making it an easy day trip from either city. If you are coming by bus, the venue is a 10-minute walk from Carlow Bus Park: right onto Barrack Street, left onto Tullow Street, then right onto College Street. There is also a pedestrian entrance on College Street, beside Carlow Cathedral.
By car, the centre is signposted off the M9 Dublin-Waterford motorway at Junction 4. Pay parking is available at the Old Dublin Road entrance; accessible spaces are included.
The town centre is a 10-15 minute walk from Visual Carlow through Carlow College’s grounds, and there is plenty to see along the Barrow - riverside walks, Carlow Castle ruins and the Carlow County Museum are all within easy reach of the venue. There is more to see in Carlow and across Co. Carlow.
Heading to Visual Carlow in Carlow? Carlow has plenty more to see. Read the Carlow area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.