Arts & Crafts

Bamford Community Arts and Crafts

(Registered Charity No. 1095436)

Bamford Community Arts and Crafts (BCAC) is a community association and registered charity, established in 2001. We aim to promote arts, crafts and music facilities for the benefit of people in the Bamford area. This is achieved by providing opportunities to participate, listen or watch a variety of performances.

We have regular events such as the popular Open Mic Friday evenings which take place every two to three months at The Anglers Rest, Bamford’s community-owned pub. Everyone is welcome to contribute songs or poems.

Local musicians and singers are engaged for evening and afternoon performances; recent acts have included Bella Hardy, the Houghton Weavers, Lady Maisery, Les Barker, Roy Bailey and the Cotton Grass Theatre Company. BCAC provides professional standard PA, lights and backdrop for artists.

We also arrange events subsidised by 'Live and Local', an Arts Council organisation that promotes professional acts to perform in local communities. Recent performances have included eminent folk musicians and plays by professional theatre companies, Multi-Story and Badapple.

BCAC also supports a non-auditioned singing group, the Bamford Singers, who regularly perform at local events and in church services around Hope Valley. Anyone is welcome to join.

We are keen to promote all forms of arts and crafts and, in 2016, successfully applied for an Awards for All lottery grant. This funded several workshops, including music and lyrics writing with Ian McMillan and Luke Carver Goss, willow weaving and consultations with the Emergency Poet at Apple Day, and an Autumn ceilidh.

If you would like to be a part of our team of volunteers, please let us know. We meet 5-6 times a year and spread tasks around evenly so no one is asked to commit to more than is comfortable for them. Members of the BCAC are all local residents.

For information about events, please visit our website: www.bcac.org.uk or our Facebook page: Bamford Community Arts and Crafts.

To contact BCAC, please email the Chairman, David Allwood, at bamfordarts@yahoo.com