Maiden City Festival Weblog

The Maiden City Festival came to a colourful close with the Crimson Player’s Pageant on the morning of the 322nd Annual Relief of Derry Commemorations, a day of celebrations.

And yet… throughout the week our photographers and video people were capturing images of the Festival. These are now being sorted and labelled, ready for upload. You can find some of the photographs already on our Flickr Channel and we are hoping that the first of the video will be on our YouTube Channel very soon.

So there are still hours of enjoyment to be had at the 2011 Maiden City Festival. Check on our Facebook page for up to date information. We’ll try to update from time to time here too.

Looking forward to 2012.

Regretably Furlo is unable to make our lunchtime Culture Bite at the Cafe Nervosa 12.30-2.30pm. Delighted though to have Rainy Boy Sleep instead.

We have a few last minute changes to the published schedule. Check www.maidencityfestival.com for daily schedules which we are keeping up to date.

The Bluegrass on the Walls line-up has changed a little, with the addition of David Hope & The Henchmen. And the Bluestack Mountain Boys are in fact the Blackstack Mountain Boys.

Monday lunchtime at the Cafe Nervosa on Magazine Street, our Culture Bite will not be Eoin O’Callaghan and will instead be local band Intermission – again full details on the Maiden City Festival website.

On Wednesday Janet Dowd will be at the Boston Tea Party in the Craft Village. Originally it was to have been Mons Wheeler.

And on Wednesday evening the inside spread of our printed programme says the Crimson Players will be at the Verbal Arts Centre on Wednesday when they will of course be at the Memorial Hall at 8pm-10pm with their annual Variety Show.

Other than those very small changes in a very large programme everything is up to date. Double check the website listing for each day to be sure.

All that is left to say is enjoy the Festival.

In the meantime….

We’ve had a delayed start to confirming the 2011 Festival programme. The elections seem to have delayed some funders in being able to sort the paperwork. But we will get there.

Sorting through some old discs while waiting, a number for 2005 were found forgotten on a shelf. One held a series of clips from that year when we first started to explore the history of the Memorial Hall as an entertainment centre in the city, and in particular from the 1960s. The Woodlanders were a resident band at the time, in the mid sixties. In 2005 they reformed for the Festival for one night, 40 years on, to relive the Memories of the swinging heydays.

This little video is not a professional cut, but hopefully it captures some of the enthusiasm and meaning of what it was for these guys to return after all those years. Especially about what the MEM meant to them all. Then, again by accident, found a wee video on YouTube about the Woodlanders and the MEM; a poem, don’t know much more about it.

Great guys, super musicians. Thanks to: Jackie Graham, Drummer; Mike Wells, Guitar and Vocals; Alan Peoples, Bass and Harmony; Billy Haslett, Lead Guitar.

And the poem…

Been trying to get in touch with the guys in the video again. If anyone sees them, tell them to contact us through the website.

Although the Festival is one week in August, we have managed to stretch it out through the use of social media. So you can check out some of the Maiden City Festival 2010 memories (and from other years) on Flickr, YouTube and keep up to date on Facebook. Links to all are on our website www.maidencityfestival.com

Enjoy, and keep on enjoying favourite moments from the Maiden City Festival.

Entrance to the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall and Siege Museum is FREE throughout Festival week – £2 per person throughout the rest of the summer.

This year there is a small range of merchandise available at the Hall.  Including these Apprentice Bears of Derry taking a brief break off the shelf to enjoy some of the afternoon entertainment around the historic Walls of Londonderry.  There’s lots to see in the Hall and on the Walls throughout Festival week, promising a great day out in Londonderry.

Apprentice Bears of Derry enjoying the historic Walls of Londonderry.

Make sure you get your copy and plan for a great day out in Londonderry at the Maiden City Festival 7th-14th August.

Click on the image and turn the pages using the arrows. Press ESC to return to the previous browser page.

Last minute something always gets overlooked. We forgot to change the dates of the Tea Dances in the Mem from last year’s.

This year’s Good Afternoon in the Mem will take place from Monday and each day to Thursday 9th to 12th of August – NOT the week before, as printed in the programme. So let everyone know the dates when you can dance away the afternoon to the sounds of Danny Feeney on Monday and Thursday, and John Trotter & Friends on Tuesday and Wednesday. And there is a cup of tea too.

Come to the Mem for a cup of tea and a dance, 2.30pm-4.30pm Monday to Thursday, 9th-12th August.

It will be one of the biggest line dance extravaganza of the summer, if not the year, in the North West, and maybe even the whole country. Tickets are selling fast.  Everyone who has been before knows that the perfectly sprung floor of the main hall in the Memorial Hall is perfect for dancing the night away.  Dance until you drop, from 9pm to very very late, Saturday 7th August.