Garúa Milonguero Craicfest 2024
Thursday 27 June to Monday 01 July 2024
Aula Maxima, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
Garúa is an invitation-only, close-embrace, encuentro with high-quality music on a sprung wooden floor all set in the wonderful Maynooth University, near Dublin in Ireland.
Our invitation to register extends only to approved members of our Garua Facebook Group. You will be given the password to access the registration form in the Facebook Group, when registration opens.
Registration Time Zone is Dublin or UTC+0
The registration period runs from 9 January 2024, 7:00 pm to 22 May 2024, 12:00 am.Prepare to enjoy life to the fullest this weekend as you return to the University of Craic!
Thu 27 June 2024
Fri 28 June 2024
Sat 29 June 2024
Sun 30 June 2024
Mon 01 July 2024
On arrival
Register at the Aula Maxima (the main venue) reception. You will be issued your Garúa bracelet which will also serve as your pass for getting past the University security gates outside normal hours.
Food selection
There will be a selection of snacks laid out at each milonga, including vegan options, to ensure everyone has the energy to dance the day and night away. The bar is always open and serves prosecco, wine, beers, soft drinks and tasting menus of Irish Whiskey and a new selection of Whiskey styles for this year. We also have an Espresso machine to keep you buzzing.
Drinks vouchers and prize draw
To order drinks at the bar you must first buy a voucher/s. Each voucher contains ten tokens. When your voucher is full drop it in the jar at the bar to enter the prize draw. The prize draw runs all weekend and is drawn on Sunday afternoon. The winner receives free entry to the next edition of Garúa. Tickets cost €10 (card or cash). We look forward to welcoming back 2023 winner Beegi Sillat from Estonia
Bottle recycling
At registration we will issue you with a glass bottle of Irish mineral water and a name tag. We ask you keep this bottle all weekend and refill it from the water coolers in the event hall. At the end of the event you can leave your bottle behind or take it with you. We will recycle all bottles after the event.
Guinness training
The Roost Bar and Guinness is giving everyone who attends the preparty a chance to learn how to properly pour a pint of guinness. Once you have completed your ‘training’ you get to drink your full pint and will be awarded a genuine certificate with your name and the date you transitioned. Those attending again, the good news is you need annual retraining and you also can avail of the Guinness Training. The price of this training and your pint of Guinness is included in the €15 entrance fee. 🙂
The Garúa Camera Club:
Yes it will be back again this year with a wide range of old film cameras from simple point and shoot to SLR’s for you the guests to borrow all weekend and take party photos. It was great fun last year and the photos were wonderful, full of craic.
The Garúa Códigos
These are the essential codes of conduct we need for a fun, sociable tango event. We know you know them all but it never hurts to remind ourselves again.
We have two venues; the main hall (Aula Maxima) in the university South Campus grounds and then the pre-party AND the after party bar in the Roost Bar. Each venue, the North Campus and the town are all a short walk from each other. Maynooth is small and charming.
Aula Maxima
The main venue located at Maynooth University.
The encuentro will be held at the historical Aula Maxima of Maynooth University. The main hall of the university boasts a beautiful wooden floor and a spacious, bright and airy space to dance in every day and night. The acoustics…
The Roost
Preparty and afterafterparty venue in Maynooth.
The Roost is a large public house with separate bars, a public bar, lounge area, mezzanine bar and a music bar. It combines the old with the new, as the pub still has many of its original pieces in place….
Our team of hand-picked DJ’s flying in from everywhere to ensure you can’t sit still, we are delighted to be offering you such a wonderful array of accomplished Craic Mixers.
Once your registration is accepted and your payment received you will receive a unique booking code to enable booking of your accommodation with the University.
This year the accommodation will also have many more options. We have secured all the available accommodation on the South campus, in the buildings nearest the venue. Apartments on the North Campus will be also available. If you want a group booking for one of the self catering apartments on the North Campus, it is important to remember the best option is one person books all the rooms needed for the group, then you will all end up in the same apartment.
You can view the types of rooms in the link below.
All booking is through the university accommodation office and we suggest the best route is directly by phone or email. The booking code also is only for the dates 29th June – 3rd July. If you want to add extra days outside these dates, please book with the university as early as possible to ensure you get your choice.
If you have time in between tandas Maynooth is not only beautiful but steeped in history too. Hire a bike, walk the town their is a fine chocolatier and a great wine shop. Relax in the spa. Spend some time exploring!
Its pretty easy to get to Maynooth either from Dublin or Dublin. Here are some tips on planes, trains and automobiles.
Find key locations, eateries, things to do, train stations and other useful places. Hover over the map pin for a quickview. Click each map pin to get the address and link for more information.
Stay tuned on all event news along with rather more amusing good reads.
Special thanks to our tango photographers for the beautiful photos taken at the 2023 edition. These photos were of course taken by Adelina Martins as the official photographer and then the rest by the guests, including those who took part in the Garúa camera club. It’s our aim to show everyone what it was like in events past. However, if you are pictured in any of these images and would rather we did not publish the image please pop us an email. We will remove the image straight away.