Redcar
and Cleveland Surestart surely knew just how to start the
party as they turned the grounds of Kirkleatham Museum into a
jamboree of cultural vibrance during today's annual Surestart
Celebration Event.
Over 3000 people all of ages flocked
to the event, which thankfully enjoyed full sunshine all
afternoon.
And speaking of sunshine, the
brightness of the day triggered something of a contingency plan
when extra 'sun block' was needed to allow people to view one of
the main attractions. Housed in the largest marquee on
site, the
University of Teesside's Octorama needed a little more
shade than was on offer in order for people to properly see the
eight video screens that it uses.
Luckily, the boys of Redcar Fire Station were close at hand, and
along with the University's Steve Thompson and Andrew Vause were
red-hot in putting an ad-hoc sun roof over the
proceedings. Many thanks in particular to Dave and Alan of
the brigade - well done chaps!
The Octorama is a 14-metre multimedia community digital arts
exhibition installation and has been the focal point for the
last two years in the regional ICT event “People and Place”,
which has a site at www.peopleandplace.co.uk.
The theme of this years People And Place, which took place on
March 26th at the University of Teesside, was
“Family Links” - the same exhibition that displayed at
Kirkleatham today. The 8 screens featured images created
in Teesside and Durham UK online centres throughout January and
February this year.
For the full Octorama lowdown visit www.stmedia.org/octorama.
There was also a fun
introduction to ICT in the Museum clubhouse with a suite of
laptops running various interactive CD-ROMs. This activity
was facilitated by Middlesbrough's Tahzeeb project, who have a
specific interest in multilingual ICT. Click
here for pics of the mobile UK online centre.
Other activities of the day included a fun run, dozens of
stalls, facepainting, nail art, line dancing, music, dance and a
wealth of cultural celebration.
The grounds were also graced by stilt walkers in splendid
costume, a rather cheeky clown, a friendly bear and a host of
other entertainers. |
Andrew fits the emergency
sun shield |
The Surestart bear keeps
the kids amused |
