Things are moving faster now to rock the streets on Halloween night. Among the many performers that will take part this year you would be able to experience Passepartout as part of a great explosive finale. Macha's belly dancers will join us again this year along with Cork City Samba and the Buttera brass band who all have become an essential part of the event. More surprises on the night and further information on the Dragon of Shandon website. We will leave you now with Juan Urbina working on choreography with large scale skeletons, so you can learn the killer moves and join in on the night! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MwrGxxePuE

Time for action! This is what an ordinary day looks like in our workshop in Blackpool. A lot of tape, creativity and fun. UCC Drama and Theatre Studies joined us this year as one of the many groups involved in the project. They will combine a great mix of building the floats and performing as characters on the night. Terence McSwiney Community College is another group that will get involved in the process for the first time, as well as St Kevin's After School Programme and also the Cobh Animation Team or High Hopes Choir Cork among others All this is our way to remind everyone that we see the Dragon of Shandon Parade as a platform for groups and individuals to express their creativity. Find out more about all the participants on our project website www.dragonofshandon.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-7fQz2vboc

Get ready for THE DRAGON'S QUIZ TABLE! Come along for a night of fun, quizzing, a raffle... it's going to be a great night. When: Wednesday the 18th of October, 8pm Where: The Four Liars Bistro, Dominic Street Shandon Cost: €40 per table of four All moneys raised support the multitude of fantastic, free community workshops we run for the Dragon of Shandon parade. For further information or to book a table contact Ger on 0863753280.

The core team of the Dragon of Shandon for this year is made up of 30 people. Yes, that represents a lot of coffees and meetings... and more coffees. In addition to the coordinators, workshop facilitators, work and college placements, we have many volunteers helping out with costumes, floats, marketing and documenting the process. This is probably a good place to highlight the contribution from two participants: Holly Ni Ghrada and Jerome Godfroy who will create the daily videos showing you the process. A community project this big is only made possible thanks to hundreds of volunteers sharing their time and talent, so feel free to get in touch with us to help out with the making of this year's parade. Even if you are only available on October 31st that would still make a big difference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAA-f8qsZtg

There are always lot of strange scenes taking place in our workshops during the making of the Dragon parade. This year we will allow you to have a daily sneak peak of how the project is put together in all its aspects. You will become the fly on the wall by experiencing all the exciting oddness behind the scenes. Let's lash directly into strangeness with the making of a head piece for a wig, Marie-Antoinette style. Well you asked for oddness, didn't you? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGof3caBWWM

**UPDATE: We had a slight hiccup getting the text service up and running, it's now working. Thanks for your support!** This year for the Dragon of Shandon we already have 21 groups involved and we will be providing 500 hours of workshops (including 100 hours of costume making). There are two ways you can support this massive community project: You can check out our fabulous hand made donation boxes around Shandon and Blackpool. Or else we now have a text donation service. Fancy! Just text DRAGON to 50300 to donate €2. Text costs €2 (a once off). Cork Community Art Link will receive a minimum of €1.63. Service Provider: LIKECHARITY. Helpline: 076 6805278. The Dragon of Shandon is only possible thanks to local support!

Due to an overwhelming response our Dragon of Shandon Family Workshops are now completely FULL. Apologies to anyone who missed out, we hope to see you at the parade!

Our Giant Puppet Making and Performing Masterclass with William Frode de la Foret (tape sculpture/ puppetry) and Juan Urbina (Dance / performance / choreography) kicked off on the weekend with six brilliant performers making and working with huge skeletons for the Dragon of Shandon!

Great article in the Evening Echo on Monday about our display in Blackpool Shopping Centre with a focus on the opportunity for people to get involved in our free open workshops which take place Monday to Friday 2 to 6pm at 'The Lido' 71, Watercourse Road, Blackpool, Cork.

Call out for face painters. We have a lot of very excited children and adults performing in this year's Dragon of Shandon parade who will need face painting on the night of October 31st. "A lot" in Dragon's scale means around 300 persons. If you would be interested in volunteering to help out with this aspect of the event, get in touch at info@corkcommunityartlink.com. The Dragon of Shandon is a community project that will involve this year over 20 community and arts groups that would really appreciate you giving your time and skills, not to mention that over 15,000 people are expected on the street to witness Cork's only night time parade. Whatever your level is with face painting, drop us a line as any help would be greatly appreciated.

We are currently collecting anecdotes about how the Dragon of Shandon parade has impacted the north side of Cork City since its creation in 2006. Do you feel it has contributed to create a better, more welcoming atmosphere around Halloween night in Cork City? What did you used to do before the Dragon parade was set up? Do you remember your kids first encounter with the Dragon, how did they respond? Did the parade inspire you to engage in an activity with your kids (making a costume, designing make up...)? Do you feel it helped families in one way or another to have such an event on Halloween night? We are also interested to hear the feelings, opinion or memories from your kids that would have grown up with the Dragon. Feel free to send us your testimonials, stories or drawings about the event! You can send your stories to info@corkcommunityartlink.com We also have a short survey where you can send in your opinion. Just log on www.dragonofshandon.com and click on the "How Did The Dragon Hit You?" button. And meanwhile, you can enjoy the artwork created by Hannes O'Callaghan to illustrate the survey.