SUMMER 1999 SHIRE Magazine

Celebrating the talents and achievements of disabled artists of all genres in Shropshire,

DASH 99 is a vibrant eight day arts festival which runs from September 6 to 13 with events taking place at venues all over Shropshire.

DASH 99 is the fourth annual festival of its kind and will feature arts of all kinds by disabled people, raising awareness of dis­ability arts in Shropshire.

Music including jazz and folk, dance, poet­ry, storytelling, theatre and visual art will all be on offer, and there will also be an exhibi­tion of visual arts in Telford shopping centre showing selected works by the best disabled artists from Shropshire

Encourage

The festival is organised by DASH -Disability Arts in Shropshire, which is a lottery funded project designed to encourage the development of disability arts groups in the county. DASH is part of the wider Shrop­shire Disability Consortium, an organisation for, and run by, disabled people, based at the

DASH along to see innovative county festival Disability Resource Centre in Harlescott,

Shrewsbury. Performing during the week at Bridgnorth is

'Blue Eyed Soul' an integrated dance company from Shropshire, which, as its name suggests, includes dancers who are both disabled and able-bodied. Already well known in Shropshire, 'Blue Eyed Soul' is presently poised to turn semi-professional.

A fascinating and thought provoking evening awaits those attending 'Dark Dinners' which takes

place at the Ludlow Assembly rooms. Diners will be treated to a three course meal which takes place - you've guessed it - in the dark! The meal will be served by visually impaired waiters and the expe­rience is designed both to encourage the exchange of conversation and to heighten the remaining senses. Food has been carefully selected to provide interesting smells and textures, and also to be

practical to eat. The meal will be followed by a show entitled

'Crisp Theatre' which takes as its theme an elderly lady leaving residential care to return to the community. Meal and performance can be booked separately.

'The Castle' public house at Wem is the venue for an intimate evening of storytelling and folk music, which should be both relaxing and entertaining.

Appeal

These and many other events are designed to appeal to an integrated audience of able-bodied and disabled alike, and the wide range of events means that there will be something for all ages and tastes.

All venues are fully accessible to disabled people and, for those with transport difficulties, DASH will do their best to organise transport.

For all enquiries about the DASH 99 festival, please telephone Mike Layward at the Disability Resource Centre on 01743 442000.