Welcome to the official festival website

at the end of the rainbow!

PDAF 2011 evaluation 

 (1)    Overall summary
(2)    Links with community /Highlights
(3)    Events
(4)    Numbers  and all that... and looking ahead 

1)      It has been a big success because people from different backgrounds to work and pull together in a relatively short time to create a varied and quality array of artistic engagements. Thanks to all the committed volunteers and inspiring artists!

It has been a challenge because of the small number of organisers, and a in the end large amount of events and arrangements.

The ‘Make a Splash’ funding enabled us to get some great interactive community artists (TRASH) and a cool festival venue (the Yurt), as well a free Family Ceilidh organised.

2)      Links with community have been nurtured and talent and places been celebrated

Our strength was

·         Street impact: in really brightening up and lifting the town centre through the ‘Clydesdale bank gallery’, together with Mural panels from schools at former butcher shop;
·         Quality art show andand  fine judge impact: a very inspiring Penicuik Turner Prize Exhibition with a very inspiring judge (Andrew Crummy),
·         connecting with the schools: the input Janis gave to schools (Strathesk + Sacred Heart PS) through the ‘meet the author’ events: the evocative recycle and community themed Trash Arts input (Cornbank Primary connected), Sophie Bancroft event (Peni High connected)
·         unique BEST venue: to have the Yurt here (circle shape and handcrafted ) as a magical community space
·         unique community: the artistic community of Carlops was fully represented in Anita’s house for 4 full sessions
·         cutting edge drama: the production of a play which takes and educative and challenging look at the hottest current issue: the debt crisis

some unique features:

©       the 4 sessions in Kittleyknowe , a very tucked-away-in-the-hills venue saw record levels of transport variety and was praised for cycling back to the old times)
©       working across geographical boundaries (Rosslin/EH; Penicuik; Carlops/WL // Borders

3)      Events and venue range over 8 (- 15) days :

Visual arts :        3 full time galleries (PCAA + library + business centre)
                                1 full window gallery (disused Clydesdale Bank)
                                5 shop window displays
                                3 galleries in pubs/hotels (Craigiebield Hotel, the Roadhouse, Royal Hotel)
                                3 weekend exhibits (Townhall; Bankmill; West Linton)
                                7 open studio/house at weekends

Performance arts:
Music:                  5 folk genre gigs (Sophie Bancroft at Penicuik High; Folk club and Mouth full of Grass 
                              in 2 pubs; Beggar Girls at Arts Centre; and a Yurt gig)
                           Opening bash ‘TRASh Orchestra’
Poetry/Music:       2 poetry and music performance events (Roslin Chapel; Yurt Circlings)
Poetry events:      5, 4 as part of Open House gallery in Carlops; 1 in Yurt)
Drama:                1 play at the Miners Club
Talks:                 2 talks : Liszt and Scotland (PCAA); Prestonpans Tapestry (Penicuik House)
Book Readings:   1 (West Linton Books shop)
Films:                  4 (Townhall)

Workshops:
Arts & Crafts:     3 for adults (1 spinning/PCAA; 1 felting/PCAA; stage art/house;)
                         8 for kids (1 art/PCAA; 2 mural art workshop at schools; 5 felting/yurt/library/hall)
Creative writing:  2 for adults (PCAA/house)
                         4 for kids (2 in schools; 1 in yurt; 1 in tipi)
Percussion :      1 x schools
                         1 in hall
Craft demos:      4 (2 Bankmill; 2 Penicuik House)
Craft fairs:          1 (Penicuik House)
Drama rehearsals:  loads !

3  cancelled events:        Hip Hop Workshop, spinning workshop; drama workshop


4)      numbers and all that... and looking ahead

A foot fall of three and half thousand is estimated to have been yielded. There has been a small profit of maybe £100. As always, the festival has not been a number crunching venture, but one that aims and succeed in connecting people and creativity. Many new friend ships have been struck. And we hope that next year we can gather again, maybe with fewer events, and spread out over a period of 2 weeks again, to particularly enable the artists from the venues outwith Penicuik to join in the Arts Trail celebration. We also hope to have a mural project involving the schools and further working on brightening up the town. After all: the murals at the still empty butcher shop and the fence to the building site that was Jackson Street School are still up now in 2012!

Now, lets have a look at what did happen, shall we?

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download a pdf of the programme we had here
and read on to remember 
what happened in September
where
PDAF 2011 was:
~ 8 days of events ~
something here for everyone!
Saturday 3rd to Sunday 11th September

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This years festival starts on Saturday with a grand opening in Penicuik Town Centre where Andrew Crummie will officially open the festival and children from Cornbank Primary will show off the skills they learnt at the TRASH workshop, playing the instruments they made.

In the afternoon the Turner Prize will be awarded as judged by Andrew.

Throughout the week come along and try your hand a various crafts, music making, dance and drama or attend one of the evening gigs, poetry readings ...

the Penicuik Blue; as a dinner plate by our local potter Jane Kelly

Community Currency

One interesting, unique and experimental feature of our 2011 Coming Together festival is the exploring of a and working with "Community Currency". We would like to take the current world situation as an artistic and creative challenge.
We will have a play performed on 11-9-11 which looks at the funny side of our not so funny money, and we will have drama and song workshops hoping to be liberating our real wealth.


The first and foremost thing that might strike and maybe even confuse you when you look at the program is that some events 'charge' ccc.
ccc stand for 'community currency coin' which is something you can be given if you freely give - time, resources, money to the festival community. On balance the community gives to you, in terms of access to ccc participating events. You can 'pay' with a hand crafted coin, your unique coin, or rather a token, of trust. You choose by seeing and saying yes to the whole picture.

 Find out more about that choice of becoming a ccc carrier on http://pdaf2011.weebly.com/how-to-pay-with-ccc-credit.html

Not listed yet? 
You can still register to be included here online
Your event is very welcome

To everyone who has not managed to get into the printed program please contact us now and 

• either simply tell us what you are doing when and how, and we put it here on line
  
• or give us a call to discuss how you can join up with your art or craft, music, poetry, drama or dance with existing or emerging events.
  

click here for how to get here

We believe in the power of community, which is a com-petere coming together in the true sense of the word: seeking together. Seeking together is what com-petere really means. 'Competition' is a word derived from this original meaning, and usually refers to a cut throat act. We here are aiming for a different kind of competition: who can help making our "Coming Together" real? Often the smallest piece is the vital missing piece for the best possible dance of the whole!

Starfish model of community, an image by Lilian

The festival has been organised by many groups and individuals from Penicuik and the surrounding area:

The Penicuik Community Arts Association is supporting many of the events and the production of the program thanks to funding from Make a Splash.

Your feedback matters to us! We are looking forward to hear from you!
Thank you !