Claire Griffiths, Author at Blackpool Social Club

18 May

Stanley Park Skatepark official opening

Claire Griffiths1 CommentLocal News, Sports & Wellbeingskate culture, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] When you live in the pool' it is hard to navigate a town built for tourists. But this week Stanley Park saw the opening of a new public skatepark - something for the community by the community. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="34955" img_size="large"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You will find the space, right alongside the BMX track and in the old skatepark space. The new skatepark has been a labour of love for local skate legend, Woody and project manager Simon Bennett who raised over £200,000 for the 100 percent concrete park. Sport England is the project's main funder, having put up £150,000 and a further £50k…

29 Apr

Teamwork makes the “Dream” work! New show at The Old Electric

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceArt, Blackpool, community, entertainment, performance

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The Old Electric welcomes spring with their new production, Dream; an exciting collaboration between Blackpool & the Fylde School of Arts, House of Wingz and The Electric Sunshine Project (TESP). Dream is a unique spin on Shakespeare’s comedy classic, A Midsummer Night’s Dream but this version is set somewhere in the 1980s, bringing with it a broad range of influences from the era including vogue ballroom culture, striking workers, yuppies, gender- fluidity and neon.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Performances are on at The Old Electric theatre at 7pm on Friday 20 May and 2pm and 7pm on Saturday 21 May. The show will last…

09 Nov

Portraits of The RNLI with photographer Richard Oughton

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsHIVE ART, photography, portrait, RNLI

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Volunteers are at the heart of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution making up 95% of the organisation. Earlier in the year photographer Richard Oughton captured a series of striking portraits of Fylde Coast volunteers which also successfully raised money for this essential charity. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] The RNLI is a registered charity run by volunteers to save lives at sea, a key service in Blackpool with our expanse of promenade and ocean. The Royal National Lifeboat Association was founded in 1824 as The Royal Institute for the Preservation of Lives and Property. Since 1824 the RNLI has saved 143,000 lives as…

09 Nov

Saturday Girl About Town photography series visits Blackpool

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLocal News, OpportunitiesCasey Orr, photography

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Casey Orr is a photographic artist based in The North of England. Her beguiling photography straddles a number of themes with her website spanning images of community, bicycles, huge bonfires, and (my favourite) anarchists. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Her photography practice includes people, documentary, and performance and she describes her work as an exploration into the lives of women, interconnectedness of living things, and our relationship to nature as well as home and belonging. An American-born artist living in Yorkshire, her collaborations have included work on the exterior walls of HMP Leeds prison as well as being featured at a variety of photography…

12 Oct

Review: Catch 22 Years at the Old Electric

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsTheatre, Dance & PerformanceEnjoy the Show, live theatre, Old Electric, performance, Theatre

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Last week Catch 22 became the first touring show to feature at The Old Electric, Claire reviews artist Katie O'Brien's personal journey of recovery. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Stories of addiction are highly stigmatised in popular press and mass media, but what of the personal stories that we never really get to hear? We mostly see addiction through harrowing tales of dehumanization focusing on 'problem' places and people. Katie O'Briens Catch 22 dug deep into her own experiences of addiction, teetering on the edge of childhood; that age where we think we know it all and we are indestructable.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Welcome to the party…

24 Aug

Sound on The Ground at Blackpool Cricket Club – the countdown begins

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsMusic & Gigscricketclub, Hacienda, live music, Music

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Lockdown has been long and laborious, what of the nightclubs, live events, sport, and music? These things feel so important as we begin to creep back to holidays and shared experience again - what is on offer for the big bank holiday weekend. I caught up with the organisers behind Blackpool Cricket Clubs latest offering - Sound on The Ground. [/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="33396" img_size="large"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It is not often Blackpool might get Philamonic Orchestras and classic house music acts in one weekend. These acts might be reserved for Lytham Proms or Manchester. But a small committee attached to The Cricket Club has…

25 Jun

Inside Out exhibition: Fleetwood’s creativity on show at old hospital site

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsVisual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, community, Craft, Exhibition, fleetwood, leftcoast

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Could Fleetwood be the new Margate or St Ives? Claire takes a look at how a small well-known Lancashire fishing town created an amazing pop-up art exhibition at the site of an old hospital. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There is an ethereal DIY feeling to spaces taken over by creatives. Pop-up art exhibitions are everywhere in cities and around art colleges. Taken over once loved spaces or repurposing factories, empty office blocks, or shops. So in September of last year with lockdown all around us, Lancashire based arts organisation Leftcoast along with the artist in Residence Gillian Wood made a callout, asking residents…

09 Jun

She’s Electric – happenings at an Old Nightclub

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLocal News, Theatre, Dance & PerformanceBlackpool, community theatre, Creatvity, Old Electric, volunteer

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] How might a creative hub provide an alternative for Blackpool residents? Blackpool Social Club takes a look at the first year of The Old Electric. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You might remember the old Club Sanuk or Main Street. The club and bars had a long life in Blackpool, I remember attending Main Street in 1996 The Miss Blackpool competition appeared to be on and I kinda' ended up in there when for me there was a limited choice of places to go as a local (a typical story in Blackpool for residents). We had lost Oz on a Friday night at Central…

26 May

Disorder – Blackpool Skate Film release

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsFilm, Local NewsBlackpool, Film, film festival, filmmaking, skate, Skateboard, skateboarding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Blackpool Social Club bangs the drum for skateboarding and its close relationship to creativity. With Star Wars being filmed in Cleveleys and the recent Netflix nod on The Comedy Carpet we had a look at Blackpool filmmaker Jake Powell and The ATB collective latest offering: Disorder. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]While skateboarding might often get a bad rep, seen as anti-social and rebellious. Blackpool Social Club has been exploring how Blackpool and alternative creative approaches like skateboarding can benefit a traditional tourist town like Blackpool. With the town often compared to a film set, it is no surprise that Tim Burton has made…

15 May

This Is What A Person With Mental Illness Looks Like

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsSports & Wellbeingmental health

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Kay Ska, once a contributor for Blackpool Social Club back in the days of altBlackpool. In this article, we explore some of her journey as a mental health advocate and how important it can be to share personal stories. [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Tell us a bit about you? I'm Kay, I'm from Warsaw, Poland. I moved to the UK with my family when I was 12. I've struggled with mental health issues for as long as I remember. I was always a ‘nervous’ and ‘overly sensitive kid. I've experienced traumas from a very young age. And I've tried to push my issues…