Blossom Festival - Toryglen

This Saturday sees the return of the Toryglen Blossom Festival. There will be all sorts of activities including theatre workshops, circus skills, Environmental arts and crafts, live music and performances as well as lots more. The festival is being held in Glenmore Avenue in old Toryglen. 11am - 4pm

Ready Steady Grow

Remember the Ready Steady Grow festival is on in Pollokshields today from 1 - 5pm. Look like it will be good fun. For a full programme of whats on where download the event brochure here.

Streetland Festival 30 April - 2 May 2010

This weekend hosts Streetland, a festival of the community and the street, held in and around Westmoreland Street in Govanhill. The event forms part of the Glasgow International Art Festival's programme of events.

The Festival launches on Friday night at 6.30pm at the Streetland Information point at 126 Calder Street - for some tea and cakes. Performances start at 7pm.

On Saturday there are more than twenty events organised including The Asian Bazaar, 'Dear Sir Daniel' Lucie Potter's audio project based on stories about Govanhill baths, Ganghut an exhibition and installation by Dundee-based art collective at the Southside Studios and The Chalet Invitational, a group show curated by Seth Orion Schwaiger ar 18 Dixon Avenue.

Again on Sunday there are a whole host of events including Govanhill Grand Prix, The mess we made impromptu sculptural interventions by Skye Loneragan, a guided walk of Govanhill Victorian architecture by the Alexander 'Greek' Thomson society and outdoor film screenings from 9.15pm 

Streetlands is a great example of an event that includes the whole community. It's a festival that celebrates both the community and the street. For more informationon events - have a look on the main Streetland website, for a map of events click here

Blossom Festival in Toryglen - 24 April 2010

The Blossom Festival is now in it's third year, held in Toryglen and organised by Urban Roots. The festival is a celebration of their interests, projects and ideals which they promote, through their work in the community. There will be plants and food growing demonstrations, environmental art and drama. All music will be powered by solar energy and wind power. They'll be eco games, apple juice making, wood land crafts and my favourite pedal powered scalectrix. Sound like a really fun event.

It really is a low energy festival. It takes place on the 24 April at Glenmore Avenue 11am - 4pm

Mini Film Festival at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall

As part of this years Southside Festival, Pollokshaws Burgh Hall  and the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust will be hosting a mini film festival, during the month of May. The festival opens on the 2nd of May with the silent movie Hunch back of Notre Dame, accompanied by the SCOT Wurlitzer cinema organ.  Last years silent film, The General, was a sell out and it was a really unique experience watching the film along with the cinema organ, it's a very different sound to the church organ. Tickets are £5 and the film starts at 2.45pm

Also showing as part of the festival is a series of David Lean films.
9 May - Brief encounter, the 1945 film about a woman who meets a man in a railway station and is tempted to cheat on her husband
23 May - Great Expectations, the oscar winning film about a humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor. 
6 June - Doctor ZhiVago, the 1965 film about the life of a Russian doctor/poet who, although married, falls for a political activist's wife and experiences hardships during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Tickets for the David Lean Films are £4 or a trilogy ticket is £10. Tickets can be booked by calling Pollokshaws Burgh Hall 0141 632 5811

Glasgow Film Festival @ Tramway

The Tramway are showing Comedie & Here is Always Somewhere Else, The Disappearance of Bas Jan Ader, on the 24 February 2010 [7pm] as part of the Glasgow Film Festival.

Duncan Campbell has selected the little seen Beckett film Comédie, which, with its absence of action, cinematography and dramaturgy, stands as a masterpiece of modernity. Tracking Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader’s emergence in the radical art scene of the 1960s and his shocking disappearance at sea, the film is a sweeping overview of contemporary art film, featuring artist interviews such as Chris Burden, Tacita Dean, Rodney Graham, and Pipilotti Rist.

Tickets £4/£3 available from GFT or Tramway.

What to do this weekend - 19th - 21st June 2009

If there was ever a weekend in the Southside to run from one event to the next...it's this one. There are loads of events on catering for everyone. On Saturday we have three local festivals..Govanhill Festival, Pollokshaws Carnival and Bungo in the Back Lanes. Also on Saturday, the Kennishead community Centre is holding it's World Food event as part of Refugee Week. On sunday the Scottish Cinema Organ Trust are performing at Pollokshaws Burgh Hall, from 2.30pm - 4.00pm

On the Art front - Remember that the Tramway are again hosting Glasgow's School of Arts Masters Show, it's free and worth a visit and also the Southside Art Studios are having the opening of their new exhibition on Saturday night, if you can't make it, make sure you drop by on the Sunday as the Gallery is open all day.

More info is available on the posts below Have a fun filled weekend...we'll be posting some pics on Sunday/Monday

Pollokshaws Carnival - 20th June 2009

Another Southside event is happening this weekend. On Saturday Pollokshaws host their annual Carnival at Greenbank Park, Netherauldhouse Road.

The parade starts at 11.30pm at Shawbridge arcade at the top of Shawbridge street and it will then travel straight down Shawbridge Street and cross over Netherauldhouse road into the park.

There are several local community groups taking part in the parade including the Photography group, the sewing group, Greenview Church, St Paul's School, St Conval's primary, Sir John Maxwell's and other local groups. There will also be carnival costumes, a pipe band and drummers. There have been workshops for children leading up to the event for costume making, nmask making and dancing

The carnival will be opened at 12.00noon by Cllr Curran and there are stage acts including, african drumming, street dance, cheerleading and a rock and pop band. Other activities include, alternative therapies, healthy cooking displays, bouncy castles, bucking bronco, carousel, games and workshops for the kids, horse and cart rides, kicks and tricks and information stalls with lots of givaways and freebies.

I've never been to Pollokshaws Carnival but we're planning on going for a wee while before we go to Bungo in the Lanes. We'll post some pics of both next week.

Bungo in the Back Lanes - 2009

It's almost time for one of my favourite southside events of the year...Bungo in the Lanes. Bungo is the summer festival organised by the residents of Strathbungo. One Saturday every year they open up their gardens and clear out their garages. Stalls are set up in the back lanes, bouncy castles in the gardens, live music, wonderful food and most of all a great atmosphere.

It's a unique festival in a great area of the city, it's the community spirit and independent nature of the event that makes it stand out.

This years event will be held on Saturday the 20th June and starts at 1pm. The Strathbungo society are currently looking for volunteers to help set up, take down or man a stall.

Alternatively if you fancy running one of the following stalls then they would be happy to hear from you:Alternative therapies/massage Fair trade goods Crafts Bands/musicians.

They are also looking for donations for the tombola, bottle and lucky dip stalls. Anything will be accepted, including bottles of shampoo, tins of beans, unused fancy goods and so on. They're also looking for home-baking. Get in touch if you have anything.

Anyone can set up outside their own back gate and do not need to contact the Strathbungo Society. However for further info or if you are from outwith the three lanes you can contact Joanna on 423 7756.

Bungo Facebook

Gorbals and Govan Fairs - 6th of June

I've been looking for information on times etc for the Gorbals Fair but can't find anything on this years event. It is being held today in and around the Gorbals. There will be a parade and bouncy castle, stalls etc. So if you're in the area...let us know what's going on.

The Govan Fair will be having another event today, so if you missed the Govan Fair procession yesterday...there will lots of kids entertainment in and around the Elderpark Library from 2pm - 4pm.

Southside Festival - Music

There is loads of music at this years Southside Festival, here is the music programme for the weekend. Over and above this bands such as SheBoom, NGamba Samba and the Taiko Drummers will be playing around the park.

MAIN STAGE

SATURDAY

12 .00 BAILIE MARGOT CLARK OPENS THE FESTIVAL
12.15-12.30 DESI BRAVEHEARTS
12.40-13.10 MACDONALD BROS
13.20–13.35 DESI BRAVEHEARTS
13.50-14.30 NIKITTA ANGUS
14.40-14.55 DESI BRAVEHEARTS
15.00-15.45 LANGSIDE COLLEGE BAND
16.00-CLOSE HOT LOVE THEN COMPERE FOR CLOSE

SUNDAY

12.15-12.30 DESI BRAVEHEARTS
12.45-13.25 NIKITTA ANGUS
13.35-14.00 COMPERE & FESTIVAL STARS WINNER
14.10-14.25 DESI BRAVEHEARTS
14.35-15.20 HOT LOVE
15.35-16.00 ALKOTRON
16.15–CLOSE THE LA FONTAINES

YOUTH MUSIC STAGE [near the pond]

SATURDAY (DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!)
12.00-13.00 ANDY PIANCENTINI (dj - Dance ! Dance ! Dance !)
13.00-14.00 JOHNNY WHOOP (dj)
14.00-15.00 (Live electro/house/synthpop)
15.00-16.00 SLABS OF THE TABERNACLE (djs)
16.00-close DEREK SMITH (dj - Dance ! Dance ! Dance !)

SUNDAY
12.30-12.45 DJs
13.00-13-15 GYPSY HEART
13.30-14.15 PLAYTONE
14.30-15. 15 SANTOY santoymusic.com
15.30-16.15 FEDERATION OF THE DISCO PIMP
16.15-close DANCE ! DANCE ! DANCE ! dj s

ACOUSTIC TENT

SATURDAY
12 .15-13 .00 INNESS THOMSON
13.15-14.00 ROBERTO CASSANI
14.15-15. 00 ROBIN LEWIS ADAMS
15.15-16. 00 THE MOONSHINERS

SUNDAY
12.15-13.00 JAMIE FLETT & SAFETY NETT
13.15-14.00 MARY K. BURKE
14.15-15.00 HELEN McCOOKERYBOOK
16.00 LORNA BROOKS

GLASSHOUSE AFTERNOONS

SATURDAY
12.15–13.00 BRASSMONKEYS
13.15–13.30 BELLYDANCERS
13.45-14.30 LATCHICOS
14.45–15.30 ROBERTO CASSANI
15.45-16.00 BELLYDANCERS
16.15-17.00 BRASSMONKEYS

SUNDAY
12.15-12.30 BELLYDANCERS
12.45-13.30 THE SWING GUITARS
13.45-14.30 THE BALLACHULISH HELLHOUNDS
14.45-15.30 THE SWING GUITARS
15.45-16.30 THE BALLACHULISH HELLHOUNDS
16.30-16.45 BELLYDANCERS

La Roche Rumba - Rumba in the Park

If you can't wait until the first Saturday in June for your next dosage of Rumba frolics? Well you don't have to because La Roche Rumba have been invited to be part of this year's Southside Festival. They'll be playing Saturday in the Glass House in Queen's Park with live performances from Fear The Fives, Hot Love and Edinburgh electro outfit, RBRBR.The Rumba DJ crew will also be on hand to provide all the sonic materials and repetitive beats you'll need to keep you throwing shapes into the night.

Tickets are available from the Royal Concert Hall or on the Door

Click Here to join La Roche Rumba's facebook page

After Mary Rose

In Conjunction with the Southside Festival - Magnetic North presents After Mary Rose. Written by J.M Barrie who created Peter pan. The play wright D jones is from the Southside... The play is on from Wednesday 20th until Saturday 23rd of May. It starts at 8 o clock, tickets are £8 and can be purchased from the Tramway.

It started with Hitchcock,’ says Nick Bone, artistic director of Magnetic North. ‘I had read an interview with Hitchcock and was intrigued by this play that had fascinated him. And I had a very strange reaction to it when I read it.’

The play is Mary Rose, written by famous Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie, creator of Peter Pan. Written late in the playwright’s life, it tells the tale of a young woman who mysteriously vanishes from a secluded island twice in her life with no explanation. She returns both times without signs of aging and with no memory of having ever been gone. It’s a challenging work that is hardly ever performed.

Director Alfred Hitchcock, a major fan of the play, had wanted to turn it into a film but never managed to do so. Bone thinks he knows why it’s seldom seen on stage. ‘I felt that if I’d gone to see it [in modern times], I wouldn’t buy into the mystery. It’s set up like a ghost story but it doesn’t work like a ghost story.’ He also finds fault with Barrie’s female protagonist, calling her a middle-aged man’s fantasy, and odd. ‘There’s an innocence in what he’s trying to capture, but I found that he didn’t quite find a way of getting that across.’

As a solution, Bone proposed to create a brand new play, one that would honour Barrie’s characters and plot but would resonate with a modern audience. He met playwright D. Jones and gave her a copy of the play to read. ‘We both felt there was something disturbing in it and darkly imaginative that we wanted to develop, staying true to Barrie’s themes of grief, loss and disappearance,’ says Jones.

Speaking about the writing process, Jones says ‘I struggled early on with wanting to stay true to Barrie but at the same time wanting to make the script our own.’ In speaking about her script, Jones says that there is a resemblance in setting and structure but that the characters are emotionally richer, an aspect she found lacking in Barrie’s script. ‘I think the end result is that we have hopefully done something original.’

This end result is the new play, After Mary Rose. The play still follows the rules set forth in Barrie’s original and follows two stories, that of Rose’s disappearances and the parallel story of her son Harry’s quest for understanding. Of duality, Bone says, ‘Mary represents mystery and things that cannot be explained, while Harry’s journey is one of explanation.’ There are also parallels to the regrettable losses of war; Mary’s disappearance occurs at the end of the First World War whereas Harry’s story takes place after the Second.

In speaking about the upcoming production, playwright Jones said she now realises that, ‘We had really set ourselves a big challenge’ but remains convinced that ‘there is still something darkly emotional and moving in this play that has a timeless quality and will translate to a contemporary world.’

Click here for review

Southside Festival Comedy

The first event of this years Southside Festival is taking place this Friday night at the Pollok Football social club. The Festival Comedy night features Gary Little - the infamous comedian who nicked books and then flogged them on Ebay, after a brief holiday in prison, Gary little is back on the comedy circuit. Along with Little is Bruce Morton, Barry MacDonald and Patrick Rolink.

Tickets are only £5 and are available from http://www.glasgowconcerthalls.com/ or you can call 0141 353 8000

Doors open at 9pm [-1am]

Southside Festival: Village Hall to Queens Park

The Southside Festival have just announced that 'Fiddles and Beer' will be kicking off the Festival weekend. Fiddles and Beers slogan is 'bringing the village hall to the city' and headline act the Bramax's, are the smaller version of the well known band 'the Peatbog Faeries'. The event will be held in the Glasshouse's in Queens Park on the 22nd of May. More details can be found on fiddle and beers website

Once more a Fiddles and Beer is bringing the Highland Village Hall to the city. Following the great success of the first two Fiddles and Beer nights last year.
Headline act is: BRAMAX from the Isle of Skye who are basically the PEATBOG FAERIES watered down . support acts to be announced.
With high octane celtic, acoustic and rocking beats it will be another night to remember - a great chance to enjoy the best of Scottish music washed down with beer from the likes of the Orkney and Skye Brewery, the Kelburne Brewery and many others. A unique event, in a great setting.

Fiddles and Beer - 9pm till Late - Glasshouses -Queens Park

Southside Festival

Short film we put together capturing a bit of the fun from last year's Festival. Looking forward to this years festival, should be a lot of fun.

Hope they get the duck herding guy this year - he was great when he took part in the Queens Park funday a couple of years ago. So too was the falcon guy though his turkey vulture did peck a woman on the head.

The Southside Festival Star

The Southside Festival, this week launched The Festival Star competition. This Southside version of X Factor is open to any person between the ages of 10 - 18, who attends a school within the Glasgow city boundary. There are several categories including singing, group, dance, solo. The prize is a slot on the main stage at the Southside Festival on the 23rd of May. Info and application forms are available on the Southside Festival website.

The Judges are will be announced soon...we'll keep you posted.

Glasgow Film Festival @ the Tramway

This years Glasgow Film Festival tickets go on sale online at midnight on 21 January 09. Tickets are £6 per film but there are a couple of ways of getting cheaper tickets. You can buy a festival film pass [valid for 10 films] for £40 or you can buy 10 tickets on-line at once and also get them for £40.

The good news for Southsiders is that the Tramway will be hosting a couple of events. The official programme is not being released until the 21st but the Tramway are already advertising their events.

For more details

Southside Festival Returns

The southside festival will return for it's second year on the 23rd and 24th of May 2009. After the success of last year, the festival will now be spread over two days.
Mark it in your diaries.

for more info http://www.southsidefestival.co.uk/

The Southside Festival

On Saturday the first ever southside festival took place, in Queens Park. The festival kicked of with the parade which left from Shawlands academy at 12 o clock, the parade continued along Pollokshaws road, Allison street and then up Victoria road and into the park. Linda Fabiani, the minister for culture, opened the festival.
There were several music tents as well as dance and comedy - so when it rained you could keep dry. There was also stages out in the open so when the sun did shine you could sit in the sun and listen to the music. There were huge queues for the kids rides.
The camp at the top of the park was quite amazing with three battle reinactments during the day.

The Glass house held the 'Southside Flavours' event which celebrated the cultural diversity of the southside. Lots of food stalls selling food from different ethnic groups as well as local deli's like 1901.

If you want to comment on the festival, what you liked and perhaps what could be improved click here to go to the my space site.