Chorlton Arts Festival

I have only lived in Manchester for about 18 months and as yet I have not been to Chorlton. Rumour has it that people in Chorlton quite like Chorlton. Obviously this must mean they have never been to Levenshulme and had a Persian Tasty Grill £10 Kebab.

Anyhoo, Chorlton have an Arts festival which sounds pretty cool to me and they sent me a nice email inviting the people of Levenshulme to get involved!

The dates for this year’s Festival are 19–30 May 2011. The open submissions process has now been launched online and the Festival is on the lookout for brand new performances in music, comedy, cabaret, poetry and special events, as well as exhibitions and artworks in unexpected places.

All ideas must be submitted by 17 January 2011. Forms can be downloaded from the website http://chorltonartsfestival.com/ where you can also submit your application online.

This year the Festival is looking to be the most successful ever, and a new three-year plan sees a focus on developing talent and supporting artists and individuals creating new work, which challenges and dares to be different.

Festival Director Philip Hannaway says: “It’s always an exciting time when we open the submissions for the Festival, as we never know what interesting and innovative projects are going to emerge. I would encourage anyone who has a great idea to log on to the website and download the application pack.”

For more information about the festival and to ask questions about the submission process, you can contact Philip by emailing philip@chorltonartsfestival.com

Akhter Bano - Exhibition at Inspire

Inspire will be showing the work of local artist Akhter Banko in their cafe space until 14th January 2011. On her work Akhter says: “I am a very dedicated artist who has put my heart and soul into my work as reflected in the finished pieces that are of my own imagination. My work is always about feelings and emotions. I have used a combination of media to attain the great effects, thickness and textures, waiting weeks at a time for each layer to dry.

I hope people will be able to see and share my thoughts as the work speaks for itself.”

If you’re heading down to have a look why not check out the cafe and drop us a line letting us know what you think (in other words - I haven’t got round to going down there myself yet and I’m feeling a bit guilty about being lazy, please do my job for me) - lovelevenshulme@gmail.com.

Levenshulme Abroad

Just a quick note to let you know that I (Helen) will be off in foreign climes for the majority of December and January. Tim will be holding the reins in my absence and, given how capable and brilliant he is, I’m sure will do an excellent job. Since it is the festive season though, and there’s lots going on, it would be a great help for him if you can keep us up to date about any community happenings you hear of - just a quick email to lovelevenshulme@gmail.com would be a great help all round, even if it’s just “I saw a flyer about a thing...” - intrepid Tim will hunt down the facts!

POD - Alcohol License and Extended Opening Hours

We’ve made no secret of the fact that we’re big POD fans here at LoveLevenshulme and we are also (on occasion and within moderation, mum) partial to the odd ale so we’re very pleased to announce that POD have been granted a licence to sell alcohol. The cafe is now selling a range of organic wines, beers and lagers throughout the day for consumption on the premises and to take away. They’ve also extended their opening hours into the evening so that Levenshulme residents can enjoy a glass of wine or a beer until 10.00pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 9.00pm on Sundays. I popped in on Friday (and, ahem, again on Sunday) and was really impressed, not only by the reasonably priced and delicious booze on offer but also the cheese platter I was offered as an accompaniment and the way the space is transformed in the evening with a little mood lighting and candles.

The ever-friendly Terry also mentioned that they are hoping to extend their opening even further over Christmas...more news as it happens...

Chris Cringle at Cringle (Fields)

The Friends of Cringle Park and Field will be holding their first ever Christmas concert event on Sunday 12th December at, fittingly enough,Cringle Park.

The festivities kick off at 1.00pm with live music from the Flixton Brass band and will feature a whole host of festive loveliness to get you in the mood for Christmas, including carol singing, face painting and the chance to buy your Christmas tree to take home from Wythenshawe Park Farm. There will also be the opportunity to help make decorations for the Cringle Christmas tree (to be situated at the corner of Erwood Road and Crossley Road) which will have its grand switch-on ceremony at 4.00pm.

The Friends are looking for a suitable member of the community to switch on the lights so if you think you know someone who can handle the responsibility and weight of bringing Christmas to the corners of Levy email carlaustin@friendsofcringlepark.co.uk telling him who and why in less than 100 words before close of play tomorrow.

The winner will be decided by a panel of judges including a member of the Friends of Cringle Park and Field committee, Cllr Mike Amesbury and Philippa Reece of Manchester East Area Parks.

Finally - for the little 'uns - there will be a special Santa's Cringle Wonderland with a FREE gift for under 10s - to receive the gift email carlaustin@friendsofcringlepark.co.uk or text 07974 003396 with your child's name, age and gender.

Yoga and Theatre at Inspire

Inspire, the community space for Levenshulme that opened at the end of October, has added yoga classes and a young people’s theatre group to their ever growing roster of workshops.

Iyengar Yoga Classes with Mike Heath are held on Thursday evenings at 6.15pm. The classes cost £5.00 (£3.50 concessions) although they can be popular so call the centre 0161 850 5717 to book in advance. Iyengar Yoga is the world's most practised form of Yoga, which is suitable for all types of people and all levels of fitness.

Also on Thursdays from 4.00pm, the theatre club is for 7-12 year-olds interested in performance. The club will be working towards a Christmas performance for centre users in late December. There is no charge for this session, but suggested donations of £3.00 towards room-hire. Just turn up!

Second Outing for Levenshulme Film Club

After the success of their inaugural showing, Levenshulme Film Club put the choice for their second film to the public vote via Twitter and came up with a very seasonal choice: Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. The Christmas classic will be shown this Thursday, 9th December at Inspire. As before, tickets will be available on the door for £4.50 including free popcorn.

For any enquiries call Tom on 07833 461 222 or visit the Film Club’s facebook page.

Drama Society For Levenshulme

Beryl Cowen, a local with over 30 years experience working with amateur dramatics societies and teaching drama, is canvassing for interest in a drama society for Levenshulme. As well as actors Beryl would like to speak to people with an interest in set-design, costumes and marketing - or anything also you can think of that could help. Initial plans are for a meeting to discuss ideas and options in the new year and we'll post further details when there's something more firm in place.

Contact Beryl on 0161 225 4674 or email her at beryl@cowensw.co.uk.