Manga murals for St. George’s hoarding

Silent Hobo is on the way to completing the 30-metre mural for the hoarding which will surround St. George’s Chapel whilst renovation work takes place.  He is depicting scenes of Great Yarmouth life through the ages – the scene represented here is from the era of Mods and Rockers congregating on the seafront.   For a fuller article on the St. George’s project click here or for  Silent Hobo’s website here.

Avatar at Great Yarmouth Community Cinema

Maritime Festival 2010

The 2010 Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival took place on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 September 2010 on South Quay, when traditional tall ships, expedition vessels, steam drifters and lifeboats were moored on South Quay for visitors to admire.   Photographs above are of the Russian ship, the Shtandart, which welcomed visitors aboard for free.  This three masted tall ship is a replica of  Peter the Great’s first Russian-built flagship (1703) and is generously ornamented with stunning carvings.  Visitors could also go on board the Excelsior and Lydia Eva and enjoy trips on the Southern Belle and MV Coronia, a pleasure steamer which was built in Yarmouth in 1935.

Shanty and maritime music was performed throughout the festival at three different venues, all with bars, up and down South Quay, with a packed programme of artistes, including the Dutch Shantycrew Buitenboord photographed above on their first visit to Great Yarmouth.   

Painting, ceramics, knot tying, net mending and lace making were all on display in the popular demonstrator’s marquees.   Tasty food stalls were abundant including the Feast of Fish marquee, whipping up some delicious fish dishes. Walk about entertainment included The Giant Seagulls, Horatio Herring and Mrs H !  The BBC  presented Bang goes the Theory performances on Stonecutter’s Quay!  The weather was superb on both days and the festival seemed busier than ever.

Out There Festival

A massive free festival of international performance and participation took place in St. George’s Park, Great Yarmouth on the 18th and 19th September. Out There is now the largest street arts festival in the region.

Joe Mackintosh of SeaChange Arts says, “We love being Out There! Out on the east coast, we think we’re a little bit special – perched on the edge of the UK and tipping a wink to the continent! Our programme reflects that.”   This year one of the titans of international street arts, Générik Vapeur performed the English premier of their long- running street show, Bivouac, which was a huge success.  Hundreds of people followed the blue-painted performers as they made their way down from St. George’s Parade and along Marine Parade banging and rolling huge oil drums, preceded by a flame throwing iron dog and accompanied by a lorry upon which three musicians were performing.  Fire crackers were being let off to startle the swarming crowd and acrobats appeared on buildings.  The sense of expectancy was tangible amongst the milling spectators and the fireworks finale was magnificent.

From France Chamboule Touthéatre and two of the original founders of the parkour phenomenon performed in a show called Fusion.  Add to that performers from Sweden, Belgium, New Zealand and Australia all brought  a sense of the weird, the wonderful and the unusual.

Local artists were commissioned to lead community workshops to create mobiles, kinetic and metal sculptures and flags and banners to decorate the festival park, and to deliver participatory workshops on site at the festival.

Out There has been developed with the support of the ZEPA network, an innovative project partnering nine French and English festivals to create and share artists, tours and expertise. While born of international partnerships the festival is founded on the historic qualities that make Great Yarmouth unique with its rich heritage of circus and seaside entertainment.

The Out There festival is pure fun and not to be missed -watch out for the 2011 Festival!  For more information click here.

Heritage Open Days

A great opportunity to discover hidden Greater Yarmouth over four days of free events with special guided tours and visits to buildings not usually open to the public, Heritage Open Days spans four days from 8th – 11th September 2011. 

Amongst  the many great buildings to explore are HS Smoke House , five traditional old smoke houses in South Denes, over 150 years old and still using traditional methods for smoking herring.  Prebooking is required for guided tours on Friday at 10.00 am and 2.00 pm and Saturday 10.00 am, numbers per tour limited to 15 people   Also the wonderfully ornate Regent Theatre, now Mecca bingo, designed by Frances Burdett Ward and decorated in the Louis XVI style.  Opened in 1914,  it has been well preserved by its current owner. Pre-booking is required here too for guided tours on  Friday to Saturday at 10.00 am and Sunday 11.00 am.   But these are just two of  the  participating venues.

For more information visit the Heritage Open Days site by clicking here.

Exhibition opportunity for artists

Artists Needed for Exhibition in September 2010

The St James Health & Resource Centre is hosting a collective art exhibition on 24th, 25th & 26th September 2010.

I am looking for artists to come along with their artwork (any media), and exhibit it over the weekend.

Please get in contact with us and let us know what kind of work it is i.e size, media, special requirements.

If you are interested please call Rosina on 01493 335790 or e-mail on rosina.haskell@nwes.org.uk

Deadline for applications 01/09/2010

Sunday Circus at Time and Tide

Roll up, roll up! Meet Rollo the Clown for fire eating, magic and escapology. Visit ‘Showtime’, our circus exhibition and hear a talk on the history of clowning by Great Yarmouth’s Don Stacey. Have your face painted and join in with circus themed crafts and dance. Tap your feet to live music from Great Yarmouth Youth Brass Orchestra and enjoy tasty treats in the delightful Silver Darlings cafe. 10am – 5pm, museum admission only.  Sunday 8th August 2010