Three days of fun and actives in South Devon’s Newton Abbot Festival kick off today with performances at the town’s famous clock tower.

The long weekend’s artists include our own Katie Marie, who’ll be perfuming with Nick Swann on Sunday, but today’s event kicks off with Baharan Panjab Diyan Dancers at 2pm, flowed by the the sultry vocals and virtuoso guitar of Kit Holmes, who’s been compared to Nick Drake and Macy Gray, and described (by The Observer no less) as ‘full of warmth… an absolute delight’.

Also on hand today will be stilt walkers, Dan the Magician, a BMX and skateboarding demo from Newton Abbot Shredders.

And there’s the Open Tree Art Exhbition and trail to Baker’s Park. Or you could take an ale trail around the local pubs.

There are plenty more stalls on hand, and there’s even a hog Roast and paella to get your teeth into.

But that’s just today – there are music and events throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday.

Check out the Newton Abbot Festival website for more details

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What a weekend for arts (starting Saturday, June 20). The contemporary dance troupe Task Force, led by Stephan Koplowitz, begin stepping their way around the historic South Devon with their Liquid Landscapes tour. Over on arts+culture there’s a run down of the venues, plus a diary of South Devon artist Helen Snell‘s involvement with the Mayflower Steps performance. But that’s not all

At the CCANW, Hadlon Forest there’s the Skylines Festival Day today (June 20). Check out arts+culture for more. And there are animated workshops as part of Exeter Festival and in association with Animated Exeter, tomorrow (Sunday, June 21). Check out D+CFilm for more.

Also on D+CFilm, there’s a Quails music video (by filmmaker Darren Jones) to celebrate the Teignmouth band’s Turkish Tour.

(and if you’re heading north – that’s North Devon, remember North Devon Festival’s Art Trek. Arts+Culture has some behind-the-scenes insights from Stella Levy as she organises the last few days up to the event).

posted by Cptn

(image: the Primitive Hut – part of Skylines at the CCANW)

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If you’re looking for the creative offerings that Torbay and Devon has to offer, to quote the literature, pop along to Creative Torbay’s Arts Market and Creative Happening, which takes place today (Sunday June 14) at the Palace Avenue Gardens, Paignton.

The event is free, with 20 or so stalls selling jewellery, textiles, photography, glass and ceramics, with art from the Cheltson Gallery and the Torbay ArtsBase network.

There’s a make do and mend family textile workshop with Yvonne Temple and comical magical memories from Robin Fox. Plus stilt walking, music dance and a treasure trail.

Most of the stuff is free, but check.

posted by Cptn

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It was the Laser Poetry that caught our eye from an immensely eye catching, not to say tongue twisting, ecopoetics event called Skylines that’s taking place at the CCANW until the end of the month, with a big festival day on June 20.

Organiser Elizabeth-Jane Burnett told arts+culture: “The type of poetry I write and read falls largely into the ‘contemporary experimentalist/linguistically innovative’ bracket, so while I’ve always written in response to the landscape in this part of Devon, I’ve not used very traditional methods to do so.”

The whole event is set to engage people in the poetry and the environment, with innovated workshops, like the laser tag games out in the forest which apparently encourages young people to think about, and respond to their environment and language in new and exciting ways.

There’s a Primitive Hut installation and on June 20 poets will be coming from the US, France, and across the UK, to participate in an academic forum in the morning, workshops and a multimedia screening in the afternoon, and poetry readings in the evening.

“There will be something for all the family, with a kite making workshop for children, and music from local band The Chill Acoustic,” said Elizabeth-Jane.

Read the full story on arts+culture

• Skylines is taking place at the CCANW until June 28, with the festival day on June 20

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If you want to take part in protecting the coastline, you can have your say at consultation events about how to manage parts of the South Coast.

The first of these consultations in the South Devon takes place at the Teign Corinthian Yacht Club, Teignmouth, on June 4, followed by one in Harbour House, Kingsbridge, on Friday, June 5. With the final Devon consultation taking place at the Roland Levinsky Building, Plymouth University on Monday, June 8.

They all take place between 2pm and 6pm and function on a drop-in basis.

A group of statutory agencies have got together to work out how to manage a 400km section of South Devon and Dorset. They call themselves the Coastal Group and they have to produce a Shoreline Management Plan, which they can’t resist calling the SMP because it sounds so much cooler.

Graeme Smith, Chair of the South Devon and Dorset Coastal Authorities Group told the PRSD: “This consultation is the principal way for individuals, organisations and businesses to contribute their views on how and where we should defend the South Devon and Dorset coastline.

“People will have a say in how the local coastline is managed and defended for the next 100 years.

“There are many complex areas within the region where local residents’ views are crucial in the development of appropriate policies which will result in coastal defence schemes on the ground and the creation of a strong Coastal Strategy.”

posted by Cptn

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Katie Marie and the hectic life-style of a multi-talented musician. 

Heya there everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful bank holiday weekend – as promised in last week’s article, here’s a full breakdown of my musical (and rather manic!) week/weekend!

At the begining of the week (Tuesday) Marnie and I were in the BayFM studios playing some of our tunes live across the airwaves and chatting to presenter Martin Weller. The following day (Wednesday) we had to head off to the Palm FM studios in Torquay to pre-record a show with John Hogarth for Hogie’s 7-11.  As always both were oodles of fun.

Thursday afternoon I was up at More Restaurant – the weather was super lovely and there were lots of peeps up there enjoying the sunshine and music. I had a go at trying a few songs in different styles… I think the best one was a jazz version of Purple Haze which strangely worked!

So after playing lots of wellknow songs in a jazz stylee, I then had to head on up to Exeter Picturehouse for a gig with Marnie. I’ve never been to the Picturehouse before (which for those of you that don’t know is a cinema, and a lovely old style one at that) and didn’t realise that upstairs has a kind of cafe/bar area which is nice and chilled and really good for acoustical type people to play. The other great thing about this gig was that we got paid in cinema tickets! How cool is that!

Friday afternoon I had to head back up to Exmouth as I had a gig with Mr Crisp at Exmouth Festy, this was my first time here so I was really looking forward to making lots of noise in the lovely Manor Gardens. Our set seemed to go down well with the Exmouth peeps and the sound guys did a fantastic job – thanks guys.

Once I’d returned from Exmouth festy I then had to head off to my studio and pre-record my radio show for the next day, as Saturday was going to be a busy one. Pre-recording an hour long show wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but I decided to chuck in a few live performances to pass the time which was great fun… four hours later I had it all recorded, mixed and on a CD – yay!

So, along came Saturday – first stop was Exmouth Festy (yes, again!!) as I had a slot on my own to play, which was so much fun and once again the sound guys did a super dooper great job with the sound, which really does make such a difference. No sooner had I finished at Exmouth I had to head off to Helston as Marnie and I were gigging in Cornwall over the weekend.

Although the Campsite in Cornwall that we were gigging/staying at was a nightmare to find, we did manage to make it in good time – horrah!

The place we were playing at was called Out in the Open which is advertised as a gay-run, gay friendly camp site. I’ve never been to a gay camp site before – so wasn’t really sure what to expect! But I have to say that it’s the nicest, cleanest camp site I’ve ever stayed at and everyone who was running it and also staying there were really lovely. The owners had already set up a tent for me which was wicked not to have to worry about setting up my tent (which I’ve not done in a very long time and am probably rather rubbish at doing so!!).

The reason why Marnie and I were booked to play over the weekend was that the camp site (or the camp-camp as me and Marnie called it! lol I know, bet they’ve never heard that one before) were celebrating 10 years of being open, so we gigged Saturday and then Sunday night.

They had set up a big marquee in the field were we were playing at the first night was absolutly freeeeeeezing!! By the end of the night I was quite happy to be snuggling up in our tent with a hot water bottle. The weather the next day was simply gorgeous and I spent most of the day catching up on sleep in the lovely warm sunshine. Bloomin marvelous!

My alarm went off at 7am on Monday morning (gggrrrroooaaann!) as we had to be packed up and gone from the campsite by 8am and off to our next gig (which was at More Restaurant in Dartington and we needed to be there for 11.30am). We just about managed to leave in time and two-and-a-half hours later I was back in my lovely little home town of Totnes.

We were very lucky with the weather as it was raining on the drive up from Cornwall, but as soon as we hit Plymouth it seemed to stop and the sunshine gradually creeped through. As always More Restaurant was lots of fun and we had a really good crowd up there who seemed to enjoy it.

Then once again we had to dash off like crazy loons and head up to our last gig of the weekend which was in Bovey Tracey. This was a last-minute booking at The Cromwell Arms and they had organised an outdoor event and wanted us to play – which of course we were more than happy to.

So we got set up outside as the weather seemed really nice and our first set seemed to go down really well. But by the middle of our second set a big black cloud zoomed over and everyone ran inside!! The landlord asked if we’d be happy to finish off our gig inside the pub, fortunatly we’d only set up my little busking PA outside so it didn’t take two seconds to move and it was nice to be back in the warm anyways!

So after an exhausting weekend of gigs, we all rewarded ourselves with a well earned Chineese take-away – sorted!

• Check out Katie Marie on MySpace, or on her website.

(Images from the top Exmouth Festy with Dan (looking worried! lol); Dan @ Exmouth Festy; Dan @ Exmouth Festy; Security! We have a intruder; and Full vege breakfast!)

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Which dolts came up with the sickly moniker “Devon Games To Inspire” the new name for Devon Youth Games?

If there ever is a reason to cite out-of-touch organisers intent on their own worthiness, then it’s with the emotive fiddling with phrases with their newspeak hats on. Talk about dumbing down.

But let’s think of those taking part in the sporting activities, rather than the buffoons who think of the new asinine names of these events (hopefully no-one claimed expenses to attend that ‘blue-sky brainstorming’). The games takes place on Sunday, July 5, in Barnstaple.

Sport is difficult to package: it inspires involvement and rewards success, while promoting health and well-being along with individual responsibility and teamwork. Organised well, especially at a youth level, sporting activity can wonderfully encompass all this.

The event itself is a collaboration between a whole load of organisations, and that could be where the problem of uninspired committee thinking comes in. Great idea.

Shame the new name is just naff.

posted by Cptn

• Inspired to come up with a comment?

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Matt Newbury organiser of Pride got in touch to talk about the new fun festival on the Bay’s calendar.

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster three months since I somewhat drunkenly agreed to organise Torbay’s first summer pride event. Since that time, I have not only sobered up, but have developed the programme into something as diverse and quirky as the people I hope it will attract. And if no one comes, at least I’ll have a good time and some extremely exclusive entertainment to enjoy with the boyfriend.

Pride Torbay will take the form of a four-day festival incorporating a boat trip, themed club nights, a pool party, a beach picnic with live musical entertainment, community stalls, cinema screenings and a cabaret street party. Early on the pride committee decided that we should have a few events away from bars and clubs, making the event accessible to everyone.

It was also important to us that the Pride Torbay shouldn’t just be a celebration of sexuality, but also the stunning natural environment of the English Riviera. In a year when nostalgia tourism seems to be all the rage, with more people holidaying at home, we wanted both the structure of pride and our marketing to have a bit of a saucy seaside feel to them.

This was our motivation for creating the beach hut logo, incorporating the six colours of the gay rainbow flag on the door. Come and watch the free open-air cinema screening of Milk in the grounds of Torre Abbey on Friday, July 17 as part of Pride Torbay, if you’d like to know the history behind those six colours!

The nostalgia concept is also being incorporated into four special postcard designs, which are a cheeky tribute to the English Riviera Tourist Board posters of the 80s and 90s, with a gay twist, obviously. These will be available for free in the next couple of weeks, so that people can send them to friends and relatives across the UK to invite them down for Pride Torbay.

Another fun idea we have come up with is attaching Pink Pound stickers to coins, which are then given out in people’s change at gay venues across Torquay. The stickers also mention the pride dates and the web address at www.pridetorbay.org.

It’s going to be an interesting experiment to see just how far these pink pounds get, or if people will just feel embarrassed to use them and peel them off. If nothing else, it should get us some free publicity in national gay publications and the media in general.

Of course, besides the marketing, the biggest challenge of organising event of this size is finance, especially as everyone is strapped for cash at the moment, even the gays! We are, therefore, organising a huge summer raffle with some amazing prizes kindly donated by local businesses. We are also organising a series of fundraising events in the lead up to Pride Torbay.

The next one of these will take place on Friday, May 22 and is a Hillbilly Hoedown Barn Dance, at the Spanish Barn in Torquay. Tickets are a tenner, and include you first drink and a hot dawg. The barn is being fully themed, complete with a large quantity of straw bales and the bays brewery Saloon. There’s also some great entertainment, including a bucking bronco, line dancing and even a Dolly Idol competition, to find the best Dolly Parton. The event is open to absolutely everyone, as long as you are dressed in country and western theme. You can pick up tickets at the Torquay Tourist Information Centre and online here

If I don’t see you there, you’ll be able to follow the progress of Pride Torbay in regular updates here on the People’s Republic of South Devon site. I’m always keen to hear people’s views, suggestions and ideas about the festival, especially if you are a highly generous millionaire or the manager of gay icon who would like to perform at the festival (well you never know…). Message me at: info@pridetorbay.org

posted by Matt

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Morwellham Quay is hosting the Taste of the Tamar event this weekend, profits from which will be going towards the Children’s Hospice South West’s Precious Lives appeal to build a third hospice in Cornwall.

Things to do other than eat include browsing stalls of local craft goodies, listening to Calstock Rubber Band and shaking paws with the famous Mr Foley.

Admission to the event is free. Car parking is £3. More information on the Taste of the Tamar site.

Hmm… the opportunity to stuff myself silly and raise money for a worthy cause? Bring on the ‘Andsome bangers…

posted by Heather Smith

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While the rest of the political world is worried about their moral credibility, we can only suppose that Teignbridge Lib Dem MP Richard Younger Ross is preparing to stoke his ire over the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest following his criticism of last year’s event.

Such an ardent fan is young Younger Ross, he tabled an Early Day Motion after last year’s Russian win, calling the Saturday night popular singing fest fluff a ‘joke’. Like duh!

But, why pick on Richard? According for TheyWorkForYou, he’s strongly against ID cards, anti-terrorism laws, and the Iraq war, and he’s strongly for laws to stop climate change.

All seems rather Boom Bang-A-Bang! as a Eurovision Song Contest fan might say.

What’s your MP been up to? Or if you’re an MP, drop us a line and tell us yourself… info@peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk

posted by Cptn

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Yes, says Devon County Council, which is pointing people to its marquee at the Devon County Show (May 21 to 23) to find out just how good the cycling provision is.

Cycling, it says, it well provided for: there’s the Cycling’s Tour Series (Exeter city centre transformed into a mile long circuit on Thursday, May 28).

There’s the Tour de Britain (‘which will race for two days through Devon and Somerset on September 17 and 18, taking in a number of towns and villages over 346kms, including Barnstaple, Bideford, Hatherleigh, Crediton, Tiverton, Willand, Honiton, Seaton and Axminster’).

And there are heap loads of leisure trails (including Haldon Forest and the Tarka Trail), plus plenty more including the annual Cycle Sunday event sponsored by Ashfords on Sunday, June 21 to celebrate National Bike Week.

Lester Willmington, Devon County Council’s head of Highway Management and Cycling Champion, told the PRSD: “There has never been so much on offer in the county for cyclists and those who may be keen to re-discover cycling. With two prestigious races in the county as well as community events like Cycle Sunday and a growing network of cycle routes, there’s something for everyone, whether they want to watch the professionals or get out on two wheels themselves.”

We’d like to hear your opinions. (And because this is the PRSD, they can be positive as well as negative.) Comments below, or email info@peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk

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Actress turned olive farmer Carol Drinkwater (from essential ’80s Saturday night viewing All Creatures Great and Small) is to help launch a project supporting Palestinian farmers in the face of the destruction of their olive trees.

Carol has written several books on olive trees, and is backing the Olives for Hope, which links Fairtrade groups in Devon with olive farmers in the West Bank village of Deir Istya, where many ancient olive trees are under threat from encroaching Israeli settlements and the barrier that Israel is building in the West Bank.

Palestinian Riziq Abu Nasser visited Devon during Fairtrade Fortnight this year to talk about how Fairtrade has improved his life.

Carol told the PRSD: “When I visited Israel and the West Bank I discovered that the Israeli authorities are razing many trees – frequently the only source of life for those Palestinian villagers, in order to build illegal settlements. I spent a day with Israeli peace activists planting saplings paid for by Israelis as a small gesture of recompense. It was one of the most memorable, moving days of my life.”

“If this project can support Palestinian farmers and give them an opportunity to sell their fruits and the oil they have farmed for centuries, it will have helped give them back dignity and a means towards earning their own livelihoods.”

Olives for Hope has been established by Devon Development Education, a global education organization that led the successful campaign to achieve Fairtrade County status in Devon. It is to be launched in June with a series of events around Devon

dates of events:
Catholic Church Hall, New Road, Brixham, Tuesday, June 16 – 7.30pm
Christ Church, Bear Street, Barnstaple, Thursday, June 18 – 7.30pm
United Reformed Church, Southernhay, Exeter, Friday, June 19 – 7.30pm

posted by Cptn

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