Stendhal is incomparable in the literal sense that there’s nothing to compare it to. Access to the site at Ballymully Farm on the outskirts of Limavady is via-the farmyard: mind your high heels on the cattle-grid, pick up your wristband in the barn.
A “celebration of all things creative”, Stendhal features wild poetry, concentric drum circles, Figaro arias, Felicity McCall, slam-dunk poets, wood sculptures that are sculptures in wood and not totem poles. There’s music on four stages from Little Bear, Furlo, the Bonnevilles, the Enchiladas, Rainy Boy Sleep, Duke Special and the Divine Comedy headlining Friday and Saturday. There’s also classicist Victor McCullough nimble-fingering ‘Freight Train’, Mick Wilson of 10cc fame and others too numerous to mention, lanterns in the sky, fairy lights in the river, fairies in the gloaming, and an art gallery so expansive it allowed Terri Hooley and myself an hour’s educational blathering on stage.
Stendhal was a 19th century French realist (“The Red and the Black”) and is also a synonym for so-called “Florence syndrome” – defined as dizziness, levitation and palpitations from ODing on beauty and art.
It’s pure Limavady in being distinctively Northern but with none of the angularity of Belfast or the too-smooth self-satisfaction of Derry. A sizable proportion of the attendance comes from round about, the rest are the in-the-know lot from all over.
At £30 a two-day ticket, I can’t see how anybody’s making money.
And nobody had to queue for the loo for more than a minute or two. Amazing.