Dundonald Community Concert Band

Castlereagh Borough-based Dundonald Community Concert Band (DCCB) had a beautiful sunny day for playing at the Dundonald Primary School Summer Fair on Saturday 4th June 2011 - now an annual gig in the events calendar! DCCB donated their time to provide background music while everyone browsed around the car boot sale, took part in the activities from archery to climbing walls, or were just tempted by all the tasty treats! DCCB will be playing at Killinchy Primary School Summer Fair this Friday evening (10th June) from 7pm to 9pm so come along and join in the fun!
Visit http://www.dccb.co.uk/ for more details of the band or if you are interested in joining - we're always on the lookout for enthusiastic new recruits!

 See DCCB play at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHu20FZ9xw&feature=related

Beauty and Art in the Lock Keepers' Inn

Colours and Brushwork fill in the Lock Keepers’ Inn…

Following the launch of his new exhibition in Dundonald Library last month, the artist Paul Gray gave two workshops in order to teach his skills and his colourful art. On Saturday 7th and 21st May the artist tutored two visual art workshops in the lovely and inspirational location of the Lock Keepers’ Inn.

Paul Gray is a self-taught local artist, who explores the medium of acrylics through the use of colours and his imagination. His artistic reference points are Impressionism, Fauvism and Expressionism, even though the most important thing for him as an artist is the opportunity to experiment with colors.

 

The workshops were open to beginners and people who wanted to experiment and try to paint with acrylics. In all, 7 wannabe artists took part and they left happy with their own versions of the Lockkeepers Cottage, and ‘Samson & Goliath’ the famous Harland and Wolff cranes. Paul put his own impressionistic slant on both iconic landscapes and helped the pupils to structure their paintings. He encouraged them to experiment with colours and textures, imparting confidence and bravery in the strokes.

 

In all a pleasant and relaxing few May afternoons were enjoyed by all, and we hope that this will serve to encourage artists to utilize the idyllic settings of ‘The Lockkeepers Inn’ and the surrounding area in the future.

Dundonald Community Band Play Stormont

Castlereagh Borough-based Dundonald Community Concert Band (DCCB) was delighted to be involved in yesterday's Stormont Family Fun day in aid of Children in Need. The weather just about held out as the brass, woodwind and percussion band played a broad range of favourites including Disney's 'The Lion King', Chicago's 'All That Jazz' and the toe-tapping 'Tijuana Brass'. The music was well-received by all! DCCB look forward to their next gig at Dundonald Primary School this Saturday 4th June 2011 - playing from 12noon to 2pm. Come along and join us! Visit http://www.dccb.co.uk for more pictures of yesterday's event and details of our upcoming gigs!

International Arts and Craft Exhibit in Castlereagh!

On Monday 23rd May an international arts and crafts exhibition landed in Castlereagh!

The exhibition represented the last part of a two-year project called ‘Dance of the creative hands’ which started in 2010 and included groups travelling from and to Austria, Greece, Northern Ireland, and Turkey.

The project involved a group from each country which developed and showed to the others a particular craft. There were different crafts on display, such as objects made with felt, crochet, handmade and knitted scarves, decorated eggs, each one showing particular details of each country… I fell in love with some eggs and the miniatures inside them, which were so cute and very detailed!

The exhibition was introduced by Amanda Marshall, EU Programme Co-ordinator at Ballybeen Women’s Centre, followed by the Mayor of Castelreagh, Vivienne McCoy, who expressed her pleasure in taking part in the reception. She was then followed by the representatives of each group talking in their own language and a translator from their group translating into English.

The reception was a real success, as was the project itself: Anne Walker, from Ballybeen Women’s Centre, stated that she was really pleased about the international project, it developed not only mutual understanding and participation, but also friendship and interest in the others… the group hopes to further develop their skills and they are already thinking of the next possible project. We have very happy to have such a great group of women in our Borough, and to have had the privelege of hosting such a friendly cosmopolitan group in the Council.

Last but not the least…a little Easter treat!

Despite the lovely spring weather, we had a good crowd in Cregagh Community centre for our last film of the Golden Oldies Movie Nights series, Easter Parade.

Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland’s best-known songs, such as Steppin’ Out with My Baby and We’re a Couple of Swells.

As usual, our mine of knowledge Michael Smythe, ‘Mr Classic Film Club’, introduced the film and surprised our spectators with his factual tit-bits, such as: ‘…the film won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture, and it also received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical. It also was the most financially successful picture for Garland and Astaire, as well as the highest-grossing musical of the year.’

Moreover, he explained that ‘…one musical number, a seductive performance of Mr. Monotony by Garland wearing the top half of a tuxedo and nylon tights, was cut from the film as it was considered too risqué for a film supposedly set in 1912!!!'

At the end of the movie, some tears marked the faces of our film lovers, knowing that that was the last film of the season… but with the popularity of these classics, I’m sure the Golden Oldies series will be back …

Brushwork fills Dundonald Library with colours!

The walls of Dundonald library filled with colours on 6th April: Paul Gray, a self-taught and local artist, launched the exhibition of his new work on the Backwall Gallery of the library.

A very appreciative audience took part in the launch of the exhibition, called A Colourful Imagination. Over 40 people showed up and enjoyed the new paintings of the artist, who mingled with the audience, explaining his works and the inspiration behind their creation.

‘A colourful imagination’ is an expression that can conjure up ideas of elaboration, interpretation, even distortion. Whilst almost all the paintings in this exhibition are from sketches made on location, they elaborate upon and interpret the landscape.

In addition to the wordplay on the word ‘colourful’, the word literally describes the paintings. I see colour as the crucial element in the work transforming the subject whether it is a painting of my native Belfast or one of London, New York, or wherever.

The paintings might be properly called ‘colourscapes’ rather than landscapes as colour is their defining characteristic. Some may recognise artistic reference points – Expressionism, Fauvism, Van Gogh and others. However, the important thing for me is the joy of experimenting with colour and hopefully imparting that joy to others.

Paul Gray

The exhibition will stay at Dundonald Library until 20th April, so don’t miss the opportunity to buy an Easter treat for yourself or your family!

Golden Oldies Movie Night, out and about…

On our second film night on tour, this time at the Moneyreagh Community Centre, Castlereagh Arts presented the excellent Mrs Miniver, a 1942 drama film directed by William Wyler and starring Greer Garson in the leading role.

We were very pleased to have a full house again – more than 30 people showed up and filled the Community Centre! We are delighted with the success and the popularity of these film screenings, and we are sorry to announce that the next one in Cregagh Community Centre will be the last one…but you never know, there might be another Golden Oldies series coming up in the future…we’ll keep you posted!

The film was introduced by our film expert Michael Smythe, who gave our audience some interesting facts: Roosevelt ordered it rushed to the theatres for propaganda purposes; the film was named the top box office attraction of 1942 in Britain. Moreover, of the 592 film critics polled by American magazine Film Daily, 555 named it the Best Film of 1942!

The film was based on the fictional English housewife, created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns, Mrs Miniver. It won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director.

The success of our Golden Oldies Movie Nights depends not only on the great films we offer on the big screen, but also on the lovely atmosphere of the community centres, which offer an intimate and friendly context where people can socialize and relax…

The last film will be shown in Cregagh Community Centre; ‘Easter Parade’, an American musical starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, the perfect treat to get into the Easter celebrations mood! See you there on 19th April!