Text Buckie Festival on 07969 268 337

Call 01542 834 287

Email buckie@theatremodo.com

Buckie Festival 2007 was a roaring success... thanks to YOU!

Martin has already expressed his thanks on the message board, and I would like to do the same! I was thoroughly impressed by the show on Thursday 28th June, and quite rightly so! What a spectacle! Thanks to everyone that took part!

I have uploaded all the photos I have been given by various people from all over the place. If you have any photos you would like to see included on the Buckie Festival website (free of charge of course!), then feel free to e-mail them to buckie@theatremodo.com where Martin will give them the once over before forwarding them onto me!

And remember... this isn't the end of Buckie Festival 2007... it's the start of Buckie Festival 2008!! The Buckie Festival committee are always on the look out for volunteers to inspire and shape how the 2007 festival should be! If you want to be a guiding hand, or a leading figure... then get in touch! Buckie Festival is always on the look out for volunteers, and it's the good will of the community that makes Buckie Festival 2007 happen!

The message board will be active for another month or two before it comes to a close, so get posting whilst you can! It's not easy to moderate a quiet message board!

Until later... have a great (and hopefully dryer) summer!

Daniel

26th June 2007 - Were you a member of the audience on Thursdays show? Please take some time to complete the Buckie Festival Survey after Thursdays performance!

We have a quick, short survey which is essential to have completed by our audience so we can evaluate and review the Buckie Festival once it's all done and dusted after Thursday. There are 12 short and simple questions for you, so if you've got time to spare please follow the link by clicking...

HERE for the survey!

Daniel

26th June 2007 - The Programme Page is now ALIVE!

For details on what's going on this Thursday, head to the programme page... including the timetable for the Festival, and where to get the best view of what's going on!

25th June 2007 - Buckie Festival on Tour

To celebrate the launch of the Moray Firth Flotilla 25 performers from the Buckie Festival 2007 made the journey up north to Wick to perform at the event.

Three groups of young people from Buckie High School, AMP and the Loft Youth Project added a carnival atmosphere to the event at the Harbour in Wick with stilt walking, a drumming group, flag dancers and a giant fish.

Buckie festival 2007 is being staged on 28th June to coincide with the arrival of the Moray Firth Flotilla. A huge community event bringing together over 500 performers, it will take to the streets of Buckie at 7.30pm. The performers that made the journey to the start of the Flotilla route gave a sneak preview of their costumes and routines to the folk who had turned out to see the boats and enjoy the event in Wick.

Theatre Modo, the company that is staging the Buckie Festival 2007 event has long standing ties with Caithness and has staged several large events in Wick, including Assipattle in 2003, which ended at the Wick Harbour.

Performance Director, Louise Allan, who is originally from Wick herself said, “this was a great chance for the Buckie Festival to come up and lend support to the opening event in Wick, and for Theatre Modo to keep up its link with Caithness. It was great to be back doing something in Wick, folk seemed to really enjoy our contribution and the young people from Buckie had a great time.”

Having enjoyed their outing in Wick it is now all go in Buckie to make the final preparations for the big day on Thursday.

Martin

25th June 2007 - After more promises than an election campaign... ...finally I've got round to an update. My excuse? Well, I've been on holiday, and as soon as I got back from holiday I had the cold and pretty much lost all motivation to do anything, Throw in some web server problems and it makes for a pretty slow couple of weeks. However... THURSDAY 28th JUNE is the big day, and boy oh boy am I excited?! Never mind me, just about everyone is... particularly after our little jolt up to Wick on Saturday to say hello and goodbye to the Moray Firth Flotilla which left on Saturday! It'll make a stop off in Buckie on Thursday. I must say, they're in for a treat with some fairly spectacular coastline on the way towards Inverness! But in the meantime you can find more photos. On Tuesday the Programme page will finally get sorted out once and for all! There will be a map to guide you through the streets of Buckie and follow the parade, and a timetable so you know exactly what's going on where! Perfect! See you all on Thursday afternoon / evening! Let's hope for a significant improvement in the weather! Sadly... it's far from promising... Click here for the weather forecast! Daniel

31st May 2007 - Get involved in design!

The Theatre Modo workshops will be open to all every Tuesday and Thursday between 3.30 and 8pm.

Our designer Emma and the team will be on hand to help volunteers learn skills and make some of the many props that are needed for the Buckie Festival 2007.

No experience is necessary (although we do suggest you don’t wear your best clothes). And you can just pop in for as long as you want.

So if you have ever wanted to learn how to make big puppets or props, or learn new costume making techniques then come along.

If you haven’t been here yet, the workshops are on Commercial Road opposite the big cranes and in between Cluny Fish and the Fish Market. There is a dragon in the window.

See you there.

Martin

25th May 2007 - Latest Press Release

"Buckie Festival goes from strength to strength."

 After a fantastic public response  Buckie Festival has already  run  27 workshops, involving 330 people in its first week.

Already people are learning to stilt walk, drumming groups are  being formed, circus routines are being created, and a giant dragon has been built  in Portknockie. All in preparation for the fiery extravaganza through the streets of Buckie on Thursday the 28^th of June, welcoming the arrival of the Moray-Firth Flotilla.

Tap, Belly, Highland and Line Dancers, African drummers, Brass, Pipe, Folk musicians are already  getting involved. As well as teenage music project A.M.P and wide range of community groups.

Somewhere in amongst all this there was time to get www.buckiefestival.co.uk up and running.

Buckie Festival are still eager to hear from groups and individuals who would like to be involved.  Particularly we are interested in hearing from singers, choirs,  traditional folk musicians,  Ceilidh bands, In addition to anyone interested in building large puppets and props. Enthusiasm being the requirement, an unforgettable experience being on offer.

 For more info or to get involved. 

 Email buckie@theatremodo.com.

 Phone 01542 834 287.

25th May 2007 - More Photos! More texting!

Ever wondered what a mythical creature looked like during the construction phase?! Visit the photo page to have a look! We'll have more photos in the coming days!

You can now text your comments about workshops/activities or ideas to Buckie Festival. The number is...

07969 268 337

22nd May 2007 - Quick news update!

Buckie festival would like to acknowledge our funders, whom without Buckie Festival 2007 simply would be nothing! So thanks to the Moray Firth Partnership, Highland 2007 and the Scottish Arts Council for contributing so much.

Secondly... some interesting facts for you...

• It will be possible to text the Buckie Festival message service very soon!
• Theatre Modo led 27 workshops to 330 young people in the first week alone!
• Dave, the musical director of Theatre Modo would be very keen to speak to anyone involved in a choir, can sing, or just enjoys singing - no experience necessary! But if that's your kind of thing call him on 01542 834 287 / buckie@theatremodo.com
• Emma, the designer is looking for folk to volunteer to come down to the workshop to help to make the props and puppets etc for the show. Again no experience is needed. Either phone, e-mail or just pop in during working hours.

In the meantime, please do leave a message on the message board! Thank you!

20th May 2007 - Let's get talking!

If you press the purple button up the top (the one that says messageboard), you will now be able to post the Buckie Festival team messages! Please note, this is a public arena... so be on  your best behaviour! Feel free to post messages for other people that live in and around the Buckie area - but we do not approve of abusive or foul posting. Any messages that are deemed inappropriate will be deleted promptly.

Please note that in the interest of child protection - we recommend that anyone under the age of 16 uses a nickname instead of their real name. Please do not disclose any personal information on the messageboard such as your phone number, home address or anything else that could be used to track you. Any messages containing unnecessary personal information will also be removed.

9th May 2007 - It's back! And it's bigger than ever before!

Introduction
To mark the Highland Year of Culture and the arrival of the Moray Firth Flotilla, Buckie Festival 2007 led by Theatre Modo create one of the biggest ever community projects the Moray coast has seen.

On 28th June 2007, the streets of Buckie will be host to a thrilling promenade performance involving over 300 people from throughout the region. A spectacular outdoor extravaganza of music, dancing and performance builds to a huge firework finale, the welcoming of the flotilla and a grand ceilidh.

Fire-breathing sea monsters, giant puppets, a flotilla of historic boats, a silver band, skate boarders, kayakers, motorcyclists, belly dancers, cheerleaders, fire sculptures, carnival structures, pipe bands, Highland dancing and fireworks at the harbour all come together to celebrate the culture and talent of the community. A night not to be forgotten.

The Show
Combining local myths and legends, with a thoroughly modern take, the show is a story of courage, fearsome sea monsters, triumph over adversity and true love.

Bringing together over three hundred performers, musicians, dancers and makers, the show, entirely performed and staged by local participants marches in colourful procession through the streets and squares of Buckie. Around every corner a new segment of the adventure unfolds.

Finally, the procession, now swelled to its full numbers, reaches the harbour, where the sea monster is defeated in a spectacular fire works display, and the triumphant flotilla is welcomed into harbour with a huge dance of celebration.

As the show ends so the party begins, and the revels continue with music, dancing and free food for all.

While the flotilla is in town there will be various market stalls, including representatives from Norway selling woolly jumpers, and art exhibitions around the town.

Participation
Buckie Festival 2007 brings together hundreds of people from all areas of the community to pool their talents and resources with a professional team to create, within the celebratory context of a Festival, a rare and memorable event unique in its scope and undertaking.

The team of directors, designers, choreographers and musicians assembled by Theatre Modo for Buckie Festival 2007 brings years of experience at creating exciting and striking spectacles and outdoor performances throughout Scotland and beyond.

Theatre Modo
Buckie Festival 2007 is led by Theatre Modo, an award winning Scottish company, formed to bring to life the magic of theatre. Theatre Modo prides itself on shows that celebrate theatre at its best, engaging, inspiring and entertaining its audiences. Theatre Modo specialises in large-scale out-door spectacles using fire, circus, theatre, dance and music to create a highly visual style of production.

Past projects staged by Theatre Modo and director Martin Danziger include Assipattle in Wick in 2003, Govan Gathering Light in 2004-5, the pan Highland Millennium Project pH2000, and Carmen and the Burning Knight for the Northlands Festival in 1998. Theatre Modo has also been seen in Moray and beyond over the last few years with their touring productions of Don Quixote, the Snow Queen and Ubu.

Buckie Festival
Buckie Festival was set up in 2003 to develop arts, leisure and cultural activity in Buckie and the surrounding area and aims to celebrate and encourage interest in the area’s environment, heritage and people. Each year since 2003 the committee has run a week long festival featuring theatre, comedy, parades, music and dance and has featured some of the nations finest performers.

After taking a break from its usual format in 2006 the festival is back with a bang to celebrate the of Highland Culture. Theatre Modo have been commissioned by the Festival committee to stage this years event based on their outstanding reputation for working alongside communities in the development and staging of large-scale celebratory events.


Moray Firth Flotilla
The Moray Firth Flotilla 2007 is a unique and exciting project that will see a flotilla of traditional boats sail around the coast from Wick, calling at a number of ports over the course of a week, starting at Wick on 23rd June and ending at Portsoy to mark the opening of the Scottish Traditional Boat Festival on 29th June 2007.
Over 30 boats from around the Firth and beyond are taking part. These include well known boats such “the Reaper” from Anstruther, “The Swan” from Lerwick and the “Isabella Fortuna” from Wick.

Details
Date: 28th June 2007
Time: 7:30pm
Location: The Streets of Buckie
Tickets: This event is free and unticketed although donations welcome.
Please note: dress for a June night in the North of Scotland.

This project is a huge collaboration between Buckie Festival, Theatre Modo, H2007 and Moray Council with the numerous community, youth and school groups from throughout Buckie and beyond.

Buckie Festival 2007 has been made possible by generous support from the Scottish Arts Council, H2007 and the Moray Firth Partnership


For more information contact
Martin Danziger
martin@theatremodo.com
07973 963 301
0141 429 8428

Jean Wilcock
jean.wilcock@moray.gov.uk
01343829026