As part of our 30th celebrations we have dusted off all the Baboró posters since the first festival in October 1997. Festival audiences can take a trip down Druid Lane and see the thirty plus posters together on display for the first time. 

While the first iteration of the festival was a small family programme within Galway Arts Festival (now GIAF) in 1993, Baboró's first stand-alone festival was in 1997. It was curated by then Artistic Director Jean Parkinson and officially opened by Ireland’s first Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Michael D. Higgins. Since then the team and the scope of the festival has expanded. Following Jean came Artistic Directors Emer McGowan, Lali Morris and currently Aislinn Ó hEocha. We've welcomed over half a million children and their adults to Baboró since 1997. Audiences have experienced performances, exhibitions, parades and workshops in theatres, galleries, libraries, schools and on the streets of Galway city and county.

One of the reasons that the festival was moved from summer to autumn was so that Baboró, which was founded shortly after the Irish State ratified the UN RIghts of the Child, would reach children through their schools. This is a good way to reach all children, especially those who may not be able to access the festival with their families for various reasons. This foundation still guides how we work to this day and is the basis of our values of Play, Collaboration, Belonging, Curiosity & Boldness. 

Since 1997 Baboró has commissioned a festival poster and programme cover for each festival. However, one year Baboró presented not one but two festivals. The second celebrated the culmination of a four year project Creative Europe called Small Size. See if you can spot which year we produced an extra festival!