Local News Archives - Page 21 of 70 - Blackpool Social Club

05 Aug

Fleetwood Parkrun Off To Flying Start

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News, Sports & Wellbeing

Last year we promoted the new parkrun in Blackpool's Stanley Park. That event is now well over a year old, and firmly established. This weekend saw the start of the Fylde's third* parkrun - Fleetwood Promenade. If you aren't familiar with parkrun it is a weekly free 5k run open to the whole community. Anybody who can walk the distance can take part, there is no requirement for running ability. The events are staffed entirely by volunteers who give up an hour or so of their Saturday morning. There is no requirement for parkruns to be in parks - one…

04 Aug

Review – Sandgrown Tales by Th’ESPs

Linda Hampton0 CommentsLocal News, Theatre, Dance & Performance

As soon as the audience stepped through the doors of the Attic at Blackpool Pleasure Beach on the first night of Sandgrown Tales, they were bombarded by a myriad of sights and sounds, a rainbow of colour and vibrant chatter. The cast of 16 community actors, in character from the outset, were there to greet us noisily and cheerfully, creating that same hustle and bustle that is the essence of Blackpool. Brightly costumed characters were everywhere we looked and the waitress was a mermaid. We soon learned to expect the unexpected. The show, made up of a collection of several…

03 Aug

Cybele Velo – A New Cycling Space In Layton

Stephen Dunstan0 CommentsLocal News, Sports & WellbeingBlackpool, cafeculture, health

Recently AltBlackpool's editorial team met, and wanting to avoid the town centre we went to the new Cybele Velo facility on Coleridge Road. We were so impressed we agreed we would do a piece on it, and here it is. Primarily Cybele Velo is a training facility for keen cyclists and triathletes. There are fixed 'bikes' where member and visitors can take part in a wide programme of classes where the machines are set to the ability of the user. Clips from the Tour de France and other cycle races on the giant screen add an air of authenticity to…

02 Aug

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Preview at The Grand Theatre.

Scarlett Clegg0 CommentsLocal News, Theatre, Dance & Performancedracula, The Grand Theatre

There seems to have been quite a resurgence of interest in all things vampire in recent years, some of them good, some not so good, but there can surely be nothing which beats the original, classic, Gothic horror of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula is one of the most universally iconic novels ever written. Often described as a monumental, genre defining classic that is known the world over, Dracula remains the father of all vampire tales and this autumn an all new production sees this bloodthirsty tale resurrected as part of a nine week tour. A Touring Consortium Theatre Production in…

02 Aug

Ride The Lights with Rebecca Alper.

Blackpool Social Club0 CommentsColumns & Opinion, Local News, Sports & Wellbeingcycling, ridethelights

My favourite thing about Ride The Lights is the noise – or rather, the lack of it. As someone who frequently cycles through the busy Starr Gate area at rush hour, there is something magical about the eerie quiet – save for the gentle tinkling of bells and spinning of pedals – that descends for the evening. The two-wheeled takeover, rechristened Let’s Ride the Lights this year, returns on Tuesday 28 August. Traffic is stopped along the Promenade all the way to Bispham as cyclists enjoy an early preview of the Illuminations before the official Switch-On, as well as…

01 Aug

Blackpool Summer Shenanigans and Things to do. A Stay-cation.

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLocal NewsArt, Blackpool, blackpool families, entertainment, free, The Grundy Art Gallery

Well Blackpool is the place to be entertained but what do you do when you live here? Take advantage of the entertainment or look for the alternative. AltBlackpool has put together some ideas of things to do and see over the coming weeks to inspire and showcase what could be in store for the residents through 2018's endless summer. Blackpool Libraries offer a whole host of free and inexpensive sessions and this summer you can check out all manner of excitingly titled events such as Mischief Makers or perhaps you feel tempted by Mama G a story telling drag artist. The libraries…

27 Jul

Rob Lock, Flying High with ‘Murmurations’. Book Launch Interview.

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLiterature & Spoken Word, Local Newsauthor, Blackpool, book signing, books

I caught up with Rob, a familiar face around Blackpool, as he works as a press photographer across the Northwest. But this year his forty three year old dream as been realised, a book publication based on the metaphor of bird murmurations, Blackpool being one of the best places to view these amazing spectacles. It crossed my mind how the written word draws common themes with the visual language of photography, so it is no surprise that one of Rob's long term ambitions of writing a novel has been met. Rob said: I have been a professional photographer for over thirty…

26 Jul

Pogonophile’s paradise – Beard and Moustache Championship – 18th August 2018

David Simper0 CommentsLocal NewsBeard, Blackpool, championship, moustache, pogonophile

It's a pogonophile's paradise at Blackpool's glorious Winter Gardens as the bearded and moustachioed descend on Blackpool for the 4th annual Beard and Moustache Championship. Held in the Empress Ballroom, this event is the apogee of facial tonsorial creativity and the most wild and whacky beards and moustaches will be on display. The charitable event is fully inclusive being gender neutral, it welcomes any nationality, sexuality, creed or clan irrespective of how participants identify. Some might say that this event could only happen in Blackpool and let's hope it stays that way. Welcome bearded folk, welcome! I wouldn't say that…

24 Jul

Open Studio: Artist and Illustrator, Carla Gebhard

Jill Reidy0 CommentsLocal News, Visual Arts & ExhibitionsArt, artist, Blackpool, studio

On a row of seemingly ordinary looking bungalows in suburbia an artist is toiling away creating a magical world in watercolours that wouldn’t be amiss in the pages of a storybook. This month I visited Carla Gebhard, illustrator and creative at her studio, situated in her family home in Thornton-Cleveleys. After a small argument with a gate on my way in and a short trip up the driveway I was greeted at the door by a cheerful and welcoming array of family members (including a friendly Boxer dog named Stanley) into Carla’s home. A busy household tucked away on a…

23 Jul

Spareparts Festival – Tram Sunday Gallery

Claire Griffiths0 CommentsLocal Newsfleetwood, spareparts, street performance, tram sunday

It was 'all go' at Spareparts, Fleetwood's annual Festival of Transport...