Hello Everyone!
Your local community arts association wishes everyone a very happy new year! We hope that “more music, more art, more craft, more stories, more writing…..” are included in any resolutions you might have made, and that you’ll come and enjoy some of these activities at the Arts Centre, 4 West Street, Penicuik, EH26 9DL.
PCAA Café news
Cafe coop volunteers headed by Ailsa McInroy have been working hard during the Festive closure, decorating and refurbishing the café. We hope you’ll enjoy the new look! The café and building will re-open on Monday 8th January at 10am.
New Café Opening times: Monday to Friday 10am – 3pm
Coming up!
Sunday 7th January 2-4pm: FREE Exhibition Preview – David Owen will be exhibiting his recent work in the newly decorated café gallery at West Street. Everyone is welcome!
The exhibition will run during January and February. Do come along, enjoy a drink and home baking, or maybe soup and a toastie while you’re there! Our new opening hours are Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 3.00 pm (to allow time for proper cleaning and completion of necessary daily paperwork).
Friday 26th January at 7.30 pm: the young JKL Duo, Jacopo Lazzaretti (Italian guitarist, based in Glasgow) and Kerry Lynch (Scottish flautist) entertain us with music inspired by Burns. They released their debut album ‘The International Poet’ in 2023, which has been described as “Simply stunning” (Skye Chamber Music). They have been touring it extensively in concert series and festivals across Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth, Dundee, Isle of Skye….). Their Penicuik concert is not to be missed. Tickets are now on sale online (https://www.penicuikarts.org/shop/), and will also be available from the Arts Centre café when it re-opens after Christmas on 8th January 2024
Saturday 27th January 3.00 pm: The next StorySwap group meets at the Arts Centre. We ask £3 a head to contribute to room hire costs. What do we do? We enjoy activities that help us develop storytelling skills, we talk about stories and storytelling, and there’s a chance to practice telling a story that you’ve prepared beforehand. Tea or coffee and biscuits are provided.
Friday 9th February at 7.30 pm: The next Friday night Storytelling Club meets at the Arts Centre. Refreshments will be available for you to help yourself. Local professional Bea Ferguson will be our special guest. She has been involved with storytelling in some form all her life. She’s told stories to all ages from nursery to nursing homes, in schools, libraries, tents and teepees, theatres, castles and historic houses. It’s only £5/£3 pay less because we’re subsidised with a grant. Tickets are available now online (https://www.penicuikarts.org/shop/) and from the Arts Centre Cafe in West Street when it opens after the Christmas break on 8th January 2024.
Saturday 10th February 10.00 am until 2.45 pm: The next Storytelling Workshop “Off the Page” will be led by Bea Ferguson. Bea has run more workshops than she cares to remember, for anyone who also wants to tell stories. This workshop will look at where to find stories and offer some tips and techniques for lifting it off the page and telling it in your own style. Please book your place any time by emailing penicuikarts.org@gmail.com.
Looking further ahead, on Sunday 25th February at 3.00 pm, we present a concert from more young classical musicians – the Stroud-Zhang Duo. Scottish Violinist Daniel Stroud is a fourth-year violin scholar at the Royal Academy of Music. He has given numerous recitals around the UK, led the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland in 2019 and recently won 2nd Prize for the prestigious Winifred Small Solo Violin Competition at the Academy. Chinese pianist Hanzhi Zhang is a concert pianist, chamber musician, arranger and recording artist. Having studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing as well as the Royal Academy of Music, she graduated from both institutions with distinction. Tickets will be on sale online (https://www.penicuikarts.org/shop/), and from the Arts Centre café from the middle of January 2024.
Hope to see you at West Street Arts Centre this year!
Best wishes,
Sue