Over on Slugger, I posted about a talk given by Nelson McCausland on Friday night at the DUP conference. There's also some coverage of the main Saturday conference and reflections for those who are curious.
While musical flash mobs are often now being driven by commercial promotion rather than pure random celebration of the arts, this rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah did seem apt for the season of Advent that has just begun.
Sit back and enjoy.
It's just such a lovely idea. To throw a surprise wedding reception for a couple coming out of a registry office.
Check out their blog post and pictures for the full explanation. The latest in many random acts of entertainment and madness by Improv Everywhere.
If you want to be out and about in Belfast this weekend, there are lots of opportunities to sample the delights of the Festival of Fools and the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival.
There’s much foolish muppetry all over the city centre. Update - Fri night - Dr Adder already has some photos.
Events in Castlecourt, Cornmarket (Arthur Square) and Rosemary Street from 11am-5pm on Saturday and 1pm-5pm on Sunday.
Particularly recommended would be to catch the very start of OzStar Airlines as they present their First Class In-flight Entertainment in Cornmarket at 2pm on Saturday. If you’re there promptly, you might find another piece of street theatre with Belfast’s Flash Mob Part Deux!
And I love the idea of the (Make Your Own) Misguided Tour “of secret delights and adventures revealed in the nooks and crannies of the Cathedral quarter of Belfast.” The organisers suggest you “bring your digital camera (or your mobile phone if you prefer) and upload your own Misguided Tour later on to a website set up especially for other tour members to share ... SatNav optional” The tour guides start at Cotton Court at 1pm or 4pm, Saturday and Sunday.
Some of the events at CQAF have sold out, so check out the website for ticket availability.
Norman Lovett – a stand-up comic probably better remembered for playing Holly in Red Dwarf) – is appearing in The Duke of York on Saturday night at 8pm.
Two of Stewart Parker’s plays are being performed in the old Northern Bank Branch on Waring Street. A rare opportunity to see his first and last plays, Spokesong and Pentecost. A Belfast-born playwright and poet, Stewart Parker died young. Last Sunday, the Stewart Parker Trust presented the nineteenth annual awards to new Irish playwrights.
Given its name, you’ll not be surprised to discover that Spokesong is focussed on a bicycle shop in Victorian Belfast. Pentecost plays out amongst four people against the backdrop of the Ulster Workers’ Council Strike as they figure out their relationships to each other and the world. If you like your culture in thick chunks, you can get a combination ticket to see both plays on Saturdays until 17 May.
For something wackier, check out Bbeyond’s Public Performance in Lower Garfield Street on Saturday (noon to 2pm) where various performance artists will interact with each other in random and unknown ways for two hours. Baffled? The festival programme claims that “these interactions cannot be planned beforehand, sop artists are working with the present moment, in an improvisatory manner. During these actions-interactions one may experience absurdity and beauty, the discernment resides with the viewer.” Clear?!
You could also join the Annual Trade Union Rally, which should be leaving the Art College (York Street) around noon, and threading its way across to St Georges Market. There’ll be music, food, family entertainment as well as the odd red flag!
At 1pm, a short quiet blow on a whistle triggered some of the shoppers in Victoria Square to stop, frozen in time. And for two minutes, they stood like statues, while shoppers and the centre’s customer service staff wondered what has happening.
Truth be told, it takes a lot to disturb a long-time resident of Belfast, and quite a few folk just wandered on past the static figures without even batting an eyelid.
But at least a few turned back to wonder!
Belfast’s first flash mob ... I’ll update with a link to Youtube when someone uploads a video.
Update - There's something quite geeky yet potentially liberating about the whole absurd concept. Meeting up with hundreds of strangers to sing Rick Astley in Liverpool Station is fairly anonymous. Yet appear at lunchtime in the middle of Victoria Square and someone from work, or your Aunt Wendy will happen to wander past, leaving you with a lot of explaining to do. Hats off to those brave enough to participate at lunchtime.
Phil has some photos. Davy got there too late. And it was hard to hear the whistle.
Numbers would have been larger at lunchtime if the whistle hadn't gone off a little early, before everyone had arrived! Email belfast dot flash dot mob at gmail dot com or befriend Belfast Flash-Mob on Facebook to hear about the next event ... 3rd May at 2pm in Belfast. Shhhh.
Update - Fri 2 May - found the video of the first Flash Mob. Watch out for the second one tomorrow in Cornmarket (Arthur Square) at 2pm.
