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SPECIAL EVENTS |
Story Evenings During Prince Albert Festivals I present Story Evenings. The first was Prince Albert - a Sense of Place an intimate evening at the 2002 Olive Festival where guests gathered around a camp fire beneath the sparkling Karoo sky to hear tales about the village: the mountains and fossils, the first farmers, little known facts about Albert of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, local characters and people who have bequeathed musical, architectural, engineering and agricultural gifts. The following Olive Festival saw a candlelit evening in the St John's Church Hall (built in 1872) where I told Tales of the Swartberg. Thomas Bain played a large role, with some 200 convicts, a mermaid, Mr Haak's coach driver - who could spit further than any living man, Denys Reitz, Pauline Smith and several spectres from the heights. The 2004 Olive Food and Wine Festival delivered another evening of local stories about travellers through the district: Tales of the Old Karoo Soldiers, explorers, a Boer War love story, a cricketer who played for England, Bushmen and even a modern cave man - all featured in Tales of the Old Karoo... Click here for the most recentStory Weaver Newsletter
Words and Music The congregation of St John's Anglican Church in Prince Albert worship in a beautiful Victorian Church, which needs lots of loving care. The roof needs repair, walls and doors demand attention, the gardens must be cherished - and it all costs money, so, as part of on-going fund-raising efforts I organise Afternoons of Words and Music. The little Victorian building, consecrated in 1896, has wonderful acoustics and is a special space in which to enjoy poetry, prose and music. The first performance in November 2002 celebrated the themes of the Flower Festival - special events in our lives and Church festivals: marriage, the birth of a baby, baptism, Christmas, Easter, the Ascension and family life. Six readers took part and the music was recorded - ranging from 10th century monastic chants to a Japanese lullaby to Zulu praise singing. The next, in August 2003 was An Afternoon With The Animals – ’n Middag Met Die Diere. This time we went bilingual and served a combination of amusing and more serious works opened with a 78 recording of an old English folk song on a wind up gramophone and interspersed with live music provided by a flautist, guitarists, a clarinetist and electronic keyboard player. On 22nd November 2003 we enjoyed Prince Albert's Harvest Festival with The Four Seasons a bilingual celebration of the cycle of the seasons in words and live music. All you need is Love - a little romance and laughter on Valentine's Day 2004. This time we added two German poems to the programme and enjoyed music on a variety of instruments: the guitar, piano and clarinet. Let's keep it in the Family on 15th May 2004 was a light hearted look at various family members, from granny who "can take her teeth and gums out" to a father who fell in the pond at a picnic to a sinister young lady who slowly killed her family off! We had lots of young participants - splendid additions to the cast. Guests arriving for Food, glorious Food on 11th September received a menu and dipped into bowls of sweets before taking their seats. The menu was simply a programme in disguise which led them through the tasty offerings for the afternoon. We were delighted to welcome several new participants including a young violinist. For more details telephone Ailsa at 023 5411 211 or e-mail story@storyweaver.co.za Click here for the most recent Story Weaver Newsletter
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Thomas Bain
I co-ordinate the Afternoons of Words and Music |
