Open Season, Ailie Blunnie and Winter Market at The Dock

It’s almost Wednesday morning, I have a handful of more details and news for you, and I am still looking forward to the weekend at The Dock! Ailie Blunnie is not having a support act on the night, so Friday  8.30pm very sharp it is, straight launching into the Blunnie Sisters’ act, I also heard there is a boyfriend on that stage too, and I guess we’d be lost without Keith in the sound box, so let’s welcome the boys also! If the Open Season allows me to pop out in between, I’ll try and take a couple of shots of the Blunnie’s in preparation of the show, I have a feeling they might just let me do that for you! I love the idea of Duke Special meeting Imelda May for a day of feeding ducks in the park and putting that thought into music; and boy am I excited to go to that gig!

Mella, one of the organizers of the Winter Market filled me in on a few more details too, last year’s market was fabulous already I can give you that, but they are sure to well top that yet! First of all, it more than likely won’t flood or ice-sheet the roads on us between now and Saturday, so allof us get a fair chance in turning up at The Dock this time, and there will be even more stalls than last year to choose from and potter around so I heard. Very importantly  there will be nibbles and mulled wine (did I just  mention the food first … again!?), there will be handmade natural cremes and ointments, handcrafted Teas and Coffee, Christmas Cards, books, Santa’s Lost Buttons, Felt Creations, Ceramics, Knit Kits, paintings, Wellie Trees, hand painted lamp shades, local photography, hats and scarves, vintage clothing, Woodcraft, Christmas decorations… and I think they have a few more things up their Winter Market-sleeves! Sounds great to me, a lovely day out, and many thanks to Mella and crew already, I saw her busily organizing and putting time and effort in all morning today!

So, anybody else  like me waiting for that What’s On Guide turning up in your letter box? I was tossing and turning already, patience is  not one of my virtues yet, but  I found out why we are that bit behind with the post-outs. And yes, that brings me to the sideline of the Volunteer Scheme again too! With the Trade Conference and all, The Dock staff has been so flattened with work all weekend that the What’s On brochure found its way into the envelopes only this morning, and I don’t really know how many of us are on that mailing list, but it looked like a big job to me! So anybody idling around and having time on your hands as little as it may be, call in and let Ciara know that you are interested in volunteering for The Dock, mailing, putting posters out around town, ushering for the odd performance. The perks? If possible at all, getting into the shows you like for free, in times where money is that bit tight this might be worth a lot to a lot of people out there. So spread the word and come along, there is always some nice crowd about in the foyer too… And the What’s On should be in your letter boxes somewhat between today and tomorrow, you can look forward to a neat job on that! I know some people found the last one a bit hard to navigate through, this one has a cooler lay-out, more leight weight, and i love the calendar bit at the side of each month! Glad i put my own calendar bit on the blog days ago already, great minds think alike, now it appears rather streamlined even though it wasn’t!

What else? The galleries are currently and seriously being painted and prepared for Open Season on Friday night, should be great craic to see all the different styles and ways of creativity together on one wall space! Pity none of the artists came forward to tell us a bit about themselves or their work for the blog, maybe I catch some of them on the night, but here the last chance to email me if you want to present your work and yourself  at the last minute in regards to the Open Season exhibition on Friday at 5.30pm! dockblogger@gmail.com  What delights me a lot is the presence of  children’s art this year, Annaduff and Newtowngore National Schools  have been working with artist Kate Wilson and their self-portraits and an animation made by the children will be on show in The Jury Room Café/Bar throughout the run of  Open Season. 

And last but not least all comedy fans check out Fred Cooke and Eric Lalor on our website – looks like a night of laughs on Thursday at 8.30pm! I bet you see Davy from the Jury Room there, I figured out that he loves comedy a LOT!

Happy Wednesday to everybody, Your Dock Blogger

Elevens pushing the Boundaries

ELEVENS are interested in meeting visual artists based in the Northwest… and talking about the possibility of forming a collaboration. In the past they have worked with visual artists using projections, photography, film and video.
This is an opportunity to come and see the guys play and have a think about what you could bring to the project.
The Dock hope to form a relationship with ELEVENS over the next while … during the collaboration you will be able to use The Dock as a space to develop and play with your ideas … any guidance and equipment we can offer will be available to you … all in a creative and professional environment.
You never know where it might lead ….
The Space @ The Dock presents ELEVENS Fri Nov 4th 8.30pm til late. €10.
Excellent acoustic music and live video art in a laid back atmosphere.
Check out their new single Torn at the Seams here: http://vimeo.com/29478747

Workshops, Volunteers and Jape – coming to The Dock!

Just a quick reminder, its Meet the Tutor tonight, or go for the volunteering scheme and join the club if you think this might be for you, 5.30 till 7pm in The Dock!

If neither of the above appeals to you check out Jape, coming to The Dock tomorrow night at 8.30pm, looks like a brilliant gig to me. What’s best, your money will go a long way, as after the show you can stay on, enjoy a few drinks and hit the dance floor, this time with DJ Stevie M, promising groovy tunes!

The space is currently being worked on to make it “cool”, the fixed seating is taken out and in go comfy sofas, tables and bean bags with enough room to boogie! Polish yer dancin’ shoes, countdown to tomorrow eve!

 http://youtu.be/Rbmw5ZEUOyw

Ps if I get a chance I will peep in there today and take a picture of the transformed seating arrangements, take me up on that!

 Your Dock Blogger

Volunteer Scheme at The Dock

Good Morning dear Reader, looks like we are going somewhere with this blog and new readers are finding their way to our posts, and LIKING it! Good stuff, all the more joy for me to go and find all the hidden gems and little pieces of information for you…

Today something that very few of you might know about, I certainly didn’t till The Dock Crew took me under their Dock-Blogger-Wings! There is a Volunteer Scheme going on in The Dock, and in times like these it might be all the more interesting, especially if you have extra hours on your hands or less money in your pockets to see the odd show or gig in town…

So, listen up… The Volunteer scheme is running for about 2 years by now, there is a core group of people helping out in The Dock whenever things may get busy or tight. One of the main roles of a volunteer is to help out on the night of the shows, as an usher you’d be helping to get the audience safely seated, and as a perk the usher gets to stay and watch the show. Good deal in my books I tell you! Another role is to help with the mail-out of the What’s On Guide and exhibition invites, so nothing to be worried about either. In the past the volunteers have helped at The Carrick Water Music Festival, Open Days at The Dock including Multi-Cultural days and the documenting of exhibition openings and besides that The Dock often needs help with keeping watch of the exhibitions in the galleries. The volunteers are entitled to limited free tickets, so if there is a show that you really want to see, you can avail of a free ticket where anyhow possible!

There is a great buzz between The Dock Crew and the individual volunteers, the help given is absolutely honoured and valued, and The Dock is always looking for ways to improve the volunteer scheme along the way.

So, if any of you like to get involved and ask their questions about the scheme please come along to Meet The Tutor tomorrow Thursday the 15^th, and Ciara will be there to tell you everything in probably much more detail or get you signed up if you’re ready to join the crew.

Once I read something along the lines of “Recession got you idle? Volunteer!” That’s a while back, when the Celtic tiger had just stopped roaring, but I never forgot that sentence, as it seemed like such a positive way to turn misfortune or change around towards something productive, a call for taking action, for jumping in!

If you are interested, see you tomorrow eve between 5.30 and 7.30pm at   The Dock!

Your Dock Blogger                                          

And yes, it is at the very same time as ‘Meet the Tutors’ for all those classes and courses; so check out the workshops at The Dock for this autumn too! Anybody not having the programme and wanting a list of coming up workshops here, please let me know, that can be done too, of course! ;o)

Your D B

Meet the Tutor in The Dock

Are you considering one of those daytime workshops in The Dock? There is a lot on offer for this autumn, and if music isn’t the thing for you then it might be Creative Writing, Drama or Oil Painting? And then there is the more unusual ones too, Writing for Movies, Glass Staining, Djing to name just a few… Six pages in the programme are dedicated to the workshop section, probably to conquer the onset of the falling leaves and shorter days in the most enthusiastic way possible! Check it out, and if you find something that is down your street, go for it!

This Thursday 5.30 till 7pm is Meet the Tutor night, a registration evening in the Dock where you get a chance to meet the tutors as the title suggests of course, find out about the classes, get your questions answered, and see what each workshop may have in stall for you! Might be a great way of checking things out, seeing who else might be interested in the courses and finding a familiar face on the morning of the first class in that room after all!

Check the programme; get ready to meet that winter blues with your chin up and some new skill up your sleeve!

Thursday 15^th of September 5.30 till 7pm in The Dock to Meet The Tutor!

 Your Dock Blogger

The Dock’s Volunteer Programme now accepting applications

Fancy learning new skills and meeting new people all while supoprting your local arts centre?

Check out the ad below about The Dock’s new volunteer programme. If you want to apply, email Sarah for an application form, or if you have any queries give Sarah or Claire a call on 071 9650828.