Poetry Jukebox- Belfast Fringe in Castlereagh

Castlereagh Arts helped bring one of the most original acts in Belfast to Forestside on Saturday the 23rd of October.

 

Some customers deciding which poem to choose

In keeping with the often bizarre nature of the Fringe, the poetry jukebox is a new concept and as quirky as you’ll find. For the princely sum of one pound, I was shown into the jukebox and seated by one of the friendly volunteer’s, a performer pulled back the curtain and recited the poem which I had chosen.

Dee (in picture) draws back the curtain before performing ‘Bloody Men’ by Wendy Cope.
 
An innovative and personal way of bringing poetry to the masses

Castlereagh teams up with the Belfast Fringe Festival

The Gathering Drum

Milo banging the drum. A definite future rock star!




The inaugural Belfast Fringe Festival kicked off Friday the 22nd of October 2010. Castlereagh Arts teamed up to help host some festival events. On Saturday the 23rd Cregagh Community Centre was host to ‘The Gathering Drum’. A family friendly event, where parents and toddlers got the opportunity to bang away their troubles on a varied selection of percussion instruments.

The workshop started with some basic rhythms and progressed to more complex arrangements.  Xylophones, ocean drums, thunder drums and wooden frogs culminated in a chorus of noise which all the participants helped to create.  Joe Loughlin, the creator and facilitator for ‘The Gathering Drum’ was patient and raucous in equal measure.  Let’s hope we can team up with the festival again next year…

GOLDEN OLDIES – Movie Nights start with the Classic film Singin’ in the Rain

Castlereagh Civic Centre is transformed into a cinema!

An appreciative crowd attended the classic film Singin’ in the Rain on 14th October. We aimed this series at bringing the senior citizens of the Borough together for an evening of classic film fun, and amongst the audience were representatives and residents from care homes in Castlereagh, East Belfast and beyond.

 

The film was introduced by Michael Smythe, a veritable mine of knowledge on the film industry, who imparted some pearls of wisdom on the background about the film including social influences, production costs and little known facts about the production… “they used milk to make the rain visible on camera for the well known dance sequence…” was one of the more surprising tit-bits that Michael informed the audience of.

The popcorn and ice cream went down a treat!

The next film of the ‘Classic Film Club’ will take place on Thursday the 11th of November at 7pm in the Castlereagh Civic Centre and we’ll be screening the classic Brief Encounter, a 1945 British film directed by David Lean, about British suburban life starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard and Stanley Holloway.

PHOTO WORKSHOPS with BELFAST EXPOSED

PHOTO WORKSHOPS with BELFAST EXPOSED

Castleragh Arts in partnership with Belfast Exposed Photography organized a four week workshop programme in Tullycarnet Community Centre. The workshops started on 13th October with the participants working on portrait photography. Next sessions will involve location photography and gaining skills with Adobe Photoshop.

The participants are very enthusiastic, working and experimenting with their cameras under the tutelage of professional photographer Mervyn from Belfast Exposed. An Exhibition at the end of the four week workshop will give them the opportunity to display their work for the first time! During this session we worked on portraiture, lighting and experimentation with aperture and shutter speeds to capture different moods and used to get special effects, as illustrated in the picture beneath...

The dirty Blues band in concert

First Friday makes a return after the summer break…




The Dirty Blues band rockin’ Castlereagh Civic Centre

On October 1st many of the council staff called into the Civic centre function suite to indulge in some blues, bluegrass, rags and folk from the Dirty Blues band. Having played in the Cathedral Quarter and Open House festivals in the past few years, the group has a growing reputation for combining fine toe-tapping music, and great vocal harmonies. The band hails from Omagh and have featured on BBC2’s Blas Ceol.



We hope to have them back playing in the New Year.



First Friday continues with Robin Colvil on Friday the 5th of November, playing in the Civic function Suite from 1pm-2pm. Tickets are still available for £3 (£2 concession)

New workshops

Practical Theatre skills:

Scenography



November 3rd & 10th 7pm – 9pm



Thinking outside the box. An alternative approach to modern Scenography with Niall Rea



Workshops for theatre enthusiasts, to offer insights into set design skills. Niall Rea has worked extensively in the European Avante-Garde Theatre movement, and has been employed extensively and prolifically in Belfast and beyond, designing sets for The Lyric, Tinderbox, Rawlife, Brassneck, and many other theatre companies throughout Northern

Ireland and the UK.





Admission £10 covers 2 sessions. Group concession available



Limited places, bookings essential.



Contact the Conor Maguire on 028 90494566