Blackpool has been stolen. The land where it once stood is now barren. The only evidence that Blackpool had ever been there were the shocked residents and a stick of rock found at the spot where the Blackpool tower once stood. The theft of Blackpool was international news and put Blackpool on the global map. Postcards, sticks of rock, key rings, anything associated with Blackpool raised in value. The popularity of the story led to a dramatic increase in tourism. People came from all over the world to view the space where Blackpool once stood.

Displaced residents of Blackpool, the time has come to commemorate your town! Aunty Social is working with artist Nathan Burr to create a memorial to Blackpool which will be displayed at the Royal College of Art in London from 20^th June 2013.

What shall I make?
It’s up to you. You can choose how you want to commemorate Blackpool. It could be a poem or song, a drawing, textile work, candles, an old souvenir, woodwork, glass…anything, it is up to you. Be creative!

How can I get involved?
That’s easy, you can:

• Make something and post it to us at Aunty Social, The Old Rock Factory, Rear 40 Talbot Road, Blackpool, FY1 1LF, marked ATTN: Aunty Social. We can’t guarantee that we’ll be in, but you can pop it through the letterbox.
• Email text, scans or sound recordings to info@auntysocial.co.uk
• Attend one of our workshops at Blackpool Central Library on Thursday 16^th May (let us know if you can make it on the Facebook event) or check out the events page for further details and more dates.

What next?
The submission date for your work is 11^th June 2013.  Following this, your items will be transported to London to be featured in Show RCA 2013, which runs from 20^th to 30^th June 2013 at Royal College of Art, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2EU.

Read the short story

Following on from our adventure into the world of retail last year, Aunty Social is opening a new shop this Summer. We want to stock good quality locally made items in our town centre premises.

We think that there are many skilled artists and makers in the Blackpool area and we feel that it’s very important to showcase the wonderful products that local people make. So we plan to offer local craftspeople the opportunity to sell their products on the high street at a reasonable rate of commission.

As a not-for-profit organisation, the money we make from the shop will be re-invested into providing arts and cultural activities for people in Blackpool.

So if you would like us to stock your products in the shop, please complete the application form (link below) and send it back to us.

Download the Charabanc 2013 Stock Application

Application Guidance  

1. What will you stock?

   Ideally products will have a Blackpool connection, this could mean that they are locally made or inspired by Blackpool. We’re looking for a variety of products: Homewares, jewellery, clothing, accessories, toiletries, stationery, prints. We love anything quirky or individual.

   We will only stock good quality products that are suitable for sale and conform to any relevant health and safety standards. Items must be well finished and fit for purpose, retaining their quality after repeated display, use or cleaning. Please include care instructions/labels wherever necessary.

2. Can I submit more than one product?

   Yes, you can submit one product or a range of products. We’ll consider all submissions before deciding which products are best for the shop. If you are submitting a range, we may only select some of your products.

3. How many products do I need to supply?

   On the form, we will ask you how may products you can supply. Ideally, we would like smaller products (such as items of jewellery) in multiples of five. If you submit clothing, please think about the sizes that are most likely to sell and tell us what you will be able to supply.

4. When should I submit my products?

   There is no deadline for submission, but if you would like your products in stock in time for the opening in May/June 2013, we encourage you to send us the completed form by 29th April 2013.

   Completed forms can be emailed to charabanc@auntysocial.co.uk or handed in to FYCreatives, 154-158 Church Street, Blackpool, FY1 3PS open 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, marked ATTN: Aunty Social.

   If you have been successful, we will contact you within 10 days to ask you to send us a product sample. Following this, we will contact you to confirm the order and discuss a delivery date.

5. What is the commission rate?

   We will charge a commission rate of 30% of an item’s retail price.

At Aunty Social we’re always looking at how we can put on fun and interesting creative events and activities that get people out of the house. So we’ve put together a quick survey to help us plan our programme.

Please help us out and take part, it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes.

Take the survey

Come and try different crafts or bring along your own project.

Drop in from 7pm, we’ll provide brews and biscuits.
Suggested donation £2-3.

For more information, take a look at our events page

Tickets are £5.00 per person and will include a glass of fizz and chocolates on arrival.
A selection of snacks, drinks and treats will be available.

Tickets available to purchase online at http://valentinesscreen-eorg.eventbrite.com/

A limited number of tickets will also available on the door, so do arrive early!

Following on from the success of the Blaze Ignite placement from June – November 2012, the Fylde Coast Dance Development Programme are pleased to announce a second Young Apprentice Placement.  

This is the a fixed term contract for up to 7 hours per week, either during the day, in the evening or on weekends, at £5 per hour gaining valuable experience in the dance industry.

To apply for this opportunity, please complete and return the application form which can be found on the Fylde Coast Dance website.

Wordpool (Blackpool Council’s 6th Annual Festival of Words) took part between 31/10/2012 and 16/11/2012.  This was the first year that Aunty Social has been involved hosting three events in the programme.

Halloween Screen     31/10/2012

A double bill of black and white gothic horror from the vault.  This was a rare chance to see two classic horror films Nosferatu (1922) and Frankenstein (1931) on the big screen in the wonderful setting of the Winter Gardens Pavilion.  To match the atmospheric venue, we asked the audience to dress up.  Prizes were awarded to the best dressed!  The evening finished with Torchlit tours of the Winter Gardens.

With an audience of over 100 in attendance, this was a great fundraiser for the Winter Gardens Trust and Aunty Social.  Aunty will be returning to the Winter Gardens for more screenings in 2013.

3hundredand65     14/11/2012
Dave Kirkwood, founder of 3hundredand65, a graphic novel, created on Twitter, one day at a time in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Trust.  The event included a Q&A, a chance to look through the project sketchbooks and fundraising auctions and competitions.  We managed to raise £327 for the Teenage Cancer Trust by holding two online auctions of art work by Pure Evil and Sam ‘Mr Sam’ Shearon as well as a more traditional cake sale and raffle.  Dave got his wish of securing Simon Pegg to compose a tweet for the project (due on the 24th Dec 2012).  Let’s hope our Twitter-nagging helped!

For more information on the project, visit: http://www.3hundredand65.co.uk/

31daysinBlackpool (#31days)
Exhibition: 16/11/2012 – 30/11/2012

31daysinBlackpool was a diary with a difference, locals and visitors will contribute to a photo diary of Blackpool via Twitter.  Participants took a photograph of/in Blackpool at 31 minutes past any hour and tweeted it using the hashtag #31days.  The winner of the competition was Kimberley-Jayne Wright with her Legend of Zelda themed photo of Salisbury Woodland.

For an overview of the rest of the festival, there are some great photos on both the Wordpool blog and the Facebook sites and reviews on the AltBlackpool website.  AltBlackpool have nominated Wordpool as one of five best events in Blackpool in 2012, you can vote on their site soon.

Overall, Wordpool delivered 20 events, 62 workshops/sessions, 8 new commissions/projects/pilots, 53 exhibition days (2 new exhibitions), employed 52 artists/writers/poets, and had over 2500 participants/audiences (the figures are still coming in on this and this doesn’t include the exhibition audiences, college workshops or our virtual audiences).

Pop-up Fashion Market

A chance to shop for locally made fashion and accessories at a Town Centre location on:

• Saturday 8th December (10am-6pm) and
• Sunday 9th December (10am-6pm).

Money raised from Handmade on the Highstreet will go to local community arts organisations Aunty Social and NWBaseline, so that they can organise more creative and cultural activities in Blackpool.

Stallholders
Stalls cost £15 per day or £25 for the weekend.
Your stall should sell 70% fashion and/or accessories, this includes handmade, customised or vintage.

If you would like a stall in this great Hounds Hill location, please email for a booking form or contact us via Facebook or Twitter.