Jazz Concerto- TESTBED1

Design and Craft Event Schedule August-October 2011

Photo Michael Mapp. Artist Sean Kennedy

19th August-3rd September 2011

Playground Africa
Playground Africa, a contemporary art exhibtion, will showcase for the first time in London, wireworks and Jewellery designs from South African artists Sean Kennedy and Jongani Mzukwa.

Location Jovert Resturant, 5 Eros House, Brownhill Rd, Catford, London, SE6 2EF
(19th August-3rd September-Fridays & Saturdays, from 5.30pm)
For more information please contact Keiron- 07949 238 371

Illustrator Jimbobart
http://www.jimbobart.etsy.com/

Thursday 1st September 2011

The Crafty Fox Night Market
The highly anticipated Crafty Fox returns to Brixton for another foxtastic evening! This is a great opportunity to buy direct from a talented bunch of hand-crafters including Crafty Fox's brain child Sinead Koehler who makes Jewellery under the Galavant label. Whilst down learn new skills at the Crafty Fox Night school run by Tooting's Crafty Pint  such as knitting and crochet and many more popular crafts. Crafty Fox are known for their unique atmosphere so expect a good selection of music from local DJ whilst browsing the stalls. Arrive early to get your paws on one of 50 free tote bags. 

 “Crafty Fox is always a great event – I go to lots of markets and the atmosphere really is unique with a super friendly crowd”  Illustrator Jimbobart (http://www.jimbobart.etsy.com/)

You will find all the action on Brixton’s Coldharbour Lane, a convenient two minute walk from the Victoria line.
Dogstar Brixton, 389 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London, SW9 8LQ
6-10pm
Free Entry

9th-25th September 2011

African African Caribbean Design Diaspora Festival  (AACDD) 2011

Exhibitor Michael Mapp
http://www.michaelmappphotography.co.uk

This is the first time in its entire history that the London Design scene will host such a comprehensive showcase of unique multi-disciplinary black talent:

"By initiating a high quality selection of work drawn from across the black communities, AACDD presents a true talent showcase that shines a light on creative ability, where it is often not sought or acknowledged by the design industry. The shows on offer by AACDD provide a distinguished road map for an under represented part of the creative community. It could not be a more appropriate moment for the UK particularly London to embrace the opportunity of challenging perceptions and encouraging positive activity aimed at building social and economic stability".

William Knight-Deputy Director, London Design Festival (2011)



*8th September Private viewing 6.30-9.00pm
9th-25th September, Mon-Sun 11-6pm
Free Admission
Location: Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street,
Southbank, London, SE1 9PH
For more information on the event http://www.aacdd.org/ info@aacdd.org

Saturday 10th-Sunday 11th September 2011

Crafty Fox at the Mayor's Thames FestivalCrafty Fox will also be popping up next to the Tate Modern as part of the Mayor’s Thames Festival. As well as the colourful stalls, you can check out the ‘live draw’ taking shape over the weekend or take part in a range of quirky workshops by Craft Guerilla and others.

The festival runs from midday until 10pm on both days.
For more information about  Crafty Fox please visit: http://www.craftyfoxmarket.blogspot.com/

Mayor Thames Festival
The Mayor’s Thames Festival is London’s largest outdoor Arts Festival - a spectacular event, free to all, which brings together Londoners of all ages and from all communities to celebrate their city and the River Thames.
The festival commissions new work, and transforms outdoor spaces on and around the River Thames with a mixture of music, dancing, street arts, river races, carnival, pyrotechnics, art installations, massed choirs, food and feasting.The finale is a magical illuminated Night Carnival that winds along the south and north banks of the Thames, followed by a fireworks display fired from the centre of the river itself.
12noon-10pm both days
For more information please visit: http://www.thamesfestival.org/
How to get there  http://www.thamesfestival.org/info/tubes_buses/

Take Part
If you are an artist and would like to get involved send your proposal to the link below http://www.thamesfestival.org/get_involved/artists/

17-25th September 2011

London Design Festival celebrates the 'march of the makers'
Now in its ninth year, the London Design Festival will be the largest and most significant yet, with an expected 180 partners and more than 250 events celebrating the world's creative capital. If you have a design event you would like to see included in the London Design Calendar please visit the link below
For more information please visit:http://www.londondesignfestival.com/
Events calendar http://www.londondesignfestival.com/events/upcoming/


22nd September-28th September 2011

Origin-The Contemporary Craft Fair
Origin offers a rare opportunity to see and buy a diverse range of high quality, original craft from over 200 makers in one convenient location. Disciplines range from ceramics, furniture, metalwork and glass, to fashion accessories, jewellery and knitwear.
11am - 7pm
Shop until 8pm on Thursday 22nd September
The show closes at 5pm on Wednesday 28th September
Last admissions 45 minutes before closing
Tickets starting from £8
Location: Old Spitalfields Market, London, E1 6EW
 For more information please visit: http://www.originuk.org/


Friday 7th-Sunday 9th October 2011

Featured Artist/Designer: Susan Beale

Richmond Art & Contemporary Designer Craft Fair
Organised by Craft In Focus is returning to the Queen Charlotte Hall in the centre of Richmond Upon Thames. This exciting event brings the public the very best of contemporary design from the leading professional artists and designer makers in the UK today whom have been selected for their individuality and innovation in contemporary design, as well as outstanding technical ability. Visitors will be able to purchase from a stunning treasure trove of original and affordable designs direct from British artists. New to this years event includes box maker, Robert Ingham, silversmith Eve Claire Taylor, knitwear designer, Cecile Jeffery and artist, Alice Harfield. Also worth checking out is Chloe Harford’s animal sculpture, Alan Ardiff’s kinetic jewellery, Hawkhill Forge’s collection of fused glass and iron furniture and Jeff Soan’s articulated wooden creatures.

Opening times: 10 am - 5 pm daily. Admission: £4.50. Accompanied under 14s free
Venue address:  Queen Charlotte Hall, Adult Education Centre, Parkshot, Richmond Upon Thames, London, TW9 2RE a short walk from the station. For further information please visit http://www.craftinfocus.com/
50 tickets are being offered to the Richmond Art & Contemporary Designer Craft Fair being held from 7-9 October.  To apply, quote 'Creative Happen 11 Offer' and email your address to info@craftinfocus.com or write to Craft In Focus, PO Box 942, Maidstone, ME15 0YB.  Deadline Monday 19 September.
 
Saturday 8th - Sunday 9th October 2011

The Renegade Craft Fair
The States’ biggest and best indie-craft marketplace, The Renegade Craft Fair makes its debut trip to London with this free-to-attend event featuring over 100 of today’s best designers of handmade goods!
At The Renegade Craft Fair, shoppers can expect to find a truly unique array of items, including paper goods, housewares, ceramics, bath products, jewellery, craft kits, accessories, clothing, comics, plush objects, knits, curios, collectibles, artwork, and so much more! The Fair also features hands-on crafting activities for shoppers to get involved with!
Free Event 11am - 6pm
For more information please visit: http://www.renegadecraft.com/london
 The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL

Celebrate the wonders of Carnival

28th-29th August 2011
Notting Hill Carnival 2011


Since the birth of the Notting Hill Carnival in 1964, the festival has become synonymous with cultural unity, and has become a trademark of London celebrating multiculturalism and creativity in the capital. The streets of Notting Hill has attracted millions of global visitors, spectators and masqueraders making this event one of Europe’s largest street parties.

This rich, diverse and highly celebrated two day event originated from the Caribbean island of Trinidad. many if not all, carnival mas traditions from the Island are prominate today. The two day event is infused with the brilliant sounds of the Steel pans, Soca and Calypso combining Jamaican-style static sounds. The spectacle of Carnival is the orginality and design of the costumes of which are intricate, bold, and skilfully constructed, not forgetting the masaqueraders dancing and singing next to the floats who always add to the splendour enhancing the party atmosphere. On the day expect delicious food and a good selection of arts & crafts along the carnival route. Please remain safe and vigilant at all times!

Start 10am finish 7pm

Travel information
Tube: Ladbroke Grove is shut both days. Westbourne Park and Royal Oak are exit-only from 11am-6pm and will close at 6.30pm and 11.30pm respectively on both days, while Notting Hill Gate is exit-only from noon-6.30pm on Sunday and noon-7pm on Monday (all stations have further service restrictions). Bayswater, Paddington, High Street Kensington and other nearby stations, however, offer a regular service, so consider taking a short walk from these. Stations may temporarily close due to overcrowding, so be patient.
Buses: Four express buses will be running specifically for Carnival on both days. Buses 2X, 36X and 436X serve south London and Carnival; 205X serves Aldgate East and Carnival. There will also be extra buses on Monday night.
Driving: Not recommended due to parking restrictions.

Take Part

Interested in become a masaquerader purchase your costumes from the following sites:

Bachanal Mas
http://www-bachanalmas.com/

Burrokeets UK
http://www.burrokeetsuk.com/


Dynasty Entertainment
http://www.dynasty-entertainment.com/

Fox Carnival
http://www.foxcarnival.com/

Masquerade 2000
http://www.m2kmas.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3

Next Level Poison UK
http://www.poisonuk.com/

Shipwrecked Carnival
http://www.shipwreckedcarnival.com/pages/costumes.html

South Connections
http://www.southconnections.co.uk/

Purelime
http://www.purelime.co.uk/events/11 


The Calo Festival
19th -21st August 2011

The UK’s first three day Carnival event celebrates Arts, Music & Cuisine.

This newly created festival organised by the Notting Hill Mas Band Association (NHMBA), the Next Level PoisonUK & Carnival Village, features elaborate performances by some of the UK’s top costume designers and carnival artists - as well as a dazzling, pre- Notting Hill Carnival costume display. This unique event will enable visitors to experience the wonders of carnival and culture under one roof for the whole family.

Over 25 music artists and bands hailing from both the UK and the Caribbean, will entertain audiences for three days with sounds of Soca, Calypso, Reggae, Salsa, Merengue and R&B. The exciting array of top musical acts include: Machel Montano, Capleton, Maxi Priest, Mr Vegas, Lil Rick, Jah Roots, Gappy Ranks, Roy Cape All-stars and Cuban Latin artists Manolin El Medico. TV chef Rustee Lee, will headline the Worldfoods Caribbean Food, Drink and Lifestyle extravaganza, which in addition to a food market showcasing exotic Caribbean cuisine and free food sampling, will see top Caribbean chefs go head to head in the ‘Battle of the Chefs’ contest.

The festival will also bring a variety of fun-filled, educational innovative workshops which embrace the spirit of Carnival such as; Steel Pan by Ebony Steelband; Moko Jumby (stilt walking), Folk Dances from the Caribbean - Bele Air, Quadrille and Bongo, carnival costume making led by top designers, Soca Aerobics, Zumba Party and drumming. Each workshop will provide a brief history of Caribbean Carnival.

Location: Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way,
Wood Green N22 7AY
Tickets: £25 -£40 Weekend pass £60. Concessions 50% off and free admission for children under 12 on Sunday 21st August.
Doors: 08:00 til 03:00
http://calofestival.co.uk/
Lifestyle extravaganza 'where the Caribbean meets London'

Apple Cart Festival: Review.

Sunday 7th August saw The Apple Cart Festival a day which did not promise to be blessed with good weather but still along with a sizable crowd turned out braving the elements for what was all in all a brilliant festival, this not the opinion of a discerning festival goer as it was our first one day festival of the sort and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, not knowing what to expect we arrived sometime after the heaviest deluge of the day to the tail end of what could be described as brilliant festival our focus was predominantly the live music and the Visual Art. We enter to find a full scale fun fair a large blue canopy to the right and brilliant array of food sellers ahead from Venn Street Market situated next to a Bar, so far the layout of this festival promises to be an enjoyable event. Of the Venn Street traders I found myself drawn to the Taco Truck a wonderfully quaint red mini van of sorts converted on to a mobile kitchen fabulously decorated in an eclectic mix mid century pin ups and kitsch imagery in a collaged wallpaper, creating an original aesthetic which really adds to the sense of occasion all to receive a free range chicken soft taco of generous size which actually impressed me considering I’m a big fan of Taco's and burrito's.

 

We then headed over to the main stage where Tim Minchin was at the piano thrashing out a comedic number, on our way to the main stage the path somewhat led us through the Art Car Boot Sale a concept that we are all for here at Creative Happen. Although the number of seller’s had not been what was expected having recently been to the Vauxhall Art car Boot Sale. We were pleased with the weir’s that were available The Renegade Potter happen to be one of them. The fact Visual Art was present and available to the festival goers totally sat in line with our views on art, availability and accessibility to us the platform of Visual Art at the Festival is a new and exciting format it must be stressed for the avid festival goers we at Creative Happen are new to the wonders of festivals and festival life.

 

Directly beside the Art Car Boot setup were more Fun Fair Amusements this is surely an events company which is well versed in dealing with an totally diverse audience, through and beyond the amusements there stood a couple of inflatable amusements sure to occupy adults and children alike, situated adjacent to this a further string of eateries providing the discerning reveller’s or children with a smorgasbord of choice from Moos Boosh (a burger company) through to Pizza Express and many other gastronomic stops along the way.

After Minchin’s performance the wondrous nature of this temporary environment beckoned, an exploration had now become the objective whilst exploring we visited a bar, a few of the food stops then we made our way over to the blue canopy to see the Soul II Soul’s performance. A performance well worth the attention of all whom attended, performing classics from the first album Club Classics and second album A New Decade an experience, to behold to see such greats live is truly tremendous with tracks such as “Get A Life” , especially given that directly after their performance we bee lined back to the main Stage to catch some of “The” Saint Etienne playing tracks from there previous bodies of work, of which Tales From Turnpike House which really resonated with me given the events of the previous night in Tottenham which then spread to so many of the areas which she had mentioned in the track. Overall Saint Etienne gave a very strong performance and for us a fabulous note to leave what had been a absolutely enjoyable event. We are already looking forward to the next years Apple Cart Festival four thumbs up from Creative Happen.

London Folk Fest @ The Bedford, Balham.

Thursday 28th July at the Bedford in Balham saw the final night of the London Folk Fest which took place from the 25th to the 28th July in the globe theatre, a novelty in itself. The line up included The Robinson's, Lucy Rose and Jaime Lawson in that order performing a few tracks from their own respective repertoire’s.

Of the three acts the one that truly synchronised with my frequency was the delightful Lucy Rose, her harmonious notes and enchanting style alongside melodic strings consisting of 2 guitars accompanied by a cello, just enough instruments to really display her strength as a song writer. Of the tracks Lucy performed "Night Bus" really was instantly adored, her current single is entitled “Middle Of The Bed” (A self release available on itunes, she also happened to feature in The Sunday Times on 07/08/2011).

On to The Robinson's a current high energy folk band, their sound could be described as folk with hints of modern pop culture, their performance was engaging along with a strong stage presence and a sense of humour which further added to what was a good performance.

Last but not least was Jaime Lawson a more accomplished artist seeming relative familiar with his surroundings delivered a comfortable performance of songs that were very easy on the ear. In all the very intimate venue only added to a night of good live music.

Highlights: Lollibop Festival

The Lollibop Festival "The big bash for little people" lived up to expectations on its opening day, not only were we blessed with glorious weather, we had a brilliant schedule of activities and entertainment to match. A good place to have a good time with family and friends in our case we had three children in tow of varying ages and interests to put Lollibop to the test.

The creative happen tinnies loved the choice this included the Lolliskills area a mini sporting arena sponsored by Fruit shoot my-5, not sure how our little troopers managed to run with fruit shaped objects in the heat, but they did!. They also loved the MiniMission tent, this music orientated tent housed baby loves disco DJing 70s, 80s and 90s classic's. At first we weren't too sure if the kids would like the music as they had a strict policy no tinnie bopper music, netherless our little ones showed their contemporary dancing skills they really enjoy theirselves cutting that rug. I was pleased to hear the company have disco's in and around London. Then on to the Air Vag area, home to the bouncy inflatables to keep the children active the creative happen tinnies were bouncing with joy alongside many other children in this area, which had been perfectly place in close proximity to the adult creche (the Bar) which had ample seating with face painting very close by.

  

Creative happen's tinnies were very excited about the prospect of watching the Charlie and Lola's Best Bestest play, this was situated in the Lollipalladium tent. The queues were very long, only with a stoke of good fortune we managed to get in. I would personally recommend an adult collect the tickets for any shows in this area on entering the festival, as ticket availablity could be a saw spot.

H&M Tent

Determined to find out from parents about their experience at the Lollibop festival, all parents although seeming more worn out than the children, many stated they had discovered something new about their children not realising their child such as an interest in karaoke or dance. Parents praised the horrible histories performances, DJ Dick & Dom and the creative workshops at the Imagination Stations.

It was clear, both children and adults were bolwed over by the performances on the Lollibop Live stage with energising performances by Zing Zillas, and the favourite of the day and closing act RastaMouse and Da Easy Crew. This popular CBeebies production has taken the UK by storm and rightly so, it was visible their fans not only include the young lolliboppers but the adults alike, young and old were dancing and singing along to their classic theme tune "give it up, give it give up for the crew, always there to make a bad thing good" along with sweet sounds reggae music which I have never heard on the show. It was great to see Michael De Souza the creator of RastaMouse floating around the stage area, who took an instant liking to the creative happen tinnies. What we should have asked him is when is the music CD available to purchase?.

Creative happen tinnies wth Michael De Souza.

Overall the event had a good variation of food, snacks, and products for children. I would recommend visiting Love Da Pop, they have a tasty range of popcorn, white chocolate and caramel to name a few, watch out for these independents who will be on the Dragon's Den on Sunday 7th Aug. Good news there are cash machines present, which you will need! Our advice is to plan your day at the festival using the schedule, as you will find you may not get an opportunity to see everything due to the vastness and popularity of the activities and events.

Loves Da Pop's Christian

For those who went to the Lollibop Festival  2011 how did you find the event?