OpenBritain Blog » Event

Candoco Dance Company to perform at The Squidz Club

Craig Grimes — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 16:40:21 +0000

I seem to have a bit of a thing for disabled dancers and up to now I’ve blogged events by the AMICI dance group. This time it’s the turn of The Candoco Dance Company which is also a contemporary dance group for both disabled and non-disabled dancers.

Candoco will be performing at the Squidz Club on Friday 23rd April from 7 – 11pm. The Squidz Club is held 3 times per year for young people between the ages of 14 – 25 that have learning disabilities. The Candoco event will take place at the Albany, Depford, London.

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Mobility Roadshow 1st – 3rd July 2010

Craig Grimes — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:37:04 +0000

The Mobility Roadshow on the 1st – 3rd July 2010 will be held at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. Don’t know where that is? Have a look at the location map on the Mobility Roadshow website. You can also find local accommodation and other things to do on OpenBritain.

Our partners DisabledGo will also be attending this event as well as Naidex. For those interested in Caravanning and Camping, Nirvana Motorhomes will also be attending the event as well as car manufacturers, companies that adapt vehicles and test drives will be available as usual.

This is a large event so people would be wise to try to deicide what they want to see before they go. You can do research on the Mobility Roadshow website and also download and print the event floor plans.

The event will also be held in Edinburgh on the 17th & 18th September and details will follow shortly.

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Naidex, 20th – 22nd April 2010

Craig Grimes — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:06:07 +0000

Very soon the exhibition and roadshow season will be upon us again soon here are a few posts about this year’s events. Naidex is taking place at its usual venue the NEC from the 20th – 22nd April and includes features such as New Product Showcases, Car Zone, Meet the OT, the Communication Village, Sensory Garden as well as a Lifestyle Seminar & Demo Area.

Naidex has also announced that ”Shannon Murray will be opening the event at 10:00am on Tuesday April 20^th at the Birmingham NEC. Shannon is without doubt the UK’s most recognisable disabled model and recently starred in the Channel 4 series How to Look Good Naked. In addition to opening Naidex, Shannon will also be giving a short talk and answering questions within the lifestyle and demonstration zone at 1:30pm.”

OpenBritain partners DisabledGo will be at the event so why not pop along to visit them and other holiday exhibitors.

The Naidex website gives information on exhibitors, floor plan and details on how to get there. Information about where to stay and other things to do in the Birmingham area can be found by using the OpenBritain search engine.

Registration for the event is now open, please do so on their registration page.

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Mobility Roadshow: Ready, Willing and Mobile 2010

Craig Grimes — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:32:40 +0000

NEWS RELEASE

Mobility Roadshow Announces Ready Willing and Mobile 2010

The Mobility Roadshow, the UK’s premier mobility and lifestyle event, is delighted to announce the sixth year of Ready Willing and Mobile, its national competition that encourages young people to help their less-able peers.

Supporting National Young Disabled Persons’ Day on 3rd July, it offers young people aged between 7 and 16 years the opportunity to win £1,000 for their school or club, as well as great prizes for themselves.

The competition seeks bright ideas to help children with disabilities on the move – at home, at school, at play. Mobility is not an issue exclusive to wheelchair users … sensory, learning or memory impairments can also affect a young person’s mobility in different and challenging ways.

“For over 25 years, The Mobility Roadshow has promoted inclusivity through showcasing products and services to aid anyone who needs help to get around,” said Jacqui Jones, Executive Director of Mobility Choice, the charity that organises the Roadshow. “Through this competition we are encouraging young people to think about others from an early age.”

To enter, all that’s needed is an illustration of the idea with a short description – what it is, how it works and how it could help. Previous entries have included accessible sports and play equipment, accessories and tools, communication and shopping aids and funky lifestyle wheelchairs. There are two age categories, 7 to 11 and 12 to 16, with a winner and runner-up in each age group. An outright winner is then chosen from the two age group winners.

Great Prizes

Each of the two age category winners receives a digital camera, £50 worth of Penguin Books and a VIP visit to the Mobility Roadshow on Saturday, 3rd July 2010 at the East of England Showground, Peterborough. The outright winner goes on to receive extra prizes for their school or club – £1,000 towards equipment or projects, STAEDTLER art and crafts materials worth £250 and £100 worth of Penguin Books. For themselves they bag an overnight stay for four at a Holiday Inn in London with a trip on the London Eye.

Visit www.mobilityroadshow.co.uk for full terms and conditions, entries close on 31st March 2010.

Ready Willing and Mobile is supported by Aspire, Go Kids Go!, Holiday Inn, Penguin Books, Phab Kids!, Royal College of Art and STAEDTLER.

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Bonfire Night at Bitts Park, Carlisle

Craig Grimes — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:15:55 +0000

Saturday 7th November 2009, Bitts Park, Carlisle.
Entertainment starts at 6.30pm, Bonfire lit at 7pm and admission is free.

The Carlisle Fireshow is in the top ten bonfire and firework displays in the country and attracts around 35,000 people. The bonfire is themed and built to a specific construction which has a pyrotechnic and firework display set onto moving parts. The firework display which follows is spectacular and the whole show is set to music. A fairground and catering units are also on site and add to the atmosphere. Admission is free although donations are collected for local charities.

Access

Limited disabled parking although some spaces will be reserved in Devonshire Walk Car Park on first come, first served basis. A special viewing area for wheelchair users will be set aside on Sheepmount Road.

Access will be maintained via Irish Gate Bridge. However for safety reasons stewards will ensure the bridge deck is not used as a viewing area due to the expected congestion of spectators.

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Bonfire Night at Roundhay Park, Leeds

Craig Grimes — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:28:58 +0000

Roundhay Park, Leeds – Thursday 5th November 2009

Celebrate Bonfire Night with a bang this year at the spectacular community firework display and bonfire taking place at Roundhay Park, Leeds.

Once again in 2009, tens of thousands of people are expected to gather at Roundhay Park to enjoy Leeds’ biggest bonfire and fireworks event. Bonfire – Fire lighting at 7.30 pm – Fireworks: Firework Display from 8pm.

The Roundhay Park website simply states that “Roundhay Park is accessible to wheelchair users.”

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Amici Dance Theatre Company Workshop

Craig Grimes — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:05:34 +0000

The Amici Dance Theatre Company is a unique company integrating disabled and non-disabled artists and performers. Founded in 1980, Amici’s productions and workshops have had a major impact worldwide challenging conventional attitudes about disability and the arts.

On the 14th October Amici are holding an open workshop at The Lyric, Hammersmith, London, which will be run by Wolfgang Strange.
Tickets cost £5 and are to be paid on the door

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information please email admin@turtlekeyarts.org.uk or call Turtle Key Arts 020 8964 5060.

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Swansea Festival of Music and Arts

Craig Grimes — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:44:58 +0000

The Swansea Festival of Music and Arts runs from the 28th Spetember – 17th October at various venues across the city. “The success of last year’s 60th birthday Festival has enabled us, in difficult economic circumstances, to build a programme of quality and diversity: concerts, opera, oratorio, chamber music, jazz and gospel, together with classical and contemporary dance, musical comedy, visual arts and lectures. We hope that people of all ages and backgrounds will share the colour and imagination which the arts bring to our lives.”

There is information for people with disabilities regarding three of the main venues; Brangwyn Hall, The Grand Theatre and the Taliesin Arts Centre.

You can also read the Swansea Festival of Music and Arts in Welsh.

“Gwŷl Gerdd a Chelfyddydau Abertawe

Mae llwyddiant Gwyl y llynedd, yn dathlu ei phenblwydd yn 60, wedi’n galluogi, mewn hinsawdd economaidd anodd, i adeiladu rhaglen o ansawdd ac amrywiaeth: cyngherddau, opera,oratorio,miwsig siambr, jas a gospel, ynghyd â dawns glasurol a chyfoes, comedi gerdd, celf weledol a darlithoedd.

Gobeithiwn y bydd pobl o bob oedran a chefndir yn rhannu’r lliw a’r dychymyg y mae’r celfyddydau’n cynnig i’n bywydau.”

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Doors Open Days

Craig Grimes — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:59:48 +0000

Doors Open Days is coordinated by the Scottish Civic Trust and is part of European Herritage Days along side the Scottish Archaeology Month which is organised by Archaeology Scotland. Doors Open days is the largest free annual architechtural annual event in Scotland and runs throughout September.

On the Doors Open Days website you can search for free access to hundreds of fascinating buildings throughout Scotland. Every weekend throughout the month many buildings that are normally closed to the public open up for a glimpse into their private interiors.

You can search either through the site’s interactive map, area or date. Within the interactive map page you can also search by area, date and theme.

Unfortunately, you currently cannot search by facilities for people with disabilities this year, but maybe it’s something that they will add for 2010. However, once you have found a building that you would like to visit they do include symbols to indicate accessible WCs and if there is access to the building.

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The Affordable Art Fair 22nd – 25th October 2009

Craig Grimes — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:23:56 +0000

The Affordable Art Fair (AAF) is the place to discover and buy paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography and original prints – all priced between £50 and £3,000.

With 120 carefully selected galleries from across the UK and Europe exhibiting there is contemporary art on show to suit every taste and budget.

The forthcoming Autumn Collection (22 – 25 October) in Battersea Park, London, marks AAF’s 10th anniversary.

I contacted the Affordable Art Fair to find out about facilities for people with disabilities and they responded very quickly with the following information:

“The Affordable Art Fair is located in a fully wheelchair accessible marquee, with the fair itself designed with wide aisles to make moving around the event easy for wheelchair users. We also have several wheelchairs which can be booked, for free on site, to use within the fair for those less able to walk.

We have a disabled toilet in the entrance marquee and special parking spaces at the entrance for cars displaying disabled stickers.

All of our signage is clearly laid out, using large point size to assist those with visual impairments.

A number of art fair assistants are employed and they are always on hand to give assistance to any visitors who may need it.

Our chosen charity beneficiary for this fair is the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability. They will have a stand at the event, raising awareness about neurological disabilities and their Art Therapist will also be running a workshop as part of our Education Programme.

We welcome all ages and abilities to our workshops – if a visually impaired person was interested in, for example, having a go at the sculpture making demonstrations, they would be given one-to-one assistance to make them feel involved without feeling patronised.

Previous beneficiaries include BlindArt – a charity dedicated solely to the ideal that all people should enjoy equal access to the visual arts and ActionSpace which runs visual arts projects in London for people with mild to profound learning difficulties.

We endeavour to make our event as accessible as possible for all and welcome any comments on how the public feel we could improve our event through visitor questionnaires.”

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