Milton Keynes Book of Days of the Great War Launch Offer

The Milton Keynes Book of Days of the Great War, launched in early November by Living Archive, is available at £14.99 until 30th November… after which rrp £20 applies.

It covers all six towns and 41 villages of the MK Borough, and every date of the year during the years 1913 -1919.

There are sample pages on  http://www.greatwarmemoriesmk.co.uk/uploads/3/0/1/4/30144729/january.pdf

… and see attached Book of Days Leaflet.

Seasonal Fayre @Westbury_Arts

LEG_2450

Westbury Seasonal Fayre

Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd November 2014, 11am – 4pm 

Come down to Westbury Arts Centre for a festive seasonal fayre – Westbury artists will be opening their studios, we have at least 20 stall holders in the house and the barn selling arts, crafts and produce.

There will be live entertainment – including the stilt-walking elves!!! Art activities for all the family and lots of refreshments.

Want to know what’s going on in Milton Keynes?

 

TOTAL MK LOGO

AHA-MK has been working closely with Total MK to promote events and projects – we have been very pleased with the service provided by Sammy and we hope that you will be too.

Total MK says:

‘Make Total MK your one-stop ‘shop’ for all your leisure needs. Total MK is bursting with what’s on, theatre and music news, together with competitions, beauty and lots more.

Follow us on Twitter @thisistotalmk and add the website to your favourites: www.totalmk.co.uk

To share your news, promote your events or advertise with MKs dedicated leisure site contact editor Sammy Jones by emailing info@thisistotalmk.co.uk ‘

 

Heritage Open Days, 11th – 14th September

Cowper and Newton MuseumThis year Heritage Opens Days is bigger than ever. With 50 FREE events to choose from you’ll be spoilt for choice.  Use this oppotunity to explore somewhere new, learn about a new place or visit somewhere you have never been before.

Click the link below to view the brochure: http://www.livingarchive.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/MK-HODS-2014final.pdf

The Milton Keynes Heritage Open Days website is here: http://www.mkheritage.org.uk/hodmk/

 

Experimental Metalwork and Creative Machine Sewing Workshops at WAC

Westbury Arts Centre invites you to come and learn and experiment at one of their workshops led by experienced artist-teachers at their beautiful Grade II listed site.  This August Westbury Arts Centre presents two exciting workshops in Experimental Metalwork and Creative Machine Sewing.

WAC image 3

Experimental Metalwork (creating a mirror frame.)
August 23rd, 10:00 am4:00 pm

This workshop will allow you to combine traditional techniques such as embossing, patination and gilding. You will create a mirror frame that explores these processes and your own designs. You will build final images layer by layer, pushing the metal and surface to create something unique. All materials will be provided, but if you have your own specialist materials. This course is limited to 6 places. Kate is traditionally trained as a silversmith fine art pieces that are made from metal and using traditional jewellery skills.

Westbury Arts CentreFoxcovert Rd, Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK5 6AA

http://www.westburyartscentre.co.uk/

Creative Machine Sewing
August 30th, 10:00 amAugust 31st, 4:00 pm

This is a two day workshop led by Helen den Dulk, which will use alternative materials and methods to create 2D and 3D machine stitched art. Helen is the founder of ‘Stitch and bitch’, the sewing group at Festive Road, where she used her textiles knowledge and her experience as a mixed media artist.

The course is suitable for all abilities and is for a maximum of six people. Participants will spend the first day experimenting and planning with literally any materials that can be sewn: fabric, paper, plastic and materials they create themselves, such as fusible web, and laminated items. The second day will focus on making final pieces, inspired by each individual’s earlier experimentation. There will be sewing machines available and materials but please feel free to bring your own.

Westbury Arts CentreFoxcovert Rd, Shenley Wood, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK5 6AA

http://www.westburyartscentre.co.uk/

Have a go at Pit Firing ceramics in the garden at Westbury Arts Centre

Westbury Arts CentreTwo-Day Pit Firing Course

Day 1: the workshop will start with a day creating a series of pots and objects that will be bisque fired ready for next week’s pit firing.

Day 2: The pit will be dug and the objects will be placed in the pit ready for firing along with a mixture of oxides and organic materials. But if any budding potters out there have some fired bisque already that they would like to put in the pit then come along, bring your banana skins, dried manure etc.  to put in the pit…fingers crossed for good weather.  Julie leFevre will show you this traditional and surprising way to fire your work.

When: Saturday 16th August 10 – 4.00 Saturday 23rd August 6 -9pm

Booking: http://www.westburyartscentre.co.uk/event/pit-firing-in-the-garden/

Please note, all workshops will run if there is a minimum of 4 people attending each session. 
Westbury Arts Centre reserves the right to cancel a class if necessary (with a full refund) but will give as much notice as possible in the case of unforeseen circumstances.

Fringe Comedy shows for as little as £4 #lovemk

MK Festival Fringe 2013

MK Fringe has partnered up with Comedy Cow this year to create an awe-inspiring, side-splitting, howl inducing Fringe Comedy programme. You can catch one of over 50 Comedy acts during the Fringe Festival at venues across MK including: The Crown in Stony, The Chrysalis Theatre, MK Gallery Event Space and the Red Dot Bar at MK Stadium.

Stand up acts include; the hilarious Lee Nelson, the old favourite Patrick Monahan, the Brendan Burns Show, Late Night Gimp Fight, The Beta Males and the impressive Brett Goldstein. But we are doubly excited to be welcoming our favourite home grown comedy pals McNeil and Pamphilon with their wonderful new show Secret Holding Pattern.

Many of the acts we’re presenting are home grown and most are on their way up to Edinburgh with new material that they are keen to test out on audiences at MK Fringe first!

If it’s a full comedy show you want though, on Friday 18th we’re presenting the very special Simon Jay with his new show, Is He a Bit Simon Jay? and also Augustus Stephens’s new show, This Way Madness Lies, on Wednesday 23rd. Both are at The Chrysalis Theatre and tickets are only £4!!

As if that wasn’t enough the Comedy Cow are hosting the Crown’s Big Weekender, a two day Comedy  extravaganza on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July which includes some fantastic children’s comedy as well as featured acts like: Vikki Stone, Tom Binns, Omar Hamdi and Paul Savage.

So what are you waiting for? For more information and to book tickets have a look at MK Fringe website: www.mkfestivalfringe.com or www.comedycow.co.uk

Breathing paper and body prints – just a fragment of the MK Fringe events this July

Anna Berry

In the heart of the Milton Keynes shopping centre, local artist, Anna Berry, has been busy for the last two weeks putting together an incredible art installation in an unused shop unit. The piece, called the Breathing Room, has been funded with help from MK Community Foundation and is created entirely from discarded A4 paper which has been donated by companies and organisations across Milton Keynes. Many hundreds of rolled cones have been made by the artist and are fixed to the walls of the space which gentle breathe in and out, creating an intriguing and mesmerising atmosphere. The exhibition, which is just off Middleton Hall, will be open daily throughout the Fringe Festival.

Meanwhile over in MK Central Library you can find the fascinating work of artist Deborah Last in an exhibition called Upper Room. The piece consists of full scale prints of women’s bodies on canvasses which the artist has drawn into. Each of the canvasses has an inbuilt sound track, recording s of the stories of the women who are represented and their contrasting attitudes towards their own body images.

Deborah Last is creating a publication of her body prints and is also running one to one body printing from MK Gallery for one day only on Thursday 17th – so you could have a print of your body done by the artist! Booking is essential for these sessions, to find out more just go to MK Fringe website: www.mkfestivalfringe.com

MK Fringe is also hosting a special three day event in City Square (just outside M&S) which showcases the work of up to 14 local artists who have been asked to perform and exhibit in and around pop-up tents! The three day event is called Pitch: Events in Tents and there’ll be everything from a mini art exhibition in a tent, drawing workshops and puppet making, to a dance performance, an installation of knitted plastic and a mini show about climate change!

This year the Fringe runs from 17th – 24th July, alongside the International Festival and there are some real treats in store.There is also some AMAZING theatre, music and comedy programmed throughout the eight day Fringe Festival, in venues all around MK

Check out the full programme on our website: www.mkfestivalfringe.com

Art in the Park returns to Campbell Park with food, art music and more, #MadeinMK

MK Islamic Arts, Heritage and Culture Group presents their annual art of integration festival, bringing a diverse selection of art, food and events to Campbell Park.  August 2nd and 3rd 2014, Saturday 1-7pm and Sunday 1-6pm. Everybody welcome, Free Entry!

Highlights include: Art wall, Healthy food cook-off, Funfair, Bouncy Castle, Face painting, Henna art design, Tug-of-war, Story telling, Fashion shows, Calligraphy and Geometry workshops and much more…

Art in the Park

 

You can download this flyer here: MKIAC Flyer Festival

Walking with Giants, Dinosaurs and Samba Bands, 20th July #MadeinMK

Once again, Milton Keynes based Festive Road will be producing this spectacular parade of giant puppets which invites guest carnival groups from across UK, participation from many local schools and community groups, as well as some jaw dropping processional structures made by Festive Road artists.

The event will begin to warm up on Midsummer Boulevard, Grafton South, near thehub:mk, from 9.30am where participants and audiences will be gathering ready to walk with the Giants.

At 12 noon the parade will process up Midsummer Boulevard, through Midsummer Place and up to MK Theatre District, where more Street Theatre is being staged, including the amazing Weirdy Beardies and the un-missable Crimplene Millionaire.

As the Giants prepare themselves, there will be a fabulous programme Street entertainment which includes a Dance workshop from FolkDance Remixed, Music performances from Rhythm of the City and other Samba groups and also Street Theatre from Jon Davison and Pocezcka!

9.30 -10am: Walking with Giants Samba – live music performance

10am-10.30: Folk Dance Remixed – dance participation & performance on street

10.30 -10.50am: Pocezcka – acrobatic performance on the street

10.50am -11.15am: Rhythm of the City and MK Maracatu Dance –dance & music performance

11.15-11.30: Body of a Clown – performance on the street

11.30: Extreme Ramblers –walkabout entertainment, Concrete Circus – walkabout entertainment

12 noon: Parade leaves

Walking with Giants forms part of the MK Festival Fringe programme, full listings here: http://mkfestivalfringe.com/whats/#all/1/list