Not the Royal Wedding Update

Not the Royal Wedding update

Good news for two of the three couples getting married and sharing their reception with us on the 29th - the Banff Spring Hotel is providing complimentary Honeymoon Suites - a wonderful gesture. The third couple prefered to travel that short distance home - I don't blame them.

Also, David Smith, a piper from http://www.twapipers.co.uk/ has offered to pipe in the couples on the night. Again, great support, and we look forward to hearing him on the night.

The Home Bakery from Banff High Street will be helping us ice the cakes, and Dorothy reid will be creating surprise decorations for the three cake cuttings!

Local artists Alita Porter and John Glynn have offered works of art to be auctioned. Many thanks, and great to see art involved on the night. For more info go to http://www.johnglynnart.com/ and http://www.doricdragons.co.uk/ (and select abstract paintings from the left hand list).

There will be more to come, as people from the area, and well beyond, start getting behind us. It seems to be a very popular idea, helping people celebrate that special day, that so many are delaying due to lack of cash.

Remember, it's a celebration night for everyone - get your ticket soon!

We have a couple!

It looks like we have found a couple!  Dolphin Pete and his girlfriend Ulrike have decided to get married at the Not the Royal Wedding Event on April 29th.  Congratulations! 

Not the Royal Wedding?

PRESS RELEASE

Coast Festival vows to make bride’s big day

While royal sweethearts William and Kate plan a lavish wedding celebration with no expense spared, festival organisers have come up with an incredible proposal for brides on a budget by offering to host a FREE reception.

The Coast Festival will provide the cake, band, buffet and photographer – all they need is a couple to say ‘I do’ to being the stars of their ready-made party. It takes place on the same day as the royal nuptials on April 29, but while world leaders and celebrities will gather in the grandeur of Westminster Abbey, the lucky bride and groom will toast their marriage in a North-east hotel with dozens of ‘guests’ they may not even know.

The committee came up with the idea of hosting Not The Royal Wedding as a quirky-fund-raiser for the annual arts festival, but soon realised they could go a step further by helping a couple turn their dreams of a big white wedding into a reality.

Coast Festival chairman Bryan Angus said: “It costs on average over £7,000 for the reception, cake, entertainments and decorations, and the Coast committee will be providing most of it.

“If there’s a couple out there about to tie the knot, they should get in touch. We’ve got a fantastic ready-made night set up, with band, cake and even a host of well meaning long-lost ‘relatives’. If they don’t mind a raffle in the middle of the evening, I think it would be a great way to celebrate their wedding day.”

Not The Royal Wedding will be a celebration the joy of weddings. ‘Guests’ who buy a ticket for the event at are encouraged to wear big hats, flash suits and fancy frocks that see the light of day once in a blue moon.

The official wedding photographer will snap guests as they make their way into the reception, and the party will get underway with the happy couple leading the Grand March on the dance floor. The ‘father-of-the-bride’ and the ‘best man’ will be making speeches before the cake cutting, and a buffet will also be thrown in. Guests are encouraged guests to donate a less-than-loved wedding present that has been languishing for years in the loft as a raffle prize, and can take their own wedding photograph to put on display. The best – or possibly the worst – will receive a special prize.

Bryan added: “We’re sure this will be a fun and happy evening, and I would encourage all ages to come along. We’re celebrating weddings and of course wishing Kate and William, and everyone who is planning to get married, all the luck in the world. The money we raise from the night will help us to keep providing free events each year at the festival.”

Follow the development of Not The Royal Wedding on the Coast blog:

http://coastfestivalofthevisualarts.blogspot.com/

Regular updates will keep people informed of what’s happening, and offer the opportunity to comment. The Coast blog is being expertly managed by the IT group at Banff Day Services.

Anyone interested in taking up the offer of the ready-made reception, or who would like to donate wedding present raffle prises, should call Bryan on 01261 812276.

Photo Opportunity:

Banff Springs Hotel – Friday 4^th March, 10am. Coast Chair Bryan Angus will be available with a display of wedding pictures, hats and dresses, preparing for the big night. Call 01261 812276 to confirm.

Editor’s Note

·         Coast Festival first opened to the public in May 2008. Funded for 3 years by Scottish Enterprise and Aberdeenshire Council, that funding came to an end after Coast 2010. The new Coast group aims to become a self-sustaining, community led event.

·         Not the Royal Wedding will be on 29^th April 2011 at Banff Springs Hotel. Tickets will be available mid-March from the reception at the Banff Springs Hotel and The Laptop Shed on

Duff Street

in Macduff and the Candy Box on Banff High Street. Tickets £20, and £10 for under 12s.

·         Coast Festival 2011 will happen on the weekend 27^th to 29^th May.

Click on the below link to see the featured story in the Scottish Daily Record: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2011/03/07/couple-get-royal-occasion-at-scots-hotel-86908-22972081/

and the Press and Journal
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2165632/?UserKey=

'Elements'

Just one of the opportunities to get involved with making your own artwork for Coast, 'Elements' is being run by Community Learning staff at Bridge Street Community Centre. More projects to come!

 

COAST AGM

 The Coast Annual general Meeting was held on January 18th 2011 and a Coast Festival Committee is now in operation!

Lots of exciting artists are organising their exhibtions for COAST - watch this space for further details coming soon...

 A sub fundraising group met just before Christmas a small group to discuss ideas. It was agreed that a buffet dance with the theme of Not the Royal Wedding should be promoted. The night will be for families, just like a wedding, with entertainment – but including a raffle and auction.  Watch here for more details coming soon...

Next meeting is 15^th Feb, 7.30pm at the Arts Centre.

Coast exhibition in Banff

Coast exhibition in Banff

You don't need to wait until May to see artwork brought to you by Coast. Today (10th Jan), sees the work of Gabi Reith on show on Banff High Street. At the Green Tree Cafe.

For anyone attending Coast 2009, you will remember a giant black and white artwork, a building wrap as you entered Banff, welcoming everyone to the festival. The initial idea of sponsoring a building wrap came from Paul Thomas of Allinhouse.com, a Macduff based exhibitions and conference display business. The idea was offered out to artists and Gabi was the winner, seeing her design of 20ft high Gannets in a highly visible position just over Banff Bridge.

Gabi was born and brought up in the Aberdeen area. She studied Drawing and Painting at Gray’s School of Art, graduating with an honours degree in 1998 and has been described as one of the top 20 young artists currently showing in Scotland - talented, committed and innovative. Gabi is inspired by the natural world and the traditions of Scottish story telling. With a young daughter at home‚ there is always inspiration from stories in the local dialect.

Coast exhibitions at the Green Tree

h the help of the Banff and Macduff Community Trust, the Coast organisers will be showing artwork at The Green Tree throughout the year. Income from sales will go to supporting the Trust and helping fund Coast events. If you would like to know more about Coast you can contact us at www.coastfestival.org.uk. The next festival will be 27th to 29th May 2011.

Plan to show Artist Books

Artist Pauline Littlewood who showed her fascinating and moving artists' books during Coast 2010 at Banff Library is planning to create a second event. These hand-crafted works examine the birth and effects of conflict and in 2011 will range chronolgically from WW2 to today. They will have a closer focus on the Middle Eastern conflict: how geography, history, politics and religions have shaped the situation and how the conflict in turn affects life there. The exhibits will include objects which further explore the expressive potential of The Book as an art form.