Hi all!

I can’t believe that January is already coming to an end. Time is absolutely flying! The good thing about that is, however, that the festival season is coming closer and closer. And – I did hint it last week – the first festival is happening this weekend! “Temple Bar Trad” has started on Wed and will run until Sun and the amount of free concerts is huge! In addition we have another competition this week. You can win tickets to a Flamenco Workshop with the brilliant Felipe de Algeciras and it is specifically tailored for absolute beginners! So read on to find out more! And since the weather is still quite bad, I won’t forget to mention a number of quieter indoor events, i.e. exhibitions.

Two more logistical announcements before I start with the events list:
More than 360 people (!!!) have now joined the Dublin Event Guide facebook group, but it turns out that amazingly only about half of them read the very clear explanation which says that they have to subscribe to the weekly Event Guide e-mail by sending a brief e-mail to dublineventguide@gmail.com. (Facebook doesn’t reveal the e-mail address of a group member, so I can’t add them to the lost without receiving an e-mail.) To give them a chance I will send twice more a message to all facebook group members. If you did receive this weeks Event Guide directly by e-mail in your Inbox, you are safe ;-) and don’t have to do ANYTHING. Just ignore the facebook mail if you are a facebook member. People that did not receive this week’s Event Guide by e-mail need to send the subscription mail, otherwise they will -in two weeks – not have the pleasure anymore to receive this brilliant and unique ;-) Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events).
And finally: If there is anybody in our Dublin Event Guide Community who knows his/her way around wordpress and feedburner vs. phplist vs. bulk mailer, maybe he/she could contact me. I need some advise/suggestions regarding the best distribution method of the Dublin Event Guide in the future. BTW: If the mentioned terms make your eyes glaze over, you are probably NOT the person I am looking for in this instance. :-)

FLAMENCO WORKSHOP – COMPETITION
The talented Flamenco Group “Solo Flamenco” is conducting a Flamenco Workshop and it is the first in a series of workshops with acclaimed Spanish flamenco dancer, choreographer and teacher Felipe de Algeciras (www.flamencoyalegria.net/?page_id=64). The workshop takes place on
Sunday, 3 Feb from 12:00-17:00 and will be held in Studio 2 in DanceHouse in Foley Street. For the ABSOLUTE Beginners Workshop on this day (12:00-13:00), Solo Flamenco has made two tickets available for the readers of the Dublin Event Guide. This Taster Class is for students with no experience who want to learn about flamenco. The normal price per participant is EUR 15 and you can win either one or both tickets for free! To be in with a chance, just send a mail to dublineventguide@gmail.com with “Flamenco” in the subject line. Please but your phone number in the body of the mail and please tell me if you would prefer one or two tickets for this interesting event. Your mail has to be with me by 13:00 on Wednesday (30 Jan) and I will notify the winner by phone on Wednesday afternoon/evening.

The Workshop is structured in different classes based on experience and if you have danced a bit of Flamenco before or are just interested in learning it, you should read through the complete list here:
12:00-13:00 Taster – for students with no experience who want to learn about flamenco. Cost: EUR 15
13:00-14:00 Beginners – for dancers with 6 to 18 months experience. Cost: EUR 15
14:00-15:00 Technique – Open to all levels. Cost: EUR 15
15:00-17:00 Intermediate – for dancers with 18 months experience or more. Cost: EUR 30
Solo Flamenco are offering a special discount price of €50 for students attending all three Beginners, Technique and Intermediate classes. Each class is limited to 30 students, so advance booking is essential to secure a place. For information and bookings email info@flamencoyalegria.net  or call Damian at 086 81 46 496. For all the details go to www.flamencoyalegria.net/?page_id=57. Thanks to Solo Flamenco for the tickets!

Speaking of tickets and competition! Last Tuesday was the “Cuban Night Extravaganza” in the Sugar Club for which Sinead Hughes had made a pair of tickets available. Lauren Richards was the lucky winner of the tickets and I got the impression that she had a great night in the Sugar Club. Sinead had organised a brilliant evening! I was there and can definitely testify to that! She collected a great amount of money for Arc Cancer Support! By the way, Lauren has access to some information about free events and has already sent me some details, which you all will benefit from. So, please, send some good Karma to Lauren! :-)

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______Saturday_________________

MUSIC – TEMPLE BAR TRAD
The main event this week is the Irish Music & Culture Festival “Temple Bar Trad”. The Festival organisers have put together a really nice website, but I would LOVE to find out why they didn’t put the same comprehensive information on the website that they out in the Festival brochure …and why the festival brochure (which is available in PDF) can not be found on their website. Arghh!! Unfortunately the brochure is too big (3.4 Mbyte) to attach it to this Event Guide, but if anybody wants it, I can send it to you separately on Friday evening. Just drop me a mail (dublineventguide@gmail.com).

Temple Bar Trad will run until 27 Jan and will fill whole Temple Bar with Irish music and tunes, stories and culture. The website is www.templebartrad.com and a brief-ish summary is this:

Fri 25, Sat 26, Sun 27 of Jan:
– Festival Club in Project Art Centre (23:00-01:00)
– Outdoor Projections TG4 Gradam Ceoil 10 Year Celebration, Temple Bar Meeting House Square (18:00-20:00)
– Trad/Fold Pub Trail in pubs/bars/hotels throughout Temple Bar! All times are approximate times only. The exact times for the day are available on the website or in the festival brochure:
Viperoom (13:00-15:00), Clarence Hotel (17:00-19:00), Foggy Dew (15:00-17:00), Oliver St. John Gogartys (15:00-23:00+23:30-02:00), Temple Bar Pub (14:00-16:00+17:00-19:00+20:30-23:30), VAT House (16:00-18:00+21:00-close), The Quays (15:30-17:30+18:00-20:00+21:30-23:30), Porterhouse (18:00-20:00), Farringtons (21:30-23:30), Fitzsimons (16:00-18:00), Auld Dubliner (17:00-19:00+21:30-23:30), Purty Kitchen (15:00-17:00+18:30-20:30), Palace Bar (15:00-17:00+21:00-close), Fitzgerald’s (14:00-16:00)

I will definitely be in Temple Bar this weekend and if you go on Saturday, don’t forget to go to the Temple Bar Food Market!

On Sat and Sun there will be storytellers on the street!! The locations are Barnados Square, Central Bank Plaza, Temple Bar Square & Curved Street and the stories will be told from 14:00-17:00. (Admission is free)
The ancient art of the Seanchaí, the storyteller of the past, has experienced a revival in the last twenty years. People of all ages and backgrounds have begun to retell stories old and new, for which Ireland is famed throughout the world. Temple Bar Trad and Aos Scéal Éireann/Storytellers of Ireland bring this ancient art to the heart of the city as they tell our most famous mythical legends on the public streets and squares of Dublin’s Cultural Quarter.
Professional actor and storyteller Jack Lynch will tell the story of King Eochaidh and The Golden Fly; Victoria Gleason will enchant with tales of Niamh, and the famous Oisin in Tir na nOg, the land of eternal youth; Natasha Wilton will tell Fionn McCumhaill and the Scottish Giant and stories about Oonagh; and the legendary Setanta/Cuchulainn tales will be brought to life by Fra Gunn.
The schedule is this
Barnardos Square: 2pm King Eochaid, 3pm Niamh, 4pm Oonagh, 5pm Cú Chulainn
Central Bank Plaza: 2pm Niamh, 3pm Oonagh, 4pm Cú Chulainn, 5pm King Eochaid
Temple Bar Square: 2pm Oonagh, 3pm Cú Chulainn, 4pm King Eochaid, 5pm Niamh
Curved Street: 2pm Cú Chulainn, 3pm King Eochaid, 4pm Niamh, 5pm Oonagh

On Sunday a lot of activities for families are provided:
Family Music Sessions.
At 13:30, 15:30 and 17:30, with a duration of 30 min, Family Music Sessions are offered. Families are invited to come along and enjoy small intimate music session in the Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre. Featuring young talented musicians from around the country the session are sure to up-lift your spirits and entertain both young and old.

Family Treasure Hunt
From 12:00-17:00, a Family Treasure Hunt will take place. The description reads like this: “This special festival treasure hunt will be sure to keep families entertained as they walk through Temple Bar answering simple questions. Questionnaires can be answered in both English or as Gaeilge and all participants can enjoy a complimentary hot drink in The Purty Kitchen once they’re finished. All correct entries will be entered into a draw for a hamper of Irish themed goodies.
Note: The prize draw will take place in the Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre at 18.00.

Last week I already mentioned the events that require pre-booking and I would expect that they are all booked out by now, but I will mention them again, just in case:

On Saturday (26 Jan) all children are invited to The Ark in Eustace Street. At 12:00 a Children’s Concert will be performed by young musicians from Colaiste Eoin. (Duration: 40 Minutes). Afterwards a Come and Try Workshops for Tin whistle and Bodhran will be held (Duration: 40 min). Starting time is 13:30 for age range 6 – 8, and 14:30 for age range 9 – 11 years. All the events in The Ark are free, but booking is essential: boxoffice1@ark.ie or 01 670 7788.

Adults can try their luck with Irish Instruments at the free Come & Try Workshops in the Filmbase Building in Curved Street (Duration 45 minutes) on Saturday. The Tin Whistle workshop is at 16:00 and the Bodhran workshop is at 17:00. Instruments are provided and the workshops are for people that have absolutely no previous experience. Again pre-booking is essential! Please pre-book tickets by emailing trad@tascq.ie or telephone 677 23 97.

In the same building Irish Culture Workshops are run on Saturday from 11:00-13:00 or from 14:00-16:00 and on Sunday from 14:00-16:00 (Duration: 2hrs). These workshops are not free (EUR 15), but if you always wanted to take a fun crash course in traditional Irish dance, song and language, these workshops might be for you. (Pre book tickets by emailing trad@tascq.ie or telephone 677 23 97).
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DEBATE
The Labour Party will discuss “Universal Health Insurance – an idea whose time has come?” in a forum on the Mansion House (Dawson Street) on Sat 26 Jan from 10:00 – 13:30. Speakers include, Maev-Ann Wren (Economist and Author), Liam Doran (General Secretary Irish Nurses’ Organisation), John Crown (Consultant Medical Oncologist), Chairperson Jan O’Sullivan TD (Labour Party spokesperson on Health). If you want to attend you were meant to register by Thursday, but if they are not booked out you still might get in if you ring on Friday. Contact: Cathy at 01-6784700.

EXHIBITIONS
“Urban Void / Extended City” allows you to explore Dublin’s Modern Architechture and Urban Spaces with a new exhibition at the Office of Public Works (in the Atrium) at 51 St. Stephen’s Green. The exhibition runs from 22 Jan to 06 Feb.

‘Below the Surface’ an exhibition of new work by Cathy Henderson opened at the LAB on 22 January. The exhibition includes a series of oil on canvas portraits of Dublin City Council staff and a sound recording of sitters. This body of work is was produced as a way of acknowledging the efforts and commitment of Dublin city’s workers who continually maintain, clean and look after our streets, parks, buildings and whose work is crucial to keep the whole organism of the city running smoothly.
The exhibition continues at the LAB until 7 February. Further information on Cathy Henderson can be found on: www.cathyhenderson.net
Did you know that the Dublin City Arts office is based in the new civic building on Foley Street in Dublin 1. The building is called The LAB and comprises of a mixture of office space, performance & exhibition space. I only found out today, but I will keep an eye out for future events in The LAB. The LAB is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00-17:00.

This is a popular weekend for closing exhibitions and you only have one more weekend to visit them!

Gary Copley’s “Paintings” are on view on the Alliance Francaise (Kildare Street) until 31 Jan. “Gary Copley is an Irish natural contemporary artist, influenced by the early 20th century movements, particularly Cubism and Art Deco. Through studying the art of both his favourite artists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, Gary Copley perfected his techniques over the years. His latest theme Absinthe Times / Gothic Violin is focusing the harmony of depth and movement. As well as capturing the phenomena of light in the colours used and mixed to exercise a perfervid dance and finish, the paintings refuse to stand still. Instead they live and move according to the moods of the day and night.”

Miroslaw Balka’s “Tristes Tropiques” in the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA – www.modernart.ie) is coming to an end as well this weekend (27 Jan). Tristes Tropiques is an exhibition of 26 works by the leading Polish artist Miroslaw Balka presenting sculpture and installation works surveying the last two decades. It includes eight large-scale installations, and two new works never shown before, including a site-specific piece. Balka deals with both personal and collective memories, especially as they relate to his Catholic upbringing and the experience of Poland’s fractured history. His materials are simple, everyday objects, but also powerfully resonant of ritual, hidden memories and the history of Nazi occupation in Poland.

And another “last weekend” in the IMMA (www.modernart.ie): Thomas Scheibitz’s “about 90 Elements/TOD IM DSCHUNGEL” is the first solo exhibition in Ireland by this German artist. It comprises a selection of new paintings and sculptures.  Scheibitz’s paintings have a distinctly post-Cubist orientation, his puzzle-like forms are carefully composed in tightly connected compositions locked into shallow spaces. These forms suggest fragmentary landscapes and architectural elements, at once recognizable and abstract. Through abstraction, he offers a futuristic vision of a fast-paced consumer society, where nature and technology merge, and realism is replaced by the higher aesthetic truth of pop design. 14 Nov 2007 – 27 Jan 2008

Admission to the Museum of Modern Art in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham is free and the opening hours are Tues-Sat 10:00-17:30, Sun 12:00-17:30, Monday closed.
www.modernart.ie

The National Gallery’s annual “A Light in the Darkness: The Turner Watercolours & The Mary A. McNeill Bequest of Silhouettes and Miniatures” closes on 31 Jan.
The display of watercolours by JMW Turner will show how the artist magically captured the effects of light. This year the Turner exhibition will be complemented by a display of eighteenth- and nineteenth- century silhouettes and miniatures from the Mary A. McNeill Bequest, with works by John Comerford, Henry Bone, John Miers and Nathaniel Hone the Elder.

And finally, a last chance to see “Paintings from Poland: Symbolism to Modern Art (1880-1939)” in the National Gallery (until 27 Jan). This exhibition of 74 paintings provides a rare opportunity for visitors to see some of the most important works of an extraordinarily creative artistic culture in a period of national upheaval.
A bilingual audio tour narrated by Fiona Shaw and Krystyna Czubowna is available free of charge from the Exhibition Desk in the Millennium Wing. Polish language tours take place on Sundays at 4.00pm (assemble at exhibition desk).
In parallel with this exhibition this Saturdays Family Program in the National Gallery is titled “Let’s Visit Poland!” (with Mary Broderick) and starts at 15:00.

Opening hours for the National Gallery (www.nationalgallery.ie) are Mon-Sat 09:30-17:30, Thur 9:30-20:30, Sun 12:00-17:30.

POLISH MUSIC
And to coincide with the final day of the Gallery’s exhibition, ‘Paintings from Poland: Symbolism to Modern Art 1880-1939’, Concorde will present three half-hour concerts on the theme ‘Music from Poland’ on Sunday 27 Jan between 14:00 and 17:00. Featuring leading contemporary Polish composers, Henryk Goecki and Marta Ptaszynska. Admission is free.

PROTEST
This week’s protest includes a picket in memory of the 14 people killed on Bloody Sunday 30 Jan 1972. The picket will be held on the median opposite the GPO on Sat 26 Jan from 12:00-14:00.
An Anti-Globalisation Day of Action will take place outside of the Central Bank (Dame Street) on Sat 26 Jan from 11:30.

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______Sunday __________________

VARIETY SHOW
A weekly event, now entering the 9th year (!!) and worth mentioning it every now is the “Shirley Temple Bar Variety Show” in The George in South Great Georges Street every Sunday. The show starts at 20:30 and admission is free.

TRAD ROCK
The Purty Kitchen (www.purtykitchen.com), former Bad Bob’s, in Essex Street in Temple Bar is inviting to Live Music every Sunday evening from 20:00. The Black Donelley’s are playing trad rock and admission is free.

SUNDAY ROAST
And another regular Sunday Evening event. Thomas Reads at the corner of Parliament Street with Dame Street is offering “Sunday Roast”, winner of best show at The Fringe Festival’s Spiegeltent 2006. The Sunday Roast crew return with their eclectic weekly dish of free live music, games & roast potatoes. From 19:00.

SARDINIA
This event in the Italian Cultural Institute is more a “trade only” event, but since the official description is “Event organized for tour and gastronomy operators and for cultural exchange representatives”, maybe some of you would like to be a cultural exchange representative for a day? ;-) To be honest, I am not sure if there is an “by invitation only” policy of something similar, but I am sure you can find out:
“Sardinia …an undisturbed mediterranean paradise”
On Sunday 27 Jan from 12:00 – 17:00, Gianluca Vassallo and the Italian Confederation of Farmers invite you to join them in the salon of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura to taste some of the gorgeous food of this wonderful island which is so well-known but still retains its enigmatic spirit. Take advantage of this opportunity and you will be astonished by Sardinia’s beauties and tastes. The unique sound of the TENORES will provide the musical background to this Sunday afternoon “escape” to Sardinia.

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______Next Week_______________

Next week seems to be a “job” week! This is probably because the post-new year weeks are most “prone” to job changes. A new year’s resolution for many seems to be to change the job!

Jobserve live! an Internet based recruitment agency/service is bringing the Jobserve live! event to Dublin. The advertisement says “JobServe Live! is the one-stop event for adults to improve their career prospects. The shows feature a wide range of recruiting employers, universities and other training and education providers plus advice clinics, seminars, demonstrations and other features. With free of charge entry this is the adult careers event you can’t afford to miss.” The event will take place on Wed 30 Jan from 10:30-19:00 in the Shelbourne Hall of the RDS.
www.jobservelive.com/event.visit.asp?eventid=32
31 exhibitors will be in the RDS and will give advise or offer jobs. If you are currently looking for a new job, this might be an interesting event for you.

The Dun Laoghaire – Rathdown Enterprise Week 2008 is taking place as well next week and if you ever thought about starting your own business, this is the event to go to. Running from 28 Jan to 31 Jan, the initiative features a series of county-wide activities designed to support the ambitions of aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. Admission is free to all events. Details are on www.dlrenterpriseweek.ie and here is an overview of the main talks etc.:
Entrepreneurs Uncovered Lunchime Talks:
– Mon, 28 Jan: Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics Ireland (Pavillion Theatre)
– Tue, 29 Jan: Tanya Airey, MD, Sunway Travel (IADT, Kill Avenue)
– Wed, 30 Jan: Michael Cullen, CEO, Beacon Medical Group (Mill Theatre, Dundrum)
Open days @ Enterprise incubator centres:
– Mon 28 Jan: Nutgrove Enterprise Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14
– Tue, 29 Jan: NovaUCD, Belfield Innovation Park, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4
– Wed, 30 Jan: Media Cube, IADT, Kill Avenue, Dun Laoghaire
Bank of Ireland Business Banking Evening  (Wed 30 Jan: 18:30-21:00)
– Starting & Growing Your Own Business Event, Stillorgan Pak Hotel
Enterprise Expo (Thu 31 Jan, 14:00-21:00)
– Over 20 Enterprise and Small Business Agencies on hand to provide a one-stop-shop of information and advice on starting and growing a business. The expo takes place in the County Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire.

On Tue, 29 Jan at 20:00 the Cultivate Centre in Essex St. West (Temple Bar) will host a debate between TDs on how to deliver the commitment in the Programme for Government to cut Ireland’s climate-changing emissions by 3 per cent a year on average. The speakers are Simon Coveney, TD, Fine Gael spokesperson on energy; Bairbre de Brun, MEP, Sinn Fein; Tony Killeen TD, Fianna Fail Minister of State with responsibility for environment and energy; Senator Fiona O’Malley, PD spokesperson on energy; Eamon Ryan, Green Party Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources; Joanna Tuffy, TD, Labour spokesperson on environment. The debate will be chaired by architect and broadcaster, Duncan Stewart. Admission is free. The event is organized by the grassroots group, People Against Climate Change. For information contact Simon Phelan on 086-3150153.
For me, the presence of Duncan Stewart would be reason enough NOT to go to such a debate. He must be the most interfering and annoying TV presenter I have ever seen, but, hey, that is just my opinion! Apart from that the discussion could be quite interesting.

A free screening of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” will take place at Liberty Hall
on Wed 30 Jan at 18:00. SIPTU is showing the film in the Liberty Hall Theatre. Oisín Coghlan (Director, Friends of the Earth) will be speaking for 15 minutes before the film on the choices facing Ireland. Admission is free.

The Alliance Francaise in Kildare Street will show a new exhibition from Thurs 31 Jan and the official opening is at 18:00. The title is “The last Baka Pygmies of Cameroon”. Frank Ribas is a French self-taught photographer who became a professional and was able to combine both his passions, for photography and Africa. He lived in Cameroon from 2003 to 2007 and worked for various wildlife agencies. The exhibition is on the Bakas Pygmies Tribe who spend two months in the year in the forest where they live on hunting, fishing and forest gatherings.
The Exhibition will run from 31 Jan – 23 Feb 2008.
www.alliance-francaise.ie/program_Insert.htm

As well on the 31 Jan (at 19:00), the Instituto Cervantes  is offering a lecture that could be interesting for architects: “Manana!. Achitecture of public use. Nieto y Sobejano and Yvonne Farrell” The description says “The Manana! cycle offers a series of dialogues between both Spanish and Irish architects with a focus on public architecture. Each talk will take the form of a presentation where both well-known Spanish and Irish architects will discuss their projects. The presentations will end with a debate reflecting on the current problems in the world of architecture on an international level. Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano are architecture graduates of the Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid and Columbia University, New York, USA. They are currently project lecturers at la Escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad Europea de Madrid (UEM) and at la Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (ETSAM), respectively. Their work and projects have been published in different Spanish and International publications and have formed part of various exhibitions, among them la Biennale di Venecia 2000 and 2002 and la Bienal Espanola de Arquitectura 2003.
dublin.cervantes.es/en/culture_spanish/activities_cultural_spanish.shtm
The Instituto Cervantes is the Spanish Cultural Institute and is based in Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, just at the back of Trinity College. From the information available it seems that the lecture will take place in Trinity College, but it is not totally clear, so I suggest you ring the Instituto on 01 631 1500 to find out.

A long list again, is it just me or is the list of free events getting longer and longer every week? Hey, I am not complaining about it, but I need to come up with a cleverer way of compiling this Event Guide, otherwise I will never sleep again on a Thursday night! :-) I am sure I will find a way!

Enjoy your weekend and don’t forget to send me a mail if you want to take part in the competition!!

–Joerg

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Disclaimer: This Event Guide (the “Dublin Event Guide (for Free Events)”) is an Event Guide with a difference. It covers mostly free events based on the thinking that free events deserve additional support and that ticketed events have a better chance to pay for advertisement. The Guide is a _guide_ and not just a listing and is sent to friends, colleagues and whoever else is interested.
If you have feedback – good or bad – PLEASE tell me. If you want to be added to the mailing list or know somebody who would like to receive this guide, just send a mail to dublineventguide@gmail.com. If you don’t want to receive this mail anymore, send a mail to the same address, telling me to remove you from the distribution list.
BTW: I am not paid or otherwise rewarded for compiling and distributing this Event Guide it is purely a hobby. Donations are welcome. ;-)
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