Culture Night Belfast 2012

Before you go forth and have the time of your life at Culture Night Belfast, we want you to be fully armed, not only with information on the 220 plus events that you’re about to throw yourself into but also the ‘boring’ stuff, that actually makes the Culture Night experience even more enjoyable and as close to 100 per cent hassle-free as a non-legally binding commitment to such things can be! Below you’ll find important up-to-the minute info on parking, eating and the bus timetables to get you to the west and east of the city to participate in Culture Night Belfast even more fully.

BUSES
Below is the timetable for the FREE bus service to take you to and from the Culture Night hot spots in the west and the east of the city.

The Culture Night West Belfast Bus Route:
INBOUND (Andersonstown Leisure Centre - Culturlann - University of Ulster) 16.00, 17.00, 18.00, 19.00, 20.00  OUTBOUND (University of Ulster - Culturlann - Andersonstown Leisure Centre) 16.30, 17.30, 18.30, 19.30  

The Culture Night East Belfast Bus Route:
INBOUND (Strand Cinema - Holywood Road - University of Ulster) 16.00, 17.00, 18.00, 19.00, 20.00 
OUTBOUND (University of Ulster - Holywood Road - Strand Cinema) 16.30, 17.30, 18.30, 19.30

PARKING/ ROAD CLOSURES
Obviously, if you can help it, you’ll be leaving your car at home – 25,000 people coming into a city centre usually isn’t such an appealing prospect for driving.
But for those who are driving, here’s a few useful points and facts to help you get parked safely and cheaply.

There are some road closures, namely:
The entrance to Donegall Street will be officially closed from 6:30pm for the Love and Peace parade (hooray!) and will re-open around 10.00pm.
Talbot Street and Academy Street will close at 6:30pm in conjunction with Donegall Street. Normal parking restrictions and on-street parking fees will apply.

Other streets in Cathedral Quarter will be closed at the discretion of the PSNI. We have been advised that based on past Culture Night experience, they may decide to close streets such as Hill Street and Gordon Street as early as 4.00pm, so please be aware!
Also, anyone parked on these streets or in private car parks accessed by these streets WILL be able to leave after the roads are closed, however they may have to wait until pedestrians, parades or street animations pass.


PARKING PRIVILEGES
We’ve been working with our friends in North Street and High Park (High Street) Car Parks to arrange special Culture Night Parking rates for those of you braving the car journey into the biggest civic celebration the city centre has ever seen.

North Street Car Park, located between Rosemary Street and Garfield Street, will extend its opening hours until 11.00pm. From 5.00pm – 11.00pm the maximum charge will be £3.00.

A note of caution: We know you’re a sensible lot anyway, and will ensure that valuables are secure and out of sight throughout the evening. Premises are locked up at the end of the night including secondary entrances and upper windows.

Finally, and most importantly, make sure you have the time of your life in the biggest cultural extravaganza since Culture Night Belfast 2011. See you all there!

Culture Night is continually growing and reshaping and as such a few wee changes have been made to the original programme. Some events have got bigger, some events have changed, some new events have been added whilst others have fallen away but altogether Culture Night Belfast 2012 is all set and ready to go with a programme jam-packed with events for you to enjoy all for FREE! Here is an up to the minute comprehensive update with the latest amendments, additions and augmentations to this year’s programme.

New Events

11. Gordon Street

Jackson and Jones River Song - 18.00-22.00- Celebrate Culture Night with Jitterbug Jackson and Dick Jones. Two clowns, one river and an adventure you will always remember.

22. University of Ulster

NITB Films – 17.00-21.00 NITB and Cinemagic bring you the pick of the Young Directors for NI2012 with a series of short films about the lives of people in Northern Ireland. Recycle Boutique NI –16.30-20.30 Dress making mannequins that are in need of a new lease on life. Help us paint, pin and sew them into something new. Go one step further and Use one of a kind mannequins come on down and try your hand at designing the perfect dress for you.

Peter Adam St Anne’s Documentary 19.30-21.00 – St. Annes full circle is a documentary piece about the rise and fall of the original St. Annes plaza in Belfast that housed Skaters, bmxers, Misfits and drunks from the early nineties onwards.

33. The Black Box

Mencap Geocaching 18.00-19.30 Join LiveNet on a mini ‘Geocaching’ treasure hunt at Belfast’s biggest and most inclusive night of the year. Explore on foot, solve clues, find a prize, soak up the atmosphere, discovering some extraordinary sights and events on the way.

47. Assembly Rooms

Community Workshops with Community Arts Partnership - 17.00-20.00 Get your creative juices flowing and get involved with a range of art and craft workshops. Make and bring home your very own Culture Night souvenir.

58. Haymarket

Avalon Arts and Crafts Village 12.00-21.00 The VILLAGE will be open with art and craft fayres, art exhibitions, open mic, book stalls, poetry and performance for all the family to enjoy. Bear-makers, wood-turners, handmade jewellery makers and over 15 artists will be displaying their latest works.

(new Venue) St George’s Square
6pm to 8.30pm - Bbeyond will present a public performance involving artists working simultaneously. The nature of these presentations these interactions cannot be planned beforehand, so artists are working with the present moment, in an improvisatory manner.  During these actions-interactions, one may experience absurdity and beauty, the discernment resides with the viewer.

(New Venue) The Mermaid Bar
BAHN 22.00-02.00 DJs Adurn, Keith Connolly and Jan Jeffer

Cancellations

2. Dance resource Base 18.00-19.00 Flamenco Class

7. The Dark Horse 16.00-22.00 Culture Night Drive Time, U105 at the Dark Horse

9. Oh Yeah Music Centre 19.00-22.00 Wee Global Market

27. Belfast City Bike Tours 14.00-15.30 On Yer Bike Tour

21. Ramada Encore 18.40/19.40/20.40 An Aisling II

38. 2 Taps 18.00-22.00 Flamenco NI

45. Alleyway 18.00-22.00 Platform Arts : My Mothers Milk

No fixed Abode…

Colm Clarke and Stephen Millar: Come out to Play Frank:

Culture Night Radio The 16.00

Bus that would have been running from the East to the City Centre has been cancelled (16.00 from West runs as advertised).

Changes

4. Writer’s Square Salsa Belfast Time has changed from 18.00 to 19.00

11.Gordon Street Mini Festival Time has changed from 18.00-22.30 to 18.00-21.00

15. White Ink Architects White Links Time has changed from 18.00-21.00 to 18.00-22.00

22. University of Ulster Art Take Part Time has changed from 18.30-22.00 to 16.00-22.00

32. Royal Avenue (Outside Clements) Willie Drennan and his Folkabilly Band Time has changed from 16.00-21.00 to 18.00-21.00

36. Cotton Court Big Roller Print Event Time has changed from 12.00-21.00 to 12.00-22.00

41. LGBT Centre 16:00-20:00 Open all evening, the public is invited to work on a large art piece and enjoy a tea or coffee. 19:30 Quire performance at the front of the centre. 20:00 Shirley McMillan reads extracts from Widows' Row- a young adult novel exploring 'outsider' themes. 21:00 Quire performance in the main room in the centre

54. The Tivoli Barber Shop Sweeney Todd in the Tivoli Time has changed from 17.00-22.00 to 18.00-22.00

65. Deli Lites A Night of Deaf Culture – Time has changed from 19.00-00.00 to 19.00-21.00

Venue Change

Wireless Mystery Theatre Moved from Sinclair House 56 to Haymarket Arcade 58

Belfast Feminist Network Moved from Metz 70 to 21 Social (no number)

As part of a wide range of community initiatives for Culture Night, Community Arts Partnership and Culture Night Belfast are offering free tours for community groups and group leaders throughout the evening of the 21st September.

If you are new to Culture Night or not too sure about which shows or events to choose from, join our tours. Our friendly and knowledgeable guides will lead community groups and leaders through the Cathedral Quarter streets to experience this year’s biggest celebration of arts and culture in Belfast. Whole groups or individual group leaders are welcome to take part in this evening of carnivalesque adventure.

Tours can be adapted to suit your needs based on age, ability and of course your interests and preferences!

Many groups throughout Belfast have not attended Culture Night before so this is an ideal opportunity to explore and enjoy the event and find out more about what arts venues in the area can offer you throughout the year.

Culture Night Community Tours will leave from the Culture Night Hub in the University of Ulster at 5pm and 7pm and last approximately one hour and 45 minutes. Free transport is available for groups to and from Culture Night.

To book a place, email francesca@comartspartner.org or telephone 02890 92 3493

Culture Night Belfast is supported under Belfast Peace III Plan by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund through the Peace III Programme.

If you can’t wait for Culture Night and are looking for an opportunity to get even more involved with this year’s biggest celebration of arts and culture in Belfast we have something that might tickle your fancy.

Culture Night Belfast will be holding a series of workshops on Saturday 15 September from 2-4pm at The Assembly Rooms on Donegall Street in preparation for Culture Night Belfast. Open to all ages, these workshops will give everyone the chance to create something that will be seen and enjoyed by the masses on Culture Night.

Here are a few of the workshops that you can get involved in…

Recycle Boutique will be giving tired and weary dress-making mannequins a new lease of life. You can help paint, pin, sew and create something beautiful that the world will see on Culture Night.

Community Arts Partnership have arranged a range of art and craft workshops that everyone can enjoy. All artistic avenues will be covered from painting to sewing. Roll up your sleeves and create a work of art ready to be exhibited on Culture Night.

Cardboard Arcade Artist Janis Steadman will be holding workshops to create retro arcade games all made from cardboard and scrape materials. This project is inspired by a nine year old American kid who built a cardboard arcade in his Dads used auto parts shop, www.cainesarcade.com. Check out what he created and be inspired to be a part of Belfast’s very own Cardboard Arcade. Additional workshops will be held in the assembly rooms in the week leading up to Culture Night for those who need a little longer to perfect their creation. All of the games made will then be exhibited on Culture Night for the public to enjoy.

PS2 will be making Love Banners which will be hung on Donegall Street during the Culture Night Parade. The Banners will be made from simple materials and strung together with twine so everyone can get involved and get Belfast to be overwhelmed with Love on Culture Night.

So if any of these get your creative impulses raring to go, come down to The Assembly Rooms on Saturday 15th September and start decorating the city for Culture Night!

Culture Night Belfast and Belfast Exposed Gallery have joined forces to give ten individuals the opportunity to learn all the tricks and trades of photography and earn themselves their own gig as Culture Night’s photographers for the night.

Photographer and tutor, Mervyn Smith, will work closely with all participants in two workshops to be held on Saturday 15th September 1pm – 4pm and Wednesday 6.30pm-9.30pm.

These two workshops will cover not only the basics of photography but consider the more technical aspects of photography including;

• Photography shutter speeds, aperture, ISO etc

• Correctly downloading, Post Processing through Adobe Software, File Naming, Archiving

• Composition

• Low Light and Night Photography

• Planning your assignment

• Obtaining your own style

The skills obtained in these workshops will be put to practice on Culture Night, Friday 21 September, when participants will work as photographers for Culture Night. This is the perfect opportunity for novices and professionals to build/expand their portfolio as many of the photographs taken on the night will then be used on our website and in future promotions.

The best thing about this fantastic opportunity is that like all Culture Night events it is completely FREE! Belfast Exposed Gallery will provide everything you need to get started immediately or you can bring your own cameras and equipment – it’s completely up to you!

Places will be filled on a first come, first served basis so to ensure your place on this course make haste and send your details to ciara@culturenightbelfast.com.

As the countdown continues, Culture Night Belfast are looking for volunteers to help us on what will be Belfast's biggest and boldest celebration of the arts and culture.

Culture Night Belfast are looking to recruit friendly, energetic and passionate volunteers to help out on the most colourful and culturally inclusive night of the year.

Volunteers will be assigned to one of three roles:

• Information Point Volunteer
• Evaluation Team
• Event Runner

We will be holding training sessions prior to the event, where volunteers will be given a clear understanding of their role on the night. All volunteers must attend ONE training session. This training session will allow volunteers to get to know each other and the Culture Night Team as well as giving volunteers a clear understanding of what their role will entail.

Training sessions shall be held at the Culture Night Office, 3-5 Commercial Court, Belfast, BT1 2NB on:

• Monday 17 September, 7-9pm
• Tuesday 18 September, 7-9pm 

Culture Night Belfast will be taking place on Friday 21 September and all volunteers must be available and ready to assist from 3pm-10pm.

We at Culture Night promise to make your experience as a volunteer as fun and inclusive as possible and will be readily available to help with any queries and answer any questions that you may have on or before Culture Night.

So if you have a passion for the arts, event management or just want to play an integral part in this event, please send your contact details and the training day that you wish to attend to ciara@culturenightbelfast.com and join our facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/132195620204260/

We hope to hear from you soon!

Culture Night Belfast launches new viral competition to discover what locals love about Belfast.

Culture Night Belfast today launched a viral competition where they are asking people to post up photos of the things that make them love Belfast on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #lovebelfast.  One lucky person will win a prize for two people which can only be described as ‘The Best of Belfast’, including a night’s stay in the Merchant Hotel’s luxury suite, dinner at Bert’s restaurant, a sailing session courtesy of Ocean Youth Trust and yet more to be revealed.

Alice Quigley, Project Manager, commented:

“Belfast is a really unique and interesting place that punches well above its weight in terms of creative output – from a first-rate local music scene, to cutting-edge artist led galleries and collectives and so much more.  At the heart of Culture Night is a love of Belfast, the people, and the weird and the wonderful happenings that make it so unique. We want to see what makes Belfast folk tick, whether it’s a big day out, your favourite burrito bar or a pint in the pub.  From the ordinary to the sublime, we’re really looking forward to seeing everyone’s pictures!”

To enter the competition, all you have to do is post up your pic via Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #lovebelfast, or post it on the Culture Night Belfast Facebook wall. The top ten images will be picked at the Culture Night Belfast launch on 30 August, and will then be taken to a public vote to determine who wins the big prize. 

A selection of the best #lovebelfast entries will be projected in the Cathedral Quarter during Culture Night, on Friday 21 September, so even if you don’t win the exclusive prize, you can still see your snaps on the big screen.

The competition runs until Tuesday 28 August, with a Facebook vote taking place on the Culture Night Belfast page from 30 August until 21 September.  The #lovebelfast competition is subject to Terms and Conditions.  For further information on these contact the Culture Night Belfast office.

The countdown to Belfast’s biggest and boldest cultural celebration Culture Night Belfast 2012 will have its official launch on Thursday 30 August in Ramada Encore.

Building on the success of last year, Culture Night 2012 promises a night of even greater excitement with early programme tasters including the Transatlantic Diner (a one-off live link-up between local dining legends Blinkers and a New York diner) and the Belfast Film Festival's screening of the crowd-sourced Star Wars Uncut. The Forum for Alternative Belfast and NI Opera will transform the beautiful Tivoli Barber Shop once more with cacophonously cutthroat excerpts from Sweeney Todd.  Elsewhere there’s a Meditation Flash Mob on the loose, a mysterious Street of Magic, a perplexing Perspex Pyramid, and of course Belfast vs the Flying Saucers. These are just a few of the awe-inspiring range of activities and events taking place across the city centre and beyond that will make the fourth Culture Night Belfast an incomparable interactive extravaganza for all. 

Following the launch, Culture Night programmes, flyers and posters will be popping up across Belfast so you can start planning your own unique Culture Night Experience!

Date: Thursday 30 August

Location: Ramada Encore

Time: 11am

For the first time ever, Culture Night Belfast will be holding a Social Media Workshop on Wednesday 22 August, 4pm-6pm in Black Box Green Room.  This will be opportunity for individuals and businesses involved in Culture Night to maximise their online promotion potential as well as providing an interesting and informative insight into the world of social media. Programme Manager, Adam Turkington will be divulging how media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare can help promote your event/organisation /business and look at how such photo-sharing sites as Instagram can benefit you and your business objectives (as well as making you look like a hipster).

Date: Wednesday 22 August

Location: Black Box Green Room

Time: 4pm-6pm