OKAY okay so I’m an absolute sucker for a night market … and Cardiff Music City are bringing it back for TWO NIGHTS over this St David’s Day weekend! There are also a smattering of events taking place in lovely independent venues around Cardiff: read on for all the info!
Friday 27 Feb 2026 & Saturday 28 Feb 2026, 17:00 – 22:00, Cardiff Market, Saint Mary Street, Cardiff, CF10 1AU
Friday and Saturday – Cardiff Market is open late for two nights of street‑food feasting, indie-shopping, inner city magic, soundtracked by some lovely beats played by lovely people.
Radio Sudd and Cardiff Music City are back to turn our iconic central market into an atmospheric after‑hours hangout. There will be live performances, Think dreamy acoustic sets echoing through the stalls, top‑tier artists bringing the vibes, and DJs keeping the energy high. All hand‑picked by Radio Sudd, they will keep the music flowing ‘til 10pm. Good food. Big tunes. Pure class, DON’T MISS IT. Also did we mention that the market is DOG FRIENDLY??? Go get your pooch and come hang.
Tân Cerdd brings a special St David’s Day edition of its signature Neo‑Soul Jam — a night celebrating Wales through Black Welsh creativity and global‑majority sound, culture and community. Expect a lush blend of soul, hip‑hop, funk, afrobeat and more, with a guest DJ setting the tone, a live band holding it down, and guest artists jumping in throughout the night. It’s an open jam — so bring your instrument, step up to sing, rap or drop some spoken word. Everyone’s invited!
01 Mar 2026, 14:00 – 22:00, The Canopi, 59-61 Tudor Street, Cardiff CF11 6AD
A full day of Dewi celebrations at the Canopi – bilingual live music, hands‑on creative workshops, and Welsh‑inspired food – fresh, home‑baked Welsh cakes, steaming bowls of cawl, expect a relaxed and inclusive space honouring contemporary Welsh culture, community, and creativity — right in the heart of Cardiff.
Live music from: Spwci • DôN • Meredydd Russell‑Jones • Alys North, with DJ set from: Kris Jenkins
01 Mar 2026, 15:00 – 21:00, Paradise Garden, 213 City Road, Cardiff CF24 3JD
Join Paradise Gardens on Sunday 1st March to celebrate Dydd Gŵyl Dewi with @ani_glass performing live followed by a Welsh focus DJ set from @esthergram____. Free entry, plus a @junoon.project with vintage and streetware market in the yurt!
Experience your local humble arts centre in an earlier, chilled out capacity. The Porter’s St David’s Day all-day-party will be celebrating all the things that we as a nation do best – music, theatre, being clever and having a nice time. Brought to you by Porter’s in partnership with SceneBean.
Catch Wilson Noir at Castle Arcade on 16 and 17th October 1-3.30pm
CARDIFF, WALES — You can hear the history in the beat, but the energy is brand new. Wilson Noir isn’t just an emerging talent; he’s the direct, dynamic inheritor of South Wales club culture, and he’s lighting up dancefloors across the region.
Blending family legacy with a fresh underground edge, Wilson Noir is bringing new energy to the South Wales DJ scene — bridging the golden era of Catapult Records with the forward-thinking sounds that define his dancefloors today. Emerging from the heart of South Wales’ vibrant underground, Wilson Noir is fast becoming one of the region’s most exciting new DJ talents. Known for his playful, crowd-focused sets, Noir delivers a distinctive blend of vintage rhythms and modern electronic production, bridging old-school UK dance culture with today’s underground energy. Noir’s sound is the definition of New Old Cool — it’s a signature style that’s quickly making him one of the most talked-about names in the scene.
DEEP ROOTS IN THE UNDERGROUND
The store’s infamous in-store sessions became the stuff of local legend, hosting acts like Bonobo, Netsky, LTJ Bukem, Blame, Vibes, Nic Fanciulli, Drop Music, and High Contrast — who famously worked there and was discovered by Hospital Records in the basement. Known for its expert curation, Catapult helped shape the identity of Welsh club culture and nurtured countless local talents. Though its doors closed in 2014, its influence still echoes through South Wales’ dancefloors — celebrated in reunion events, online communities, and in the next generation of DJs like Wilson Noir, who carries forward that same DIY ethos, crate-digger curiosity, and commitment to keeping the dancefloor alive.
FULL CIRCLE: ARCADE RESIDENCY
Building on this legacy, this October, Wilson Noir returns to Catapult’s very first home in the Castle Arcade with a two-day residency for the City of Arcades Project, as part of the Cardiff Music City Festival. The festival — a two-week celebration of Cardiff’s thriving music scene — fills venues, clubs, and hidden corners with gigs, talks, installations, and pop-up performances. Designed to champion both international names and emerging local talent, it blends performance, education, and innovation to strengthen Cardiff’s live music ecosystem.
In collaboration, the City of Arcades Project shines a spotlight on the city’s Victorian and Edwardian arcades — once shopping streets, now cultural landmarks filled with independent shops, cafés, and creative spaces.
For Wilson Noir, performing within the Castle Arcade, where Catapult Records first took root, is a full-circle moment — a chance to bring his signature sound to the very heart of Cardiff’s musical heritage. The residency aligns perfectly with the festival’s spirit: connecting past and present, heritage and innovation, while celebrating the enduring energy that continues to drive South Wales’ electronic music scene.
Wilson Noir said:
“Growing up around Catapult Records, I could feel how music brought people together. Every set I play is about capturing that energy and creating something new on the dancefloor. To play in the Castle Arcade—where it all began—is surreal.”
Ruth Cayford, Head of Creative Industries and Culture Development at Cardiff Council, added:
“Wilson Noir embodies the spirit of Cardiff’s evolving music scene. His deep-rooted connection to the city’s musical heritage, combined with his innovative approach, makes him a perfect fit for this year’s festival. We’re thrilled to see the next generation, supported by groups like Sound Progression, taking the lead.”
SUPPORTING THE SCENE
Noir’s journey is championed by Valé, the popular South Wales streetwear label, a partnership that underscores the connection between local music, fashion, and creative culture. As a member of Sound Progression, Cardiff’s youth music development organisation supported by the Ed Sheeran Foundation, Noir is an integral part of the next generation — shaping Cardiff’s electronic music scene with bold creativity and unstoppable energy.
Catch Wilson Noir at Castle Arcade on 16 and 17th October 1-3.30pm For more information about Cardiff Music City Festival, go to cardiffmusiccity.wales
As well as the main Sŵn festival this year, Sŵn also presents their reimagined music industry conference, Sŵn Connect. And you can get FREE tickets with the code below!
Do you (or anyone you know! want to get into the music industry, get booked for festivals, or broaden your industry contacts? There’s an amazing programme running through Sŵn Connect. Designed for the public, artists, budding industry professionals, delegates and Sŵn Festival ticket holders – the event seeks to bridge the gap between emerging Welsh artists and industry professionals. It offers a platform for sharing expertise with peers across Wales and the UK, in an industry that lacks a definitive guide.
The conference will be held at Cornerstone, Cardiff, on Friday October 18th and Saturday October 19th, featuring a combination of insightful panel discussions, keynote interviews, and networking meet-ups.
GIVE ME THE FREE PASSES PLS!!!!
Due to space, these passes are limited – so get a shift on and secure yours NOW – Sŵn Connect free passes and use the code CONNECTFREE.
Read on for a breakdown of everything happening … but trust us, it looks WICKED so book your tickets NOW!
CONNECT PANELS
The Connect panels run between 12pm – 4pm on both Friday 18 and Saturday 19 October at Cornerstone (check the website for a simplified breakdown of the Connect panels). Panelists range from high profile UK booking agents, radio producers, festival bookers, promoters, A&R scouts, presenters, managers, entertainment lawyers, and so on.
KEYNOTE DISCUSSIONS
Each day there is also a keynote discussion, which have been announced as “A Life In Radio: A discussion with Samantha Moy (head of 6 Music)” and ” and “Artists in Discussion: Philip Selway (Radiohead) and Lily Fontaine (English Teacher).
MEET-UPS / MENTORING
There will also be meet-ups running alongside the panels in the Cornerstone cafe. These allow you to book in a 15 minute meeting with one of our 25 artist mentors, and in total there are 125 slots available. Links will be sent to all ticket holders next week – so if you’re interested, SIGN UP NOW!
MIXER
Attendees will also receive an invitation to the Friday conference mixer, taking place at Porter’s. There will be complimentary drinks and pizza! You’ll be able to spend more time with the mentors, delegates, and the Sŵn team.
BUT WHO ARE THE MENTORS?
The full list of mentors is available on the website, but below is a selection to give you an idea of who is attending. There are also still more to be announced! Ed Lilo – booker for Latitude Festival Sarah Joy – Agent for English Teacher, Yard Act, Katy J Pearson, Squid Ollie Hodge – A&R scout who discovered the likes of Vaccines, Declan McKenna and Good Neighbours Maria Torres – Management at Mother Artists managing Idles and SSTTFU Matthew Cooper – Agent for Dry Cleaning, Bug Club, Dream Wife, Hinds Jamal Gurhtie – Director at Wide Awake Festival and LNZRT (who book Moth Club and Shackewell Arms) Alex Cull – Head of PR at Brace Yourself representing the likes of Ezra Collective, Bodega, Panic Shack Dave Ball – Creative Wales music team working across funding applications with artists and industry in Internationally Louisa Robinson – promoter at FORM, booking Mutations Festival, Pitchfork London Dan Burgess – A&R at Domino Publishing, recently signed the likes of Lynks and Iglooghost to the Domino roster.
YOU GUYS Sŵn Festival is COMINGGGGG – it takes place this coming week, Thursday, October 17th – Saturday, October 19th (and honestly we’re grateful for having Sunday to recover!). Tickets are RUNNING LOW so this is your casual weekend reminder to get over to the Sŵn Festival tickets page and get yours nowwww.
This years venues include; Clwb Ifor Bach, Tramshed, Jacobs Antiques Market, Tiny Rebel, The Moon, Fuel, Mad Dog Brewery, and Cornerstone. We’d be insane to try and pick out the best gigs of the festival (although we will be pingponging between the ground and top floors of Clŵb for Mari Mathias / Half Happy / Wu-Lu etc etc) on Thursday, Tramshed on Friday for BuzzardBuzzardBuzzzard, Das Koolies and Jane Weaver) , and Jacob’s basement on Saturday for the DIY showcase and Fuel for IAmDrug.
Check the day splits here:
This year Sŵn is part of Cardiff Music City Festival, supported by Welsh Government and Cardiff Council – more info at the Cardiff Music City website.
As well as the main festival, Sŵn is also running their reimagined conference, Sŵn Connect. A two-day music industry conference offering bespoke networking opportunities that will run alongside Sŵn Festival. More on that in the next post …. STAY TUNED!
Cardiff friends! Our exploration of Cardiff’s cultural scene continues today with a peek inside CULTVR. Genuinely one of my favourite venues in the city, CULTVR is one of the only spaces of its kind IN EUROPE (never mind Wales / the UK), and it celebrates its fifth anniversary this year. Big thanks to the team at CULTVR for taking time to chat with us about their amazing venue.
Q. For those who have never heard of CULTVR Lab, can you describe it to us please?
We are a test bed to research and develop immersive art projects and XR live performances. We deliver our activities through three platforms, with CULTVR Lab bringing together producers, technologists, film, theatre makers, artists, academics and performers to explore the limitless potential of immersive storytelling through the digital arts. Our educational platform CULTVR Academy facilitates workshops, lectures and curriculum based activity to advance the knowledge of emerging technologies and skill transfer. And finally, we have created CULTVR Portal, an immersive digital archive for future generations capturing the creativity of Wales and showcasing the best of contemporary Welsh culture in a free for all online platform.
We never anticipated that we would be the first immersive arts lab to open in Europe focused on fulldome cinema, XR live performances and digital arts. We were hosting live immersive events four years before the Sphere in Las Vegas opened its doors! And we did this totally independently of public funds and corporate investors, which is incredible. We have the largest screen in Wales with 225 sq mt of surface area, which makes our arts centre quite unique.
💎Cardiff’s hidden gem💎
We've realised that so many locals still don’t know about us! So here's a quick 30-second video to give you a glimpse into who we are and what we do in one of the most unique venues in Cardiff!
We have been creating immersive films for the last 10 years and making XR live performances since 2017. We had to travel to the other side of the pond to create and present our work, as simply we could not showcase it anywhere in the UK as the infrastructure was not in place yet. Additionally, we had experience touring portable domes across Wales and internationally so we decided to create CULTVR to be able to showcase our own XR projects and also to facilitate the presentation of immersive art creations from fellow artists working in this medium.
Without experiencing the transformative power of immersive spaces it’s difficult to be inspired enough to commit to the hurdles needed to be overcome to produce for the medium. It’s even harder, if when you are hooked you have no way of testing out and learning as you create. Domes and immersive rooms need to be more accessible and greater in number, and luckily the overall excitement towards immersive technologies is helping significantly in lowering the price of entry into this arena. So for us to be able to produce content, we soon realised that we also needed to create the physical infrastructure to be able to R&D and present immersive work to audiences.
Please introduce us to your team!
Our team consists of six talented artists, designers, producers, engineers, and creators at the forefront of technology. We believe in cross-disciplinary practice and collaborate with a team of specialised freelancers for specific projects when we need to expand the team in a certain direction.
Our directors, Matt Wright and Janire Najera focus on the creative and artistic aspects of CULTVR while working with organisations, artists, and technical teams to produce immersive experiences. Lauren manages CULTVR’s daily operations, ensuring the smooth functioning and alignment with our mission. Mauricio Martin leads the creative aspects of our XR programs, while Rhys Davies oversees immersive filming and live event activations. Jamie Wilson specialises in 3D design and animation supporting the delivery of digital art experiences.
Exciting News! Three of our immersive productions are on tour! 🌍✨
Polydomous – House of Digital Art 📍 Mauritius From the Shadow of the Stone – RAM Festival 📍 Italy The Voyage of Arka Kinari – Astra Film Festival 📍 Romania#fulldome#immersivefilmpic.twitter.com/z5KBzsQh9I
Since we opened our doors, we have presented film screenings, dance, theatre, live music performances and have hosted conferences, networking events, training sessions and brand activations to name a few!
We delivered the first programme of immersive art residencies in Wales back in 2021, supporting 12 artists to create their own XR (Extended Reality) projects. And we continuously receive visits from schools, college and university students from Wales and beyond to get an introduction to immersive media and learn about the opportunities and the skills needed to produce for this medium.
We have also established international partnerships with other immersive centres presenting the work of international artists at the Lab and have hosted international festivals that attract delegates from around the world. We also regularly host visiting Delegations of International visitors (from Norway to Quebec and the Basque Country to Hong Kong) to showcase the space as a best in class European facility that helps to drive forward a creative medium by lowering the barriers of entry to all.
🚨 DJ Yoda is BACK at CULTVR to present the XR live performance: 50 Years of Hip-Hop! 🚨 DJ Yoda will feature some of the genre’s most iconic tracks under our immersive dome.
Often people tell us when they come that it feels like they have travelled to Berlin, which we take as a great compliment.
You have had a bit of a bumpy journey opening just before the covid pandemic started – can you talk a bit about that, and how it’s affected what your vision was for the venue?
We never anticipated that we would have to close our doors a few months after opening our arts centre. Although we could not bring audiences together under the physical space of the dome, during the pandemic we expanded our team as many organisations all of a sudden realised the value of interactive and immersive experiences as a way to engage with their audiences. We came together during this period and the team concentrated on expanding our spaces and creating new areas within the Lab for when we reopened. It was an incredibly rocky and challenging first few months and we couldn’t quite believe our luck, but eventually we rose above the challenges and ironically ended up being one of our most productive periods. Needless to say we haven’t looked back since and continue to slowly grow however we won’t lie, the current post pandemic climate and general cost of living places huge pressures on the smaller independent grassroots venues.
Are there any frustrations or difficulties you face running the venue?
A colleague once mentioned that being a pioneer often means struggling to get the support you need at crucial moments, as you need to wait for the sector to catch up. It was very hard to explain to funders and other organisations the potential of immersive arts as it is an ‘experiential’ medium (you need to be in the space to fully get it) so we created the space in the hope it would be easier to showcase what we had envisioned. In other cities we’ve worked in, projects like this are embraced from the start, as they recognise the value for the local community and the international exposure it brings. However, here in Wales, it has been challenging to navigate the existing frameworks that primarily support established organisations, as we’ve emerged as a new arts venue with a different vision. It is in our DNA to embrace multidisciplinary practice and operate across sectors, so we fall through the funding gaps as we are a cinema, a theatre, a live music venue, a research centre, a gallery and an immersive arts lab at the same time.
Are there any events coming up over the next 12 months that you’re really excited about?
We are incredibly proud to be hosting FDUK for the second year in a row. Fulldome UK is the UK’s longest running immersive arts festival and fulldome artists and filmmakers from around the world will be descending on Cardiff to experience a curated programme of the world’s best fulldome films alongside a packed schedule of talks, presentations and immersive live performances.
In addition, to celebrate our 5th anniversary, we are presenting a new collaboration we have been making with the incredible Slowly Rolling Camera (performance at the Lab on 6 December 2024) . SRC was the first live XR performance we programmed at the Lab in 2019 when we made an immersive visual score for their album ‘Juniper’, and we are very much looking forward to this show. 4Pi are creating the visuals in house and can not wait to present the outcomes live on the 6th of December. It’s sure to be an amazing night and those lucky enough to get hold of a ticket (which are selling fast) will no doubt have a night they won’t forget.
Next March, we are hosting the Best of Earth Awards Ceremony, a coalition of some of the most prestigious and respected fulldome film festivals from around the world, including FullDome Festival in Jena, (Germany), Dome Fest West in Los Angeles, (USA), Dome Under Festival in Melbourne, (Australia), SAT Fest in Montréal, (Canada), and Brno Fulldome Festival (Czech Republic) and FDUK. Audiences in Cardiff would be the only ones that would have access to watch all of the selected immersive films.
We will continue to throw all of our efforts and resources to support the wider Welsh community in embracing and engaging with the transformative possibilities of cultural immersion and we are always on the lookout for collaborations that facilitate this. Our aim is to create a permanent facility with one of the world’s first LED domes in Cardiff, so currently we are looking at various opportunities that can facilitate this.
Also, finally, HOW DO WE PRONOUNCE YOUR NAME! Is it Cult – VR, or “culture” … or is it up to us to decide? 🙂
It is a play on the word culture and what we do at the Lab, shared virtual reality experiences. Both pronunciations work well and we enjoy having a playful name that can be interpreted by audiences. Ultimately, we promote cultural immersion so hopefully our name transmits this connection.
Pink Floyd’s iconic album ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’, originally released in March 1973, turns 50, and what more fitting a place to celebrate it and experience it than in a 360º cinema, through the music set to visuals. With the help of modern technology, the idea of a show combining breathtaking views of the solar system and beyond, played out to 42 minutes of The Dark Side Of The Moon in surround sound, has been embraced by the band. NSC Creative have led the visual production efforts, working closely with Pink Floyd’s long time creative collaborator Aubrey Powell from Hipgnosis.
Mesmerica is a visual music journey presenting music of Grammy-nominated composer and percussionist James Hood together with visually-hypnotic, 3D animated art curated from artists around the world.
FDUK 2024 will take place on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th of October and will feature the work of leading fulldome artists and producers from the UK and around the world. The event is a great opportunity to experience fulldome creativity in all its diversity, and to meet and learn from fellow immersive creatives.
Prepare for a night like no other, with the multi-talented Beardyman and the captivating Teddy Hunter, alongside DJs and VJs sets featuring João Saramago and Andrew Wagstaff. Presented by Cardiff Music City Festival.
Immersive documentary film about the extraordinary journey aboard the 70-ton sailing ship, Arka Kinari, ingeniously transformed into a cultural platform to amplify the urgent call for action on the climate crisis. Delve into the inspiring voyage across oceans of musicians Filastine & Nova, connecting distant shores through the unifying language of music and art to raise awareness about climate resilience on a global scale.
Devil’s Flower by Black Mantis is a new project from South Wales based producer Deri Roberts. His latest album Devil’s Flower sees him delve into his darker electronic side fusing together his love for sound sculpture, electronica, and jazz, resulting in an ever changing world of sound with a visual score produced by the award winning immersive studio 4Pi.
Join us for a special live performance with Slowly Rolling Camera celebrating 10 years since their first album. With their sixth studio album ‘Silver Shadow’ being released this summer this performance will envelop audiences in the dynamic interplay of magnetic melodies and cinematic visuals. Accompanied by an immersive visual score created by award winning studio 4Pi Productions, this XR performance pushes the possibilities of storytelling within shared immersive spaces inspired by the visual and musical interplay found in moving images.
DJ Yoda returns to CULTVR to present the XR live performance: 50 Years of Hip-Hop. This event is not just any club night; it’s an immersive experience that combines the best of hip-hop music with 360º visuals. DJ Yoda will feature some of the genre’s most iconic tracks presenting for the first time a fully immersive AV set dedicated to hip-hop in the UK.
If We Disappear is an immersive acoustic-visual journey crafted by Berlin multimedia artist and sound designer, Emika. Set against the backdrop of her latest album, Falling In Love With Sadness, this unique live show is designed for the planetarium, combining Emika’s distinctive voice, piano melodies, and hypnotic beats with 360º visuals. The performance delves into themes of love, loss, and the search for meaning in chaotic times, inviting the audience to reflect on where love goes when everything else is falling apart.
HUGE THANKS TO THE CULTVR TEAM! If you want to follow and support, here are all the links you need
Hey you guys … a big happy new year from all of us here at We Are Cardiff!
Just a quick note for any of you looking for ways to help out in 2022, check out the following …
CARDIFF AND VALE HEALTH BOARD ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS!
Cardiff and Vale UHB are are currently accepting applications for Mass Vaccination Centre Meet and Greet Volunteers and Ward Befriender Volunteers. The Mass Vaccination Centres need you! (We’ve volunteered at the Jabs-R-Us in the Bay, so if you see us down there do come over and say hi!) More info: Cardiff and Vale Health Board – volunteering opportunities during COVID
WELSH BLOOD SERVICE ARE LOOKING FOR DONORS!
Is giving in your blood? There are currently empty slots at multiple donor sessions across Cardiff through January and February – plenty of locations from central (City Hall, Cardiff Uni) out to locations throughout the wards. More info: Welsh Blood Service – donor sessions in Cardiff
OTHER VOLUNTARY OPPORTUNITIES IN CARDIFF
The Cardiff Volunteer Centre has HUNDREDS of organisations that need volunteers – from drivers for delivering food and medicine, to admin support, to retail volunteers for charity shops. Find a way to make a difference in 2022! More info: Cardiff Volunteer Centre – volunteering opportunities 2022
If you’re a charity or community organisation reading this and you want to advertise any ways people can volunteer, please post in the comments!
Keep masking up Cardiff, you look absolutely fabulous.
Very exciting news for dads out there – DadFest 2021 is bring a weekend of activities and fun to Merthyr Mawr in September. Read on to find out more!
DadFest, the UK’s only ‘Festival of Fatherhood’, starts Friday 10 September at Candlestone Campsite, Merthyr Mawr, South Wales. This unique festival, now in its 8th year and previously awarded ‘Best Small Event in the UK’ by the National Outdoor Events Association, is organised by Dangerous Dads CIC.
DadFest is for dads, male carers and their children (of all ages) and takes place at Candlestone Campsite, Merthyr Mawr CF32 0LS from Friday 10th September to Sunday 12th September.
DadFest organiser and founder of Dangerous Dads CIC, Ian Blackwell, is thrilled about this year’s DadFest.
“Dads tell us how much they value getting back to nature, chilling-out and spending special time with their kids and other father figures. It’s all about having some adventurous fun with their children such as playing in the woods, building dens, exploring nature, camping and sharing campfire stories, especially after the lockdown. This year there will also be circus skills workshops, bushcraft activities, great food and lots more. Although we have run DadFest in Cornwall and Devon in the past, this is our first time in Wales, so it is an exciting moment for us and we are really looking forward to seeing lots of Welsh dads having fun in the woods and at the beach.”
“Candlestone Campsite is ideal as the site extends to 15 acres, and includes exclusive access to a further 40 acres of the adjoining wood in which to walk, play and explore. Unlike traditional campsites the site retains a very natural feel and incorporates lots of habitat for wildlife, and it is close to the UK’s highest sand-dunes, the river Ogmore and the Glamorgan Heritage Coast. DadFest has access to the 840 acre Merthyr Mawr National Nature Reserve, a rolling expanse of sand dunes, woodland and a mile of sandy beach. The site is 20 miles west of Cardiff, in the picturesque thatched village of Merthyr Mawr, and 5 miles from J35 of the M4, and 2.5 miles from Bridgend. It really is an ideal and beautiful location.”
The festival is renowned for its highlight event – the ‘World Dad Dancing Championship’, hotly contested by grooving dads, much to the sheer embarrassment of their kids. As the Official WORLD Dad Dancing ChampionTM, the winning dad claims all the bragging rights it brings but first someone needs to dad-dance their way to the winning trophy. A unique trophy and prize awaits the winner.
DadFest 2021 will provide a range of activities including archery, storytelling, bat walks, bushcraft skills, campfire cooking, den building, circus skills, nature trails, live music, award winning beer & food, and more… Everything at DadFest is run by qualified, experienced leaders who are fully insured and all risk assessments are in place.
DadFest is a small, safe, and intimate festival focused on outdoor activities. Our aim every year is to get Dads and their children out and about in nature… especially after a year of being cooped up inside. This event will be COVID-secure but please do talk to us if you have any concerns or questions.
Adult Ticket – £85, children 6 and up – £40, children under 6 – £20. All activities and camping space are provided as part of every ticket. Food tickets available that entitles you to six hot meals, as well as water, juice, tea, and coffee as needed all weekend.
Today’s instalment for the Letters from Cardiff in lockdown series comes from a friend of ours, who has been working as a counsellor through the pandemic, helping ease those addled minds. We’re still open for stories, so if it’s taken you a while to put it together, it’s all good with us – please contribute to Letters from Cardiff in lockdown.
“Oh zoom, you chased the day away
High noon, the moon and stars came out to play……”. Zoom 1982
“Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video conferencing “. Zoom 2020
“A brand of carbonated soft drink produced in South Wales”. Corona 1982
“Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some causing infectious diseases”. Corona 2020
In 1982, I was training to be a teacher and living in London.
In 2020, I had been a counsellor for thirty three years and was living in Cardiff.
I had spent the whole of my career meeting with people face to face in a variety of different rooms and settings and feeling enormously privileged to be able to do so.
Then … the world changed! Along came a global pandemic, forcing most of us to make changes to how we work and live. Many of these were eloquently described in “Letters from Lockdown “ which I really enjoyed reading last year.
I was also forced into finding other ways of being able to continue my counselling work and support my existing clients as well as offering a service to new ones.
Zoom was installed on my laptop and a new phase of my counselling work began, not without some trepidation. I worried about connections, both emotional and technological. What would be achievable working this way and would it be good enough?
I’ve had the good fortune to be able to access the counselling rooms I normally share with my two colleagues throughout this time.
Their situations and distance from our base have meant them working entirely from home so I’ve had the place to myself, which has felt very strange and rather lonely. A laptop stand and a comfy office chair were installed in one of the counselling rooms and my work online began.
I’ve been out of the house five days a week, dressed in my normal clothes and smelling of perfume (I feel weird without it) and garlic.
I realised early on that I didn’t have to limit my intake, as I usually do – an unexpected benefit!
So … same clothes, same hours, same rooms, just – no clients in the rooms!
All on screens or on the phone.
They see me in my usual working environment but I see them in very different surroundings – in their homes, their offices, their cars, their sheds. I see them in bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms.
I’ve seen a few people in their beds!
People in their pyjamas. Men without shirts. Lots of lounge wear.
I’ve seen peoples’ partners, children, pets. Lots of pets. Cats, dogs, geckos, snakes and a parrot ( all bringing comfort and companionship to their owners).
Delivery drivers have interrupted sessions on a regular basis.
I’ve travelled to other countries with people whose professional or personal lives have taken them far and wide. To Poland, the Balearic Islands, Turkey.
I’ve spoken with people in London and Edinburgh.
Previously, I would not have considered continuing to support people as they moved cities or countries and that already seems rather strange!
My clients have generally been marvellously adaptable, embracing Zoom, FaceTime and WhatsApp video with ease and we have made the most of it together. People are saying that they like the flexibility it will give them ongoing; they will be able to choose between attending in person (increasingly happening now) or from some other convenient location.
Some people will appreciate not having to travel, negotiating trains, buses or parking spaces. Most people however are missing being able to step out of their lives and into the safe space of the counselling room, with the physical presence of another.
At a time when lots of people have been struggling to feel connected to others, I have been enormously privileged to be so very connected to so many.
There’s been a new dimension to “seeing into peoples’ lives” as I have seen into their homes too!
I have also seen peoples’ goodness and kindness find new expression as they have shopped for their neighbours, shared their food, made donations to various causes and taken sunflower plants to a hostel for the homeless.
I have experienced , as always, peoples’ resilience, tested now in new ways.
I have learned that it’s possible to achieve a depth of connection online that I would not have thought possible previously, not only with people I have met in person but also with people I’ve only ever met onscreen.
My preferred way of working will always be “in the room” but much can be achieved online as people bravely work through the things that trouble them and trust me with their fears, anxieties, griefs and traumas. They share their achievements, their hopes and fears, their courage and humour just as they would in the room and as always, I have loved my work throughout.
On a very shallow level, I have learned how to apply a Zoom “improve my appearance “ filter.
This makes me a little concerned about meeting people in person. “My god,” they’ll think. “She’s aged. And she stinks of garlic”.
Is giving in your blood? We need to give at least 350 donations of blood everyday to keep up with demand from hospitals in Wales. Did you know that a single donation can be broken down into its different components, so it can be used in various ways? These components all have differing life spans, which is why it’s important that we keep on giving! This is how long different parts of your blood will last after donation…
Platelets/White cells – 7 days
Red Cells – 35 days
Plasma can be frozen for up to two years.
Crazy blood stats, right??
Someone somewhere in Wales needs your help – they need your blood! The process usually takes around 15 minutes, and the Welsh Blood Service always have a full staff of very nice people on hand to accompany you through every part of the process, so there’s no need to be nervous!
Also when you’re done you get to enjoy a cup of squash and a Club! (*other sweet treats are also available, but my personal favourite is a Mint Club, in case anyone’s wondering)…
The Welsh Blood Service aims to have at least seven days worth of different blood types in stock. As you can see, a couple of different blood types are low …
Today’s article comes from Emma Mae Greaves, and includes an invitation for you to join the Immersed! festival this weekend!
How USW students created an online music festival under the shadow of COVID-19
The music industry has found itself in dire straits for the past few months. With live music gone, collaboration at a minimum, and our precious venues closing left, right and centre, morale amongst creatives has been at an all-time low. However, behind the scenes of 2021’s all-new Immersed! Festival we’ve been experiencing something amazing in all of this madness; hope; and this is something we endeavour to share with our viewers this weekend when they finally get to see Immersed! Festival 2021 in all of its virtual glory. Immersed! takes place this weekend (30/31 January) for free! And you can find out everything you need from our Immersed! linktree.
Cherry Boys behind the scenes (photo by Stu Rowles)
Streaming (for free, by the way – links at the bottom of this article) from the Immersed! YouTube and Twitch accounts as per the new normal, viewers will get to experience a truly immersive music festival from the comfort of their own homes, all in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and the #saveourvenues movement. To support this, each performance was specially filmed in venues across Cardiff, and in artists’ bedrooms all across the globe. The students at the University of South Wales that are behind this event have definitely triumphed over adversity, and to do so in the midst of such a critical situation for live music throughout Wales, as well as for the worthy causes we’re supporting, is a fantastic achievement that each and every one of us should be proud of.
From adapting to solely online communication, maintaining a Covid-safe environment, and strictly abiding by lockdown rules, the hurdles in the race the Immersed team have had to jump this year have been higher than ever before, and we’ve been running with weights on our ankles the entire time.
However, though we’re tired, and some of us stressed, hope for a musical future is in the air – with a line-up of nearly 50 incredible acts, six virtual stages, and a massive 200 USW students involved in the creation and delivery of this award-worthy festival. That’s pretty incredible.
In September, when Immersed! 2021 began as a concept in the empty halls of the University of South Wales, it presented itself as more of a huge floating question mark than a festival. But by the start of October, this giant bundle of confusion had actually become something tangible. We had all these ideas, all of this research, and most importantly; we had a plan. This was a plan driven by the music we’re now bringing you, from up-and-coming artists such as Adwaith, Otto, Mace the Great, Yasmine & The Euphoria, Chroma, Telgate, as well as a vast selection of the Libertino Records roster including Bandicoot, KEYS and Papur Wal, among many more.
Ben from The Kelly Line (photo by Natalie Ball)
It was a plan driven by the inspiration we took from Tumi Williams (aka. Skunkadelic), Sam Dabb (Le Pub and #saveourvenues) and Sarah Cole (#wemakeevents co-ordinator for Wales) in our talks with them throughout this process. It was a plan driven by a simple message that is now the backbone of the Immersed concept: we are Cardiff, and we are vital. Though this plan changed drastically over the course of putting Immersed! together, it’s still, in my opinion, the most impressive product of teamwork I’ve ever seen, and for third year university students – music students no less – this is a HUGE feat.
This sense of teamwork reigned massively over the production of this festival. We all had our roles, and we all (well, most of us) carried them out with perfectly professional practice. The festival scene is something we’re all accustomed to in one form or another but experiencing one from this side of the music has been like stepping into an entirely new world – one which the pandemic has rendered unrecognisable anyway. Nonetheless we embraced it, as we imagined, produced, filmed, programmed, promoted and looked forward to a whole weekend full of true talent, a genuine celebration of Cardiff’s diversity, and a whole lot more online wonder that has exponentially broadened our hopes for the future. We’re genuinely excited to share Immersed! 2021 with the world.
Wen behind the scenes (photo by Liv Davies)
It’s been a long few months of unanswered emails, uncomfortable ‘please-promote-us’ phone calls, and fourteen hour days filming sets in amazing venues across Cardiff such as Tramshed, Cultvr Lab, and Frontal Lobe Warehouse. But now, we’ve got a whole bank of industry email contacts ready for us to utilise, we can actually pick up the phone and order a takeaway without panicking about what to say, and we saw more bands play in our days spent filming than we have in the last three years. It’s been one hell of a ride, and an insanely rewarding one at that. So, here we are. We’ve made it to the home stretch, and as one final push from me to you I say this: please watch what we’ve been working so hard for.
Enter the festival via the Immersed 2021 Linktree (in our Instagram bio, and on our website). Immersed! begins on Friday at 8pm with a long-awaited workshop from Grammy-award-winning producer High Contrast. We hope to see you there.
Mary at the Newtown Memorial Garden on Tyndall Street.
It remains to this day one of the most read pieces on the We Are Cardiff site, and I am still emailed occasionally by people who have found the post while researching their family history, and have found their way to Newtown.
Mary was Chair and Co-founder of the Newtown Association, an organisation set up in 1996 to record the history of the Newtown community and to keep its memory alive. We’re grateful to her for sharing her memories of the lost neighbourhood of Newtown, and for setting up the Association, who have managed to reconnect a lot of people with distant relatives and family friends from the past.
For those of you interested in paying your respects, the funeral cortege will be visiting the Newtown Memorial Garden on Tyndall Street, on Monday 23 November 2020 around 11:15am.
If you do want to visit, please respect physical distancing rules and allow space around the memorial garden for members of the family. There is limited parking in the area, so we recommend parking at the top of Bute Street and walking over (it’s around a five minute walk from there).
If you’re unable to visit, the funeral will be at 10:30am on Monday morning, and will be streamed (there are strictly limited numbers allowed into the building). Link to the funeral livestream.
For those wanting to send flowers, please consider donating to Kidney Wales instead. The family have set up a JustGiving page to help fundraise for Kidney Wales, an independent charity whose provision of services depends on donations and fundraising events. Unfortunately due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, a lot of those fundraising events have been cancelled or postponed meaning that a lot of funding that Kidney Wales was depending on is now uncertain. Please help the family support their work during this time of crisis by donating in memory of Mary: JustGiving – In memory of Mary Sullivan.
Today’s instalment for the Letters from Cardiff in lockdown series comes from Rhian Pitt, of Cardiff Indie Collective. Although lockdown is lifting, we’re still open for stories, so if it’s taken you a while to put it together, it’s all good with us – please contribute to Letters from Cardiff in lockdown.
I’ve had three babies to tend to in lockdown.
One is your classic human shaped one with squishy thighs and a dribbly mouth. She was two months old when we entered lockdown. I had only just mastered leaving the house before the announcement was made and we were instructed not to do so. All of a sudden, the four walls of our house was the only world she knew. Sometimes I wonder the impact of it. She recently finished meeting the grandparents. They cried when they held her. So did she. The only other people to hold her since March were PPE clad nurses jabbing a needle into her leg. Lockdown lifting must be blowing her mind – all these people, places.
I won’t use this space to vent my woes of lost maternity leave – other people have been through much worse – and in many ways it was a positive experience, forcing me to slow down and connect with her in a way that ‘normal life’ wouldn’t have allowed, but it was solitary.
Me, my baby and the dog became a unit. We ate together, napped together, exercised together. As my partner left for work every morning we would stay at home. Together. Every day.
That’s my second baby, the dog. A hyperactive collie who is a lover of the great outdoors and a park snob. She was quite possibly the most affected in our household. Just two months earlier she had been pushed into second rank by the arrival of the baby – then all of a sudden we were at home all day, cramping her style, sitting in the armchair that she usually commandeered. It was very hard for her to come to terms with the five mile rule. No more mountains, beaches, open spaces, lakes (she treats Roath Lake like it’s a dirty puddle). The genuine disappointment on her face as we rocked up at Splott Park was palpable. She cottoned on and started digging her heels in like an overtired toddler, refusing to walk as I grappled to get her and baby out the house. She would wriggle out of her harness and hide under the coffee table, her legs quivering at the thought of having to walk past groups of teenagers who were struggling to grasp the concept of social distancing, sprawled over the pathways and smoking fragrant cigarettes. She found the clapping for carers a bit overwhelming.
We must’ve looked like a household lacking in enthusiasm for the carers – quite the opposite, it was incredibly emotional and a clap didn’t quite express the gratitude – but my partner and I had to take it in turns representing on our doorstep while the other had to play the radio really loudly and prance around distracting the dog. It was worse than bonfire night.
My third baby has been a project – a business, a social media campaign, a crowdfunder. It’s called Cardiff Indie Collective and is, if you hadn’t guessed, a collective of Cardiff’s independent businesses. The idea is to showcase them all in one space – many of us follow a select few on social media – but how good would it be to have one space where you can see them all together?
Lockdown has helped to highlight the fact that lots of us would like to shop more locally (Instagram even introduced a shop local tag), but it’s hard if you don’t know where to start.
From the businesses’ perspective, it’s about widening their audience, creating a support network for them to tap into, being a collective voice for when their own needs to be louder.
The plan for this started a couple of years ago when I instigated the ‘Cardiff Gift Exchange’. With the help and support of Business Wales the plan evolved and things got moving while I was pregnant – a slow thought out process – and then BOOM, covid struck and suddenly local businesses were screaming out for help – so it got propelled forward at 100mph – the Crowdfunder was a success with nearly 40 local businesses getting involved. We’ve raised enough money to get a website built, get some super eco-friendly loyalty cards produced, and do some marketing.
Shopping has changed, eating out has changed – but let’s take this opportunity to pull together and turn it into a positive change by helping our independents. You can sign up to our mailing list to hear about the launch at the Cardiff Indie Collective website.
Things I’ve learned from lockdown:
My dog is a great listener. She has been by my side daily and made it less lonely.
Starting a business with a newborn baby is hard – but when you can’t hang out at awkward baby groups, spend your days in cafes or hanging with the grandparents, then it is a welcome distraction from nappies and dribble.
My parents feel really far away. Four months of Whatsapp videos of the baby sleeping/eating/crying/pooing just isn’t the same as a hug.
Talking to adults during the day is very important. My vocabulary has reduced by approximately two percent, and forming sentences has become more challenging. When the postman strikes up a conversation I feel like I am in GCSE French oral exam.
Being at home all day on your own with a baby doesn’t feel natural. My partner used to come home from work to find the dog sitting in the window waiting. Now he finds me next to her doing the same thing. We are sociable creatures built on communities -we haven’t evolved to be alone at home every day.
I am so grateful to live with someone. To have a partner. To have a baby. The importance of human touch on mental wellbeing is profound.
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Thanks Rhian, and good luck with your three babies! Follow Cardiff Indie Collective in the following places:
We Are Cardiff 