Or at least peace, anyway. This week was the first time since we arrived in Ireland that our work schedule was less than hectic, causing Patrick to dub this week “Detox” on our office whiteboard. It was great to have some time to breathe after Sunday’s workshop, and this lighter week gave us a chance to get geared up for this weekend’s opening of the Wexford Opera Festival. With the help of a friend from the parish, we were able to get tickets for Thursday’s dress rehearsal of “The Golden Ticket,” based on Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The four of us donned our opera finery (we represented America well by looking super classy), and Jess, Patrick, and Clarisa finally got to see a production in Wexford’s beautiful Opera House.
The next two weeks will bring opera lovers and concert goers from all over the world to our little town, so life here will be anything but quiet until the end of October. Experiencing Wexford during festival time is unforgettable–there are concerts in venues all over town, art exhibitions, the Festival Mass, not to mention the 3 mainstage operas themselves. For me, though, the festival isn’t just about getting to hear incredible music (everything from Irish trad to modern American opera). It’s about welcoming people and performers from across the globe to this endearing Irish town that has become my home. We’ve run into quite a few Americans around town these days, and inevitably, when people find out that we’re living here for the year, they ask, “So what do you do here, then?” It’s an opportunity to share our community’s mission with others, and to make the visitors we meet feel at home here the way we have been made to feel at home, which, when you think about it, is a form of ministry unto itself.
