Balbriggan Summerfest Committee would like to thank everyone who came out and supported Summerfest 2011. We had a fantastic week and we really hope that you all had a great time. This is your festival and without your support it would not have been the great success it was.

We had some first time events this year that we hope to continue next year, like the Triathlon which was a huge event for the town with over 150 entrants. We also had the Battle of the Bands which showcased the huge up and coming talent we have in the town. Another new event was the Schools Choir Competition. This was a wonderful opportunity to hear the fantastic choirs from our local schools. The money raised from this competition went back into the schools in prize money for much needed resources so thank you for supporting this event. We also had an incredible fireworks display on our beach thanks to Balbriggan Town Council. This was one of the highlights of the festival for the committee as it far exceeded our expectations and we hope to continue this event every year. We were also honoured to have Irish Cricketer John Mooney to open the festival this year.

We would like to thank our sponsors, our volunteers, An Garda Siochana, Balbriggan Town Council and Fingal County Council and all those who help with our fundraising every year. We are already planning for Balbriggan Summerfest 2012 and hope to bring you another week of family fun and entertainment. If you have any ideas for our festival next year we would love to hear from you.

A big part of our festival every year is the Music in the car park. Thanks to Knoc Whearity and Gary Healy for organising the music this year and a special thank you to all the bands that came out to entertain the crowds. We have some wonderful local bands and this was evident over the festival week. Balbriggan Library put on numerous free events in the Library for festival week and we would like to thank Assumpta Hickey for organising these events which really added to the festival programme.

Balbriggan Library provide a wonderful free service to the community of Balbriggan and we would encourage all of you to visit the library and use this valuable resource.

Local pubs and businesses also got involved this year hosting events in their premises which added to the programme and gave something for everyone. There was music everynight, food demonstrations in Preserved Café, wine tasting and jazz in Mollies Coffee Gallery, fun events in PJ's Playcentre, a poker competition in The White Hart Inn and The Bracken Court Hotel had numerous festival specials on offer all week. We also had the privilege of having LM FM's roadcaster in the town which was kindly sponsored by Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce.

The Balbriggan Summerfest Triathlon took place on Saturday 28th May and was organised in conjunction with Fingal Tri Club. We would like to thank Dave, Wayne and all the team for making this event the success it was. Their professionalism and organisation was outstanding and the event was a wonderful addition to our Festival Programme.

The results were as follows:

For a full list of the winners and times for all competitors please click here

This year we held a new event to give up and coming bands in the town an opportunity to showcase their talents. The final took place on Sunday, 29th May in the Combined Clubs Community Centre.

It was a very tough battle but in the end it was local band "The Notas" who won.

It was very encouraging to see the young bands cheering each other on and there was a very genuine camaraderie between all the acts. The winning band took a fantastic prize of a demo produced in top recording studio The Ventry. A special thank you to the judges on the night, Sharon Gaynor-Campbell, Dave McClune and Jimmy Brennan and of course the wonderful compere Eric Campbell

Balbriggan Summerfest held the first Schools Choir Competition this year in St. Peter and Paul's Church which was a wonderful venue for such an event. We had choirs from Balbriggan Educate Together, St. Theresa's National School, Balrothery National School, SS Peter and Paul's Junior School, St. Molaga's Senior National School, Loreto Balbriggan and Ardgillan College. A fantastic addition to the night was a special appearance by Balbriggan Show Choir who entertained the audience with a lively and upbeat performance.

All of the choirs were fantastic but the winners on the night were:

• Senior Choir - Loreto Secondary School
• Junior Choir - St. Molagas Senior National School
• Highly Commended - St. Theresa's National School

Each school was presented with a certificate of participation and the winning schools received trophies and prize money of €400. Thanks to the adjudicator Dr. Albert Bradshaw who gave wonderful positive feedback to all the students. Also thank you to May McKeon for compeering the evening and Fr. Taaffe for hosting the event. A very special thank you to Balbriggan Show Choir also.

The Summerfest Pot Black Snooker competition took place in The Central Lounge during festival week. The winner was Liam Kenny and runner-up Joe Fanning. Thank you to Michael Fanning for providing the tables free of charge and hosting the event.

A great crowd turned out for the Pet Show which was sponsored by Balbriggan Pet Shop and the Doggy Man. The proud owners paraded their beloved pets in front of the judges. Four prizes where given out in each category.
Well done to all the winners!

Well Fingal has definitely got talent if this night was anything to go by. Following a day of auditions 12 acts were picked to battle it out in the final which took place in The Bracken Court Hotel. RTE's Brian Ormond compered the show and Linda Martin, Orla Hopkins-Plant and Terry Quinlan were the judging panel. They had a very difficult task to pick the top three acts, then it was up to the audience to decide on their winner.

A very special tribute was paid to local girl Susan Garvey who sadly passed away this year. She had been a contestant in our very first Talent Show in 2009 and was a much loved character in the town. The Summerfest Committee decided with the permission of her family to create The Susan Garvey Perpetual Trophy which will be presented to the winner of the show each year.

This year the winners were:

• 1st - Lauren Walsh
• 2nd - Kevin O'Sullivan & Karl Pentony
• 3rd - Alexandra Quinlan

We would like to thank Dave Sadlier from Dave's Smooch Bar who kindly sponsored this event, The Bracken Court Hotel for all their help and cooperation, Marc Halligan and Phil for the sound and Matthew Kilmurray for the fantastic lighting which made the whole show very professional and added to the enjoyment of the crowd. We would also like to thank Brian Ormond and our judges for giving their time to make this event the success it is every year. And last but not least the contestants who ensured that the audience were treated to a night to remember.

The Blessing of the Boats ceremony took place at the harbour and was officiated by Fr. Taaffe. This has been a really important part of the festival every year and celebrates a very traditional and important part of Balbriggan's history. As part of this year's celebrations we had a balloon release in aid of Balbriggan Cancer Support Group who are fundraising to set up a centre in the town where sufferers and their families can come together to support each other.

Thanks to Fr. Eugene, the local fishermen for their support, the RNLI and especially Balbriggan Cancer Support Group.

Our annual Duck Derby race was a great success as always with a huge crowd gathered to see their duck pass the finish line first. A special thanks to a group of our volunteers who bravely dressed up in fancy dress and got in the river with the ducks. They really added to the event and ensured that it was great fun to watch and gave the ducks a much needed push down the river to the finish line. Thanks to Millfield Shopping Centre for sponsoring this event.

The winners were:

• 1st - Kathleen Cawley
• 2nd - Gareth Moles
• 3rd - Maebh Thompson