Kick off the summer fun on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 May at the Richmond Barracks May Fair.

May’s Sustainable Summer Fair is themed around upcycling, recycling and reusing and is the first in a series of quarterly fairs during 2022 brought to you by Dublin City Council Culture Company (which runs Richmond Barracks) and Dublin South City Partnership with Kilmainham Inchicore Network. Admission is free and visitors can expect activities for all ages, from stalls showcasing upcycled gems and recycled treasures made by local businesses, artists and craftspeople, to eco-friendly workshops, and locally made treats to eat.

Local vendors offering a chance to snap up some gorgeous clothing, crafts, design, art and more include: The Upcycle Movement which rescues and transforms materials that otherwise would have gone to landfill to create unique and sustainable products including bags, jewellery and clothing; Woodn’t Waste it Crafts is a self-taught, hobby recycler, re-purposer and upcycler who crafts beautiful pieces from wood and materials which are found or donated; AYU Jewels stunning pieces includes items which are upcycled from old and unwanted jewellery while also reusing parts from jewellery previously made that is left over or did not sell; and Niki Collier Textiles & Art who uses locally sourced materials for creating stunning clothes and accessories including hats, scarves, brooches and more.

Visitors on Saturday will also have the chance to enjoy a drink from Dublin 8’s Stillgarden Distillery, makers of modern Irish spirits using as many fresh, local and sustainably grown botanicals as they can and in a way that has positive impacts on the planet, communities and people around.

Workshops sure to keep the kids entertained and introduce them to different crafts and culture include eco-knitting with maker and teacher Helen Crawford to learn the basics of knitting (Saturday, 11:30am, 6+, Free), or get their little hands dirty with Eco-Gardener-In-Residence, Polly Rowley-Sams, for Bug Buddies, an eco-craft workshop in the Richmond Barracks garden where they’ll learn about different ways to welcome more insects and wildlife into our gardens and make their very own mini bug hotels using recycled materials (Saturday, 2pm, 7-12 years, Free). Or let their artistic instincts run free at Rip, Snip, Create! Collage Making for Kids and have fun experimenting with different pictures, colours, and lots of opportunities for ripping, snipping and arranging to create their own weird and wonderful giraffe! (Sunday, 2pm, 6-9 years, Free).