Category Archives: Whats on

Cardiff weekend guide – We Are Cardiff picks!

July 10, 2014 admin 1 Comment

What are YOU doing this weekend then, eh? We’ve got a couple of Cardiff picks for the weekend if you’re searching for inspiration. If there’s anything else on that we’ve missed, please comment below!

Cardiff Food Festival – Cardiff Bay, Friday Saturday and Sunday. GO EAT SOME CHEESE! Event info here

Roath Rec World XI exhibition ends this Sunday 13 July

Cardiff photographer Dan Green has had a great exhibition of international footballers up in the Roath MADE gallery for the past couple of weeks. And when we say international, we mean the people who play Sunday leagues at Roath rec. They come from all over! It’s a great exhibition and MADE (formerly Milkwood) is a lovely venue, so make sure you go and see the exhibition before it ends this Sunday.

More info

Here’s a filmed news article from ITV Wales outlining the show – http://bit.ly/1m8ogMM
A photo gallery from my Facebook page of the exhibition.
Coverage on the BBC website – http://bbc.in/1lKK1kY
New paste ups on Lowther Road with a selection of the multi cultural football players – http://bit.ly/1lnczBh

Cardiff MADE gallery,
41 Lochaber St, Roath, Cardiff, CF24 3LS

Remaining opening times of exhibition :
Friday 11th July – 10 am til 5pm
Saturday 12th July – 10 am til 5 pm [talk at 2pm]
Sunday 13th July – 11am til 4pm

www.dangreenphotography.com

Street Arty, Saturday 12 July, Mackintosh Club, Keppoch Street Roath

If you’re after something to do on Saturday afternoon, get yourself over to the Mackintosh Centre on Keppoch Street (you know where I mean, opposite The Gate) where there will be food, vintage stalls and a £1 jumble for you to feast upon!

Street Arty is a carnival of flavour with long table outdoor dinning this neighbourhood yard party features the stars of Cardiff rising street food scene. Plus an array of vintage clothing stalls, £1 Jumble, DJs, Arts & Performance.

Street Food Line Up…..

Dirty Bird – Fried Chicken
Chucks – BBQ Burgers
Bar 44 – Spanish Street Kitchen
Ffwrnes – Wood Fired Pizzas
Penylan Pantry – Scotch eggs / charcuterie / cheese board
Shabbanakle – Steam Punk Chai
Kimi – Organic Indian Street Food
Milgi – Mexican Vegetarian Tacos
Wild Fig – Ice Cream

Bars…
Pipes artisan brewery
Milgi Margarita’s

Vintage… Vintage…Vintage… Mega Mega Mega £1 Jumble…. + Artists, Music and neighbourhood yard party..

Street Arty is a free event set in the grounds of Mackintosh Club, Roath, Cardiff just off City Road. A brand new event by the co-creators of Art Car Bootique Something Creatives. Looking for a pitch ? http://bit.ly/1lbCtW9

Going out raving? Pubbing? Clubbing? Maybe a little bit of bubbling?

If you want to go and chew your face off all weekend, then there’s a great little festival happening in Pembrokeshire called Tribe Festival. Fingers crossed the weather holds!

If you’re out on Friday night, then The Lady Rave have got Sian Evans from Kosheen (I know! remember them??) playing at The Moon.

If you fancy going out on Saturday night, we suggest either Instructions & Blood Club at the Lansdowne or Twisted by Design at Dempseys.

Then on Sunday, OF COURSE, get yourself over to The Gower pub in Roath for Sweet Baboo’s show, part of a Mini UK ‘Test Pressings’ Tour celebrating the release of ‘The Marc Riley BBC Sessions’ in July 2014. The party also features:
Skittle alley
Beer garden
Record stall
DJs
Fun
World Cup Final

Boom!

And then finally, on Monday night (and who said Mondays shouldn’t count as the weekend, eh?) git yoself some culture and head to Gwidihw at 7pm for a poetry reading, where Bill Trub will be reading from his debut book, All Men Are Afraid.

The City, Whats on

The urbanist’s guide to Cardiff – blogger of the week on the Guardian!

July 1, 2014 admin 7 Comments

Well well, eh? I pack my bags and head off to Glastonbury for a couple of days and what happens? BLOGGER OF THE WEEK ON THE GUARDIAN HAPPENS, that’s what!

click the picture or this link to go read the article: The urbanist’s guide to Cardiff: ‘the UK’s most sociable city’

I got a bit of shit in the comments for being too generic and not listing enough specific independent bars / cafes / shops etc etc in the city – also there were comments saying that there actually aren’t many independents, which I know to be A LIE. There are OODLES of amazing independent businesses in the city, many that I frequent, and I wanted to give a list of my favourites below. This is by no means exhaustive, and if you’re reading this and think I’ve missed one out in your area, PLEASE ADD IT IN THE COMMENTS!

Also I have to give props to Walt Jabsco for fire-fighting in the comments (who knew Guardian readers could be so contrary, eh??) and also to Simon Ayre for taking that lovely photo of me hanging out under the A4232 in Butetown.

NOW THEN …. my list of some independent businesses in Cardiff. Some really good ones. Add your own in the comments. DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a foodie or a fashion person, in any way, so if you’re after restaurant recommendations you’re probably better off to go to the Gourmet Gorro blog and see what he’s got to say over there.

The below are in absolutely no order other than what my brain has just thrown up all over the keyboard, and will probably tell you that my priorities in life mostly revolve around car boot sales and markets, drinking gin, drinking coffee, buying records and eating cake. And if you’ve got a problem with that, well let’s face it, you’re probably on the wrong blog.

RETAILERS

Catapult Records (I used to be the Saturday girl here, so it’s got to go top!)
Spillers Records
Sho Gallery
Kellys Records
D’Vinyl
MADE Gallery / cafe
Jacobs Market
Cardiff Fashion Quarter
The Pumping Station (lovely to look around but REALLY PRICEY)
Rose Street Flea Market

CAFES / BARS / EATERIES AND DRINKERIES

Penylan Pantry (great local food from lovely ladies in this local deli)
Milgi
Chapter
Pettigrew Tea Rooms
Waterloo Tea (Roath, Penarth and soon to be opened city centre tea rooms)
The Secret Garden cafe in Bute Park (next to the Education Centre)
Shot in the Dark cafe (one of my favourite places to grab coffee and work)
Bombay Cafe (most amazing Indian street food!)
Cafe Barker
The Pot
Lia’s Kitchen (a no-fixed-abode supper club that pops up everywhere and is very tasty!)
The New York Deli
Madame Fromage
The Norwegian Church
Penarth Pier Pavilion (newly renovate with exhibition space, a lovely cafe AND a cinema! definitely worth a visit)

PUBS / VENUES

Porters
The Globe
Gwdihw
The Moon
Clwb Ifor Bach
Urban Tap House
Pipes Brewery
The Gate
Dempseys (okay it’s Brains, but they’re Welsh!)
Cafe Jazz (they do a great deal on dinner and jazz on Friday nights)

OTHER THINGS

Riverside Market (also the sister Roath Market and Rhiwbina Markets)
Splott Market (seriously, until you’ve been there, you haven’t lived)
The Printhaus (artist workshops, classes, event venue…)

Well, that’s all from me for today. I’m going to go lie on my sofa with a cold compress on my head and watch the Glasto highlights on TV until I can function again.

PEAS!

Helia
x

The City, Whats on

Cardiff hidden gem – Rose Street flea market

June 25, 2014 admin 11 Comments

Ever in search of nooks and crannies in the city, we sent Philip Jenkins off to Rose Street flea market in Roath to uncover some hidden treasures. Read on to see what he found!

Cardiff’s hidden treasures – Rose Street flea market

When asked by We Are Cardiff to name my favourite secret of the city, this was the ﬁrst thing that came to mind.

Rose St. Flea Market, more informally dubbed Steptoe On Steroids is a hidden gem like nowhere else in Cardiff. Situated in the heart of Roath, set almost central from City Road, Newport Road & Albany Road (address 37A Rose Street, CF24 3EA). It’s a place worlds apart from the vintage markets, “shabby chic” shops, Urban Outﬁtters & ETSY culture that is popular today. Rose St. Flea Market is a proper junk shop.

The owner, Frank (affectionally known to customers as Steptoe) is an avid collector. He began collecting things from the early age of eight, and has worked in reclamation (junk) shops since the age of 15 until present, where he owns and runs Rose. St Flea Market.

From the outside, the shop is very unassuming, met with just a few signs to promote it’s opening (Saturday & Sunday 10am to 4pm). Each weekend you’ll notice the constant ﬂow of activity in the streets, of people visiting, all in search of their weekly bargain.

What appears to be a garage but really a two story house conversion is crammed, top to bottom with a hoard rare collectibles, vintage and antiques, furniture, clothes, books, records and pretty much everything and anything else you can think of. You’ll ﬁnd everything from brick-a-brack to bicycles, crockery to vintage clothes, old signage, antique musical instruments, stage props and various other oddities. If you enjoy a rummage then this place is right for you.

The market itself has little interest in self promoting, and very much thrives on old fashioned word of mouth. Aside from one or two signs displayed when open each weekend, the market has no website or social media presence. It’s quite off the grid in that sense, but the shops ambiguity adds to the character of the place.

In a time where “shabby chic” and vintage is more popular than ever, not many legit junk shops exist. Where some places might use the terms vintage and antique as an excuse to charge ridiculous mark ups, Rose St. Flea Market is very reasonably priced and the perfect place to get yourself a real bargain. The owner Frank operates a policy where by the attitude of the customer determines the price of the what he’s selling. He’s a friendly guy and can be helpful, usually throwing in extra bits and pieces, and generally offering you a sweet deal. Years of experience means he often has a tale to tell or an anecdote to take home with your purchase. Being nice is key and I suggest being reasonable with your bartering … emphasis on not pushing your luck.

I ﬁnd myself there habitually, every weekend. If you see something you like it won’t be there for long. The eclectic treasures found inside are constantly evolving and once you’ve visited once you’ll ﬁnd yourself a becoming a regular.

Philip Jenkins is a 27 year old musician and photographer, originally from Bridgend. His interests include film, music, upholstery, vintage anything and other stuff. He is currently based in Roath.

Whats on

Glastonbury travel from Cardiff. Not going? Glasnost Festival at The Moon!

June 18, 2014 admin Leave a comment

For those Cardiff people who are heading to Glastonbury this year (which includes me for the first time ever!), First Great Western have put up some information about public transport by train to the festival. Great news for those wanting to travel green; if only train tickets were cheaper, maybe more people would do it! But there we go, that’s what happens when things are privatised. Big thanks to the Conservatives of many years ago for that one. But I digress …

For those Cardiff people NOT going to Glastonbury this year, every year The Moon and The Full Moon on Womanby Street put on Glasnost; a full few days of festivities, all arts and music related. Ideal for those who aren’t heading to the big G but still fancy getting their jig on. This year’s Glasnost looks better than ever – five days of bands, DJs, cabaret – and a five day pass is only £15!

GLASNOST FACEBOOK PAGE

Whats on

Spit and Sawdust opening party – Cardiff skate park, cafe, shop and art space

June 11, 2014 admin Leave a comment

Cardiff’s been long overdue a reasonable indoor skate park for a while. And now we have one! Writer Jodie Ashdown headed along to see Spit and Sawdust at their opening party. Read on for what she found!

Spit and Sawdust opening party – Cardiff skate park, cafe, shop and art space

Skateboarding, along with many other extreme sports, has undergone a boom in the last few years and now seems to be more popular than ever. Cardiff Council has responded to this by putting up bars along statue plinths and other grindable areas in the city centre in an effort to deter the skaters, who they say damage the benches and architecture.

But, luckily for the skaters, in-liners, skateboarders, scooter riders and BMXers of Cardiff, a cunning idea was in the process of fruition. Cardiff locals Christian and Nia decided to not only provide a space for the skaters, but also create an art and exhibition space, a skate shop and a cafe.

We headed down to the skate park (behind Greggs on Newport Road) for their official ‘Warehouse Warming Party’ on 31st of May. There was live music, an ice cream vodka bar, food, skating, scootering, biking, flying skateboarders, flying skaters, a sound space, a minidrome (world’s smallest veldrome) and a good crowd of people. The business has been open now for just over a month and seems to be doing well.

And the project was not a short one, the skate park and creative community space was 2 years in the making and was helped by a grant from Sport Wales. Set up by skaters, for skaters, with the community in mind, they worked with the skate scene to create a park which would be suitable for all.

It’d be easy to feel a little intimidated, especially if you’re a novice, but the park has a friendly and relaxed atmosphere and caters to customers of all ages (bearing in mind if you’re twelve or under, you have to wear pads and a helmet). It also has a discipline rota which, say, splits up the BMXers from the in-liners, meaning that the park is as safe and accommodating as it can be, while allowing for progression and improvement.

The cafe is not what you’d expect either – the food is all homemade and as organic as possible and includes burgers, salads and cakes. No tuck shop crap here. And there’s even more than that going on – music video filming, live music, video premieres, rare trader conventions are all coming in the near future, and the guys at City Surf have a permanent mini shop set up down there.

It’s obvious that Christian and Nia of Spit and Sawdust are keen for the space to be used to its full potential and establish a creative environment which can be enjoyed by all. There’s loads of free parking and a full day skate pass is just £11 with basic membership, which comes at the extortionate price of £1 for life. Pad, helmet and skateboard hire is available. There’s more information, such as a times and prices, on their website: http://spitandsawdust.co.uk/ and their Spit and Sawdust Facebook page.

Spit & Sawdust, Unit B Rhymney River Bridge Road, CF23 9AF, Cardiff.

Whats on

The Big Lunch is in Cardiff (and everywhere) on Sunday 1 June 2014. Are you ready?

May 29, 2014 admin 1 Comment

This Sunday millions of people across the UK will come together for The Big Lunch, the annual get together for neighbours. It’s a simple idea from the Eden Project, made possible by the Big Lottery, to get as many people as possible across the UK to have lunch with their neighbours once a year in a simple act of community, friendship and fun.

There are loads of Big Lunches taking place in and around Cardiff this weekend, from small, private events in streets and back gardens to big, public events like the Shelley Garden Food Festival in Roath, so make sure you get involved if there’s one happening near you.

It’s also not too late to organise your own Big Lunch. FREE resource packs are still available from http://www.thebiglunch.com or by calling 0845 850 818. The pack is full of useful resources and a sprinkling of inspiration and all the materials are undated, so if 1 June is a bit too soon or doesn’t suit no worries, have it on a day that suits you and your community best.

Get your mates together, meet your neighbours, celebrate the diversity of our lovely city or simply share a beer and a bite to eat with those closest to you. #TheBigLunch

For more information, contact Gwion Thorpe, 029 2078 6192 or 07801227288
gwion.thorpe@gmail.com
www.thebiglunch.com / www.yciniomawr.com

The Arts, Whats on

Art Car Bootique, Chapter 25 May 2014 – review by Jodie Ashdown

May 29, 2014 admin Leave a comment

We sent writer Jodie Ashdown along to Chapter’s Art Car Bootique to brave the rain and enjoy the arts on offer this year. Were you there?

On Sunday, 25 May, was held the visual, olfactory, gustatory and auditory feast that is the Art Car Bootique. Held in the car park of Chapter Arts Centre in Canton, the bootique is a day for the entertainers, musicians, food stall holders, artists, trinket creators, jewellery makers and illustrious illustrators of Cardiff to show us their mettle.

Described as a ‘psychedelic village fete’, the event is perfect for the whole family – children’s entertainers absorb and delight the little ones, along with kid’s tables and activities, while the slightly older folk can sneak off for a meander into the selection of German beer and other such sparkle-inducing beverages.

You can make your perfect partner through the medium of sock puppet, sing your heart out in the ‘car-e-oke’, make bubbles on a bike, create music with a flyer, knock Putin off his shy, pick up a lovely illustration of boobies, have a song sung about you, tuck into tapas, snag yourself a vintage bargain and become a photo booth star – all in an afternoon’s work.

With food, music and drinks into the evening, the bootique did its very best to stand in the face of the downpours and cloudy skies and say, ‘Screw you rain, we’re Welsh, we don’t need sunshine to have a good time’ and laughed raucously. Manically, perhaps.

It’s a bloody good day out and highly recommended. Get yourself there next year!

***

Thanks Jodie! Were you at Chapter on Sunday? Did we see you there?? Until next time…

Whats on

NoFit State Circus – Bianco, Cardiff, 23 May – 7 June 2014

May 28, 2014 admin 1 Comment

If you’ve recently driven anywhere around the streets just south of John Lewis, underneath the railway bridge, then you’re likely to have seen a large silver spaceship hanging around John Street (where the temporary library was a few years ago). A ha! But this is no silver spaceship. Instead, it’s the temporary big top that’s housing NoFit State’s current show, Bianco. The show is open in Cardiff until 7 June 2014, and I highly recommend you go see it.

The show toured Cardiff last year, although that time it was situated in the backstage area of the main stage of the Millennium Centre. The show was originally co-produced by the Eden Project, and I can’t imagine a better place to have watched it in. But back to the space ship, which is Tardis-like and surprisingly roomy. As you’re invited into the big top, the ushers tell you you’ll have a better view if you get right in the middle of it all, so you step in between the large scaffolding, and the action begins. There’s a pulsing soundtrack played by a live band, and suddenly people appear inside the scaffolding, shouting and jeering at each other. It’s high energy and very restless – and you can’t help but get swept along by it.

There are 15 set pieces led by individual performers, nearly all of which take place in the air (handy, as it’s a standing performance – so you can be standing further back and still feel like you see ‘the big stuff’). Although NoFit State has been based in Cardiff since it was formed back in the 1980s, today the performers come from all over the world, which you hear as they wear microphones through some of their pieces and speak in various languages to the audience.

And there’s all sorts – some very clever juggling; terrifying ariel straps work; incredible twisting, climbing and dropping from ropes; a business man themed strip-tease on the tightrope; and a beautiful trapeze piece underneath a shower of falling snow to finish things off.

I’ve been to see two other NoFit State shows, and it always makes me beam with a little Cardiff city pride that our resident circus is so freaking awesome. If you’re inspired to become super limber and learn some tricks after seeing them (like I always want to!) then you should check out the NoFit State classes, held at their circus base in Cardiff. And if you’re interested, there’s a flying trapeze taster session that runs every other Friday at 6pm (this Friday 30 June is the next one).

BOOK TICKETS FOR BIANCO HERE

www.nofitstate.org

Check out the NoFit State FACEBOOK PAGE for regular updates on the progress of their work

Whats on

Sounds of the Baskerville 6-8 June 2014 – interview with festival organiser Catapult Records!

May 17, 2014 admin Leave a comment

UPDATE: UNFORTUNATELY THE FESTIVAL HAS BEEN CANCELLED. PLEASE CONTACT 029 2166 0633 FOR INFORMATION ABOUT REFUNDS.

Many years ago when I first moved to Cardiff as a student, I did what most people do – went out and found myself a part time job to pay my way through uni. That job was as the Saturday gal in dance music specialist record shop, Catapult Records (back then it was in the High Street Arcade – now it’s just round the corner, in the Duke Street Arcade).

Lucy, Simon and the Catapult crew have been putting on drum&bass nights in the Vaults for some time now – and this year, they’re throwing their first ever FESTIVAL up in Baskerville Hall! I asked Lucy to explain a little bit about the festival and what you can expect.

Q. Tell us about the Baskerville weekend – how did the idea come about?
A. No one else is doing anything like it. We’ve enjoyed taking events to exciting places and these two factors are reflected in the national response to this party.

Q. Why the venue and have you attended any other festivals there – Freerotation etc?
A. The venue itself much like Catapult has a lot of rave history. It hosted its first Fantazia event around the same time we opened our doors, it seemed the perfect place to host this event.

Q. You have a great line-up including Marky and Stamina – what’s the process for deciding who would suit the event?
A. Camping is included in the ticket price & is set in the lawns of the hall. You also have full access to an indoor heated swimming pool, indoor showers and toilets, the comforts you never get at Glastonbury. We had one objective, to put a lineup together we`d never seen before representing the strongest artists in our opinion of drum & bass past present and future.

Q. Tell us about some of the fringe activities happening – what can clubbers do when not on the dancefloor? Why should people get involved and come to the event?
A. The grounds of the stately home itself are a terrific place to chill out, we are enhancing this environment with good food, good music and good times. Camping is included in the ticket price and is set in the lawns of the hall. You also have full access to an indoor heated swimming pool, indoor showers and toilets, the comforts you never get at Glastonbury.

Outdoors you can indulge in sounds from our Safari Truck sound system in the Jungle Jungle Installation, good time vibes from the Tea Club crew along with the party Rolls Royce where you can expect a mash up of wonder and classics where house meets disco meets everything phat with some very special guests. We’re bringing some of Cardiff’s finest street food vendors so you can relax with delicious, fresh food provided by Chucks, Hautedogs, Wood Fire Pizza Inc and the Welsh Coffee Company. You can also shop vintage clothing at the infamous Rockola Reborn stall & source your festival outfits whilst wafting between chill out bars. Not forgetting the outdoor cinema showing some of you fav films & the Saturday night jungle theme fancy dress party.

Sounds pretty good, eh? Tickets are a bargainous £75 which includes camping and access to all listed onsite fun times!

– BUY TICKETS FROM FATSOMA

– Sound of the Baskerville Facebook event

– Catapult Records website

And, if you’re heading along to the festival and fancy yourself as a budding writer, we’d love to get a review of the event on the blog – email us and let us know at wearecardiff@gmail.com!

***

all the event info is below…

*** Catapult Presents… Sounds of the Baskerville… 6th – 8th June 2014 ***

http://www.soundsofthebaskerville.co.uk/

This summer Catapult Presents ‘The Sounds of The Baskerville’ a fun & fresh party festival set in & around the stunning stately home, Baskerville Hall.

Set in 130 acres of the glorious Wye Valley, Baskerville Hall is steeped in rave heritage as it was a major destination in the 90s with Fantasia, Carl Cox & Groove Rider all making some noise there. Today it is a five star destination for Catapults weekender, uniquely offering both indoor & outdoor partying in its beautiful grounds. Leave behind those stadium sized capacity crowds & enjoy some of the worlds finest drum & bass Djs in an intimate personal atmosphere.

At ‘The Sounds of The Baskerville’ you can enjoy sets from rave royalty such as Dj Marky, Rockwell, Audio, Break, Emperor, Uncle Dugs, Daniel Billy Bunter and many, many more. There will be three indoor arenas full of vibes until 6AM amid a historic country mansion dressed with spectacular laser shows, fully themed decor & stunning sound systems that will take you on a trip back to the 90s. Camping is included in the ticket price & is set in the lawns of the hall. You also have full access to an indoor heated swimming pool, indoor showers and toilets, the comforts you never get at Glastonbury.

Outdoors indulge in sounds from our Safari Truck sound system in the Jungle Jungle Installation, good time vibes from the Tea Club crew along with the party Rolls Royce where you can expect a mash up of wonder & classics where house meets disco meets everything phat with some very special guests. We`re bringing some of Cardiffs finest street food vendors so you can relax with delicious, fresh food provided by Chucks, Hautedogs, Wood Fire Pizza Inc & the Welsh Coffee Company. You can also shop vintage clothing at the infamous Rockola Reborn stall & source your festival outfits whilst wafting between chill out bars. Not forgetting the outdoor cinema showing some of you fav films.

Tickets are priced at £75 plus bf for this unmissable weekender and includes 48 hours of music & three days on site camping.

Come join us make our mark in festival history & don’t miss out on the party that will make your summer unforgettable.

*** LINEUP ***

DJ Marky & Stamina MC *2 hour set*
Break
Rockwell
Audio

Klute
Dom & Roland
Ulterior Motive
Xtrah
Emperor
Digital
Uncle Dugs
Billy ‘Daniel’ Bunter
Nicky Blackmarket
Ivy Lab
Ant Tc1
Artificial Intelligence
Bcee
Stealth
Clive Ingredients
Response
Chemical Ally
Jungle Bones
Neil Trix
Landslide

Plus support from local legends…

Kooley – Stu Grady – Walshy Selecta – DJ Grudge – Fraktal – Rich Tea – Loktech – Speedo – Sundance – Screwy – Resonate – Coop – Ransom – Lubi J – Kallista – Killer Tom

Hosted by: XL, Alphabetical & Remedy

*** Also Featuring ***

Chucks Burgers – Rockola Reborn – Tea Club – Hautedogs- The Jungle Jungle Jeep – Wood fired Pizzas – Bouncy Castle – Dread Yoga – Late Night Cinema – Party Rolls Royce – Welsh Coffee Co.- The Pop Pharmacy – Chill Out Zones & Bars

*** TICKETS ***

Early Birds Sold Out
2nd Release Sold Out
Standard Tickets £75 plus BF includes camping, parking, swimming pool, indoor showers & toilets. Site opens at 12pm Friday 6th June & closes 12pm Sunday 8th June. Tickets available from these outlets:

Aberdare – IQ 01685 884655
Blackwood – Zaks 01495 226153
Bridgend – Bad Habits 01656 652916
Bristol – Ticket Shop 01179 299008
Caerphilly – Jenius 02920 889105
Cardiff – Catapult 02921 660633
Cwmbran – Zaks 01633 864513
Merthyr – IQ 01685 389240
Newport – Diverse 01633 259661
Pontypridd – Area 37 01443 406201
Porth – Zaks 01443 686000
Swansea – Derricks 01792 654226

& online with Fatsoma http://catapultrecords.fatsoma.com/

The Arts, Whats on

Snapped Up Market – Furry Little Creatures at the Printhaus

April 11, 2014 admin Leave a comment

Contributing writer Jodie Ashdown popped along to the Snapped Up Market at the Printhaus to have a go at some activities. Here’s what she got up to!

Sitting just off the main street, nestled in between closed hairdressers and Sunday drinkers is a special little place. A place that throws open its doors to the public so that they can print, shop, sew, hammer and drink craft beer to their heart’s content.

And this place is called the Snapped-Up Market.

Occurring quarterly, the Snapped-Up Market is a hands-on experience with activities suitable for adults and children and an overarching theme unique to that particular market. This time the market, which took place on the 6 April 2014, was focused around the theme ‘Furry Little Creatures’. Previous themes have included ‘Heroes & Comix’ and ‘Circus’.

Taking place in the Printhaus workshop on Llandaff Road, the market is a chance for local artists, artisans and generally artistic people to come along and show their wares, as well as giving us less-creative folk the chance to try our hand at making something awesome.

We are Cardiff headed down on the day to try out a few of the crafts and sample one, maybe two, of the beers.

Snapped Up Market

The atmosphere is immediately uplifting, even in the dreary rainfall of a cloudy April Sunday. Everyone is friendly and relaxed, not just the stallholders and artists but also the customers who meander, coffee in hand, through the workshop under crisscrossed bunting surrounded by original art. The graffiti artwork adorning the outer walls is an accurate indication of the creative hub inside. We decided to have a go at a few of the activities on offer.

First up was Alys from www.thepocketpirate.com. Aside from selling, among other things, handmade cushions, fabric purses and bags, Alys provides you with the opportunity to make a leather purse. The procedure is pretty simple: you choose your leather, cut, mark, stick, sew, chat and then you’re done. A simple but effective project, all for £7.

Next was Lydia who will guide you through making your own silver ring. It’s a satisfying process involving a hammer, acid and a blow torch. For obvious reasons, you have to be over 16 years old but it’s a pretty unique way of hammering out your frustrations and turning them into something beautiful. Lydia also has an array of silver jewellery on sale at the market and also does bespoke designs. Here’s her website: www.niziblian.com.

The printing part of the market came next. The Printhaus ( www.theprinthaus.org ) have a good stock of printing equipment which the team (Nigel, Tom, Jude and Rob) bought after some pretty solid fundraising, which can be used to put designs on all manner of things including t-shirts, tote bags and tea towels. They run courses on site and there’s an option to become a member, meaning that after training and induction you can use the facilities whenever you want for a small fee. They’re a not-for-profit organisation who want to help bridge the gap between school or college to starting a business by providing an art space and all the necessary equipment.

I began my printing escapades with Helen of www.nellystreasures.com who took me through putting a design onto a tea towel. Helen also had a clothing rail and other pretty special knitted items for sale as well as being a dab hand at screen printing. Next to Helen is the kids table where the little ‘uns can get in on the action, I don’t know what they were doing but it definitely sounded like fun.

Furnished with my special new tea towel, I headed over to the Print Haus guys to pick out a design for my t-shirt and tote bag. The guys will guide you through everything, even the oddly satisfying act of seeing your newly printed t-shirt drop all nice and warm out of the end of the tunnel dryer, it’s slightly akin to freshly baked bread. T-shirts are just £10 including printing and the tote bags are £5.

And there were other activities I didn’t even get round to, not to mention the many stalls and craft tables set up. It is a creative and friendly environment with a real sense of community with an admirable ethos; provide an accessible and open environment in which anyone can learn everything about printing and create one off designs. And not only that, the opportunity is offered to become a member and then display your wares at the Snapped-Up Market. The project is a breath of fresh air from the big brand, high street take over and is one which definitely deserves to be supported.

Run by locals, for locals, supporting locals and good fun for kids and adults. It’s a sweet initiative and something which Cardiff could really do with more of.

The next market is on 6 July – keep an eye on the Printhaus Facebook page for updates – and the theme is Wrestling. I’ll see you there.

For more information about The Printhaus and all the excellent things they do there…

The Printhaus website

Printhaus Facebook

Snapped Up Market Facebook page – next event 6 July for a wrestling-themed day!

Whats on

We Are Cardiff seeks intern!

April 3, 2014 admin Leave a comment

We Are Cardiff are looking for an editorial blog intern. You’ll be more like an actual writing, producing, photographing, blogging assistant than an intern – all your experience will be hands on and more than likely be published on our rather wonderful website!

What is We Are Cardiff? It’s a city blog that focuses on telling the stories of residents, including some information about local cultural events and happenings. We get about 6,000 visitors a month, who visit roughly 11,000 pages on our site. So as you can see, there’s the chance to get your work out to a pretty big audience.

You are: probably a student though we’ll consider anyone regardless of occupation. You’re based in Cardiff and interested in local events and culture. You’ve got opinions and ideas about what makes a good online presence. You’re handy with a camera and you’re fairly competent at writing. It would help if you’ve got a working knowledge of WordPress but this isn’t a dealbreaker at all.

What will we expect you to do: you’ll be asked to provide roughly one blog post every couple of weeks (of roughly 500 words), though obviously you can submit more than this if you want to! We’ll also want you to go along to various local events and maybe do round-ups of what’s going on. You may also be asked to interview people occasionally, and have to look after the We Are Cardiff Twitter feed sometimes.

There’s no payment for this, sad face. We Are Cardiff is an entirely voluntary project – no one makes any money from it. HOWEVER, it was recently named as one of the world’s best city blogs by the Guardian, so it would probably look pretty good on your CV 🙂

If you’re interested, please apply by writing 400 words about yourself and your interests – and tell us about your favourite Cardiff secret. Could be a place, or a band, or an author – anything at all.

Closing date: 30 April 2014

GET IN TOUCH: wearecardiff@gmail.com

Whats on

March in review on We Are Cardiff

April 1, 2014 admin Leave a comment

Well, March was a pretty busy month on the blog, so I thought I’d do a quick round up to pull together some of the best stuff. Read on!

FOUR WEEKS IN CARDIFF – STREET PHOTOGRAPHY BY RHIAN RICHARDS

March was the the start of our Instagram project, where we handed over our Instagram account to a Cardiff resident and got them to document their journeys through the city that month. Rhian Richards broke our Instagram project cherry (ooer!) and took some damn fine snaps in the process. In April, Elizabeth Watt will be taking over – follow her on our We Are Cardiff Instagram. If you fancy taking over the feed for a month this year, contact us on wearecardiff@gmail.com.

We featured someone who was truly, actually ‘kick-ass’ on the site – Muay Thai fighter TANYA MERRETT told us about how she got into the sport and explained a little about her background and her training schedule. Click the image or her name to read her story. Her next fight is on 6 April 2014 – good luck Tanya!

Excitingly for me (and I’m sure thousands of Cultural Criticism/English Literature students from Cardiff uni), one of my old lecturers NEIL BADMINGTON wrote up some of his memories of Cardiff from his youth and his favourite spots here now. Click his name or the picture of his hometown Penarth to read that feature.

We also featured our first story from a Cardiff ex-pat. Having come across the We Are Cardiff site a few years back, ex-Cardiffian-current-Londoner James Davies was inspired to write about his memories of living here. We’ve got an excerpt here or click over to James Davies’ website to read the whole thing.

Photography lecturer RICHARD stopped by to tell us why he’s starting to think of Cardiff rather than his native St Ives as home these days…

AND …. MOST IMPORTANTLY … we supported CEO Sleepout Cardiff, supporting Llamau, Cardiff Foodbank and Service Leavers Wales.

March was quite the month. See you in April!

PS – @wearecardiff on Twitter, also on Facebook. Come join us there!

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A blog about Cardiff, its people, and the alternative arts and cultural scene!