St George's Day & The Fringe

Thanks to Jess Savage and Buxton Film for this image of the Dome, University of Derby, Buxton.

The next deadline for entries looms. If you plan to enter Buxton's Fringe 2009 then it will cost you £65 - if you get your entry in by March 31. If you enter in April - and we close for entries on April 25 - then the cost is £80. Some people ask what this fee is for exactly - since the Fringe is organised by volunteers who draw no salary? All of the money entrants pay us goes directly on publicising the Fringe so as to get the biggest audiences we can for the 400+ events that are on between July 8-26. We produce 20,000 full-colour programmes. The programme will be launched at the beginning of June - it's always a slightly frantic time, getting all the programmes out to libraries, cafes, hotels, tourist information offices, pubs, museums, churches and Fringe venues within a radius of about 25 miles of Buxton. If you have any time to help us with that task then do let us know.

The March 31 deadline means that a rush of entries can be anticipated over the next week or so. At the moment things are calm - and this gives us the chance to let you have the full details of the next event to mark the fact that this year's Fringe is the 30th Buxton Festival Fringe.

On Thursday, April 23 we have an evening of film, visual art and music at the University of Derby's Buxton campus - the Dome, formerly the Devonshire Hospital. The University is also the principal sponsor of the Fringe. We are using one of the lecture theatres and turning it into a cinema/bar for the evening. We're beginning the night by showing a 15 minute extract from a documentary film made by Kevin Allsop. Kevin was the DJ for the Devonshire hospital's own radio station. He broadcast every week. Happily for us Kevin is also an amateur film maker and he made a 30 minute documentary of his work on the radio station just before the hospital closed. For anyone with an interest in, or memories of, the hospital Kevin's film is bound to be nostalgic.

A separate project that connects with Fringe 30 is the community multi media visual arts Vers@Tile project. By now 15 workshops lead by local artists have been completed and hundreds of children and adults have produced small pieces of art. The results of this will be launched to the public in early June - but on April 23 we'll get a preview of what to expect. Ingrid Karlsson-Kemp will be showing some of the work and reporting on Vers@Tile - which was supported financially by the Lottery, the Bingham Trust, the Satterthwaite Trust and Derbyshire County Council.

At 8pm we'll be showing the film I've Loved You So Long(cert 12). The film stars Kristin Scott Thomas (who delivers a spellbinding performance) and tells of how two sisters rebuild their lives together after an enforced separation of 15 years.I've Loved You So Long was written and directed by the French novelist Philippe Claudel and won a recent BAFTA (for best film in a foreign language).

There will be free wine and soft drinks and musical entertainment by talented guitarist Dave Evans. Dave plays in a range of styles but can be relied on to produce some exciting and moving flamenco. The evening costs just £5. If you are a Friend of the Fringe - entry is FREE. You can always join our Friends scheme on the night (£10) to obtain free entry. Tickets are limited and you can book places in advance at www.buxtonfilm.org.uk.


by Keith Savage - Published 22/03/2009