Author: jameskennedy

A night at the opera…at the Baths!!

I’ve had an email from Midland Opera, a local opera group with members living in all parts of Birmingham but several living locally in Selly Oak, Selly Park and Bournville.

On the 24th and 25th November, for the first time, they will be performing Bizet’s Carmen at the Stirchley Baths Community Hub, which we all know is a  fantastic space. The company will be singing in English, with a small orchestra, Bournville Youth Singers, and professional soloists presenting the world’s favourite opera on 24th and 25th November at the Baths.

There have been so may versions of this story of love, jealousy and revenge but be prepared for Midland Opera’s take on the character of Carmen.  Is she the seductress or is she the abused woman?  Come and find out, enjoy the sumptuous singing by professional soloists, and also be entertained by members of Bournville Youth Chorus.

Ticket details on the attached flyer, and can be purchased from Midland Opera’s website.

The day the Vikings came to Stirchley…

Over 430 Fun Palaces took place around the world as local communities organised events that bring arts, science and culture to the heart of the community. Last Saturday the rain didn’t stop over 600 people visiting Stirchley Baths Community Hub  and Stirchley Library for the annual Stirchley Baths Fun Palace event. A fantastic team of community volunteers all rallied round in preparation (including putting over 50 chairs in the cinema room!) and on the day. Having previously sent the community to outer space and back again last year, this time it had been decided very enthusiastically that this year we would be exploring the history of the Vikings.

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The Big Bake: The Big Interview!

Once again this April 14, Stirchley Baths is going to host the Stirchley Big Bake, a large event conceived by one of our volunteers Danni Bee, which helps raise funds for Christmas Shelter and other charities. Last year was a real success, and I got to speak to Danni regarding the plans for this year’s Bake…

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Kopfkino returns to Stirchley Baths’ Cinema Room this Friday!

Stirchley Baths has a great space, the “ Cinema Room” which has played host to a number of film screenings  since opening in 2016 and will be hosting more and more film events thanks to a new community led  Stirchley Community Cinema Project , seed funded by the city’s Local Innovation Fund – this will be starting in the next couple of months so watch this space!

In the meantime we have caught up with our good friends Kopfkino who are returning to Stirchley Baths this Friday 16 March with a new screening of Afshar Films’ ‘The Case Against Assad: Syria’s Disappeared’. The event will be in support of King’s Heath Action for Refugees, and please see below about other ways in which you can help those affected by the Syrian conflict….

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A Visit To The Memory Cafe

On Tuesday 19th February I was invited to visit the Memory Café, a monthly event, initially set up as part of Stirchley Baths’ heritage programme in collaboration with Rachel Duggan and Carla Smith from Leaf Creative Arts. The event is held in the Cinema Room at Stirchley Baths. The Café provides a space for people with dementia, Alzheimer’s and other memory problems to engage with multi-sensory arts activities, to create and reminisce, with a steady supply of hot drinks and cakes.

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