The Sounds of Space weekend will offer incredible live experiences for music fans, armchair astronomers, popular science enthusiasts and families alike, with classical, contemporary and jazz music including premieres and new commissions, talks on alien science and space tourism, a free family day and a major new outdoor photographic exhibition all taking place across both venues. A social media competition to design the ‘Alien of the Year’ will be running in the lead up to the weekend.

The centrepiece of the weekend is the first performance outside the US of a monumental NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Houston Symphony collaboration, The Planets – An HD Odyssey, at Symphony Hall on Friday 8 October, sponsored by the university of Birmingham. The Houston Symphony, led by Music Director Hans Graf, will perform Holst’s astronomical masterpiece accompanied by high definition planetary images taken from rover and satellite exploratory missions, radar images and computer-generated graphics.

Brian Eno’s seminal album, Apollo: For All Mankind, will be performed by 15-piece ensemble Icebreaker and renowned steel pedal guitarist BJ Cole on Saturday 9 October at Town Hall Birmingham. Original NASA footage taken from Al Reinart’s 1989 lunar documentary of the same name will be screened during the concert.

A work describing the majesty and mystery of space, Apollo: For All Mankind, was created and recorded in 1983 by pioneer of ambient music, Brian Eno, along with his brother Roger and Canadian producer and guitarist Daniel Lanois in 1983. Music from the album has since been used in the feature films 28 Days Later, Traffic and Trainspotting.

As a prelude to the concert, Dr Christopher Riley will deliver a talk, The Gift of Apollo, at 6.15pm in the auditorium at Town Hall. The space flight historian, writer and film maker will explore the period between 1968 and 1972 which saw twenty-four Americans flying to the Moon – arguably mankind’s greatest achievement which took over 400,000 engineers working round the clock for a decade to accomplish. Over forty years later the full significance of the endeavour is still being debated.

There are newly-commissioned works, Musickosmos performed by Steve Tromans on Friday 8 October in Symphony Hall Level 3 Bar and Bruno Maderna’s Serenade for a Satellite performed by Birmingham Contemporary Music Group on Saturday 9 October at Town Hall.

Talks include What Would A Martian Look Like?, a discussion on extra-terrestrial life with author Prof Ian Stewart and Sounds of the Universe, an exploration of the secret sounds of stars, galaxies and the big bang itself on Thursday 7 October at Symphony Hall. Space Tourism on Saturday 9 October sees Stephen Attenborough, Commercial Director of Virgin Galactic, talk about his organisation’s ambitious project to carry the first paying passengers into space, marking the beginning of a new age of human expedition.

To Boldly Go, a major new outdoor exhibition featuring images from the University of Birmingham’s space and astronomy research programme will be open to the public in Victoria Square from 28 September to 18 October. Entry is free.

The University plays a pivotal role in shaping our knowledge of our planet, the solar system and beyond, from creating special cameras to protect astronauts from solar storms to helping to build instruments used by the Large Hadron Collider to find out how the Universe was created.

The free Sounds of Space Family Day (Symphony Hall foyers on Saturday 9 October) offers young budding space and science fiction fans the chance to explore a mobile planetarium, meet Aliens from planet Flip Flop, hear the sounds of space and help to create a special galaxy. The day will also see the culmination of Lost in Space, a new commission written by composer Pete Wyer for Town Hall Associate Artists, Orchestra of the Swan. Children from Birmingham Special Schools will be contributing readings from space related literature, speeches, film and TV to an installation which will also be open to the public during ArtsFest, the UK’s biggest free arts festival which takes place between 10-12 September.

A private personalised tour of the Planetarium at Birmingham’s Thinktank, a signed limited edition artwork by acclaimed sci-fi artist David A. Hardy and family tickets to the National Space Centre and Thinktank are prizes in the Alien of the Year competition, which will run between now and the Sounds of Space weekend in October.

The most apt and original extra-terrestrial designs submitted via Flickr, Facebook Tumblr,Twitter or Vimeo will be selected by Professor Ian Stewart prior to his talk at Symphony Hall on Thursday 7 October.

For information on how to enter visit Town Hall Symphony Hall Birmingham

For more information on the Sounds of Space weekend or to purchase tickets for any of the events above visit Sounds of Space

The Library of Birmingham stand at the free cultural festival will welcome members of the public, young and old, to contribute their local knowledge and personal recollections of Birmingham in days gone by to The People’s Archive, designed as a new online resource for the city’s collective memory. For the very first time one of the Library’s most popular photographic collections, the Warwickshire Photographic Survey, will be made available online, offering a unique treasure trove of buildings, street scenes and events in the city between the 1880s and the late 20th century.

Around 500 images of the city centre will be available when the pilot launches at ArtsFest for visitors to view using a map-based browser, which it is hoped will prompt memories and personal knowledge of people and places. The aim is for members of the public to help solve mysteries and provide missing details – for example by recognising a face in a photo or being able to confirm a date.

The People’s Archive is set to enrich the library’s existing collections, adding new layers of information and providing a digital place for recording and sharing knowledge. If the pilot is successful, The People’s Archive will be developed further, providing an important digital resource offered by the Library of Birmingham, accessible to all, and for everyone, from local people curious about their city’s past to serious researchers and students.

Developed as a collaboration between Birmingham City Council, Service Birmingham and Birmingham based digital company, In Cahoots, The People’s Archive will continue to grow into an online journey telling the story of the area’s history, inviting input from the public, and heralding the Library of Birmingham’s philosophy of providing a world class learning and leisure experience in a fully interactive environment.

Together with Birmingham-based digital agency Clusta, In Cahoots previously used ArtsFest to launch their popular WeVee video website in 2009, which has proved to be hugely successful and is now being developed further in conjunction with the Library of Birmingham project.

Brian Gambles, Assistant Director, Culture and Project Director for the Library of Birmingham said:

“Artsfest is a fantastic event which demonstrates everything that is great about Birmingham, and we’ve identified it as the perfect arena to engage the public in the Library of Birmingham, and in The People’s Archive. This represents an opportunity for the public to not only preserve the rich history of the city they love, but to shape its future too. Therefore, we invite all ArtsFest visitors to visit our stand, contribute their knowledge and share their memories as we look to build this exciting historical resource, and to find out more about the Library of Birmingham as we look ahead to its opening in 2013.”

The People’s Archive is just part of the programme of entertainment being offered by Birmingham Libraries at ArtsFest, with judging for the new Birmingham Young Poet Laureate set to take place at 2pm on Saturday 11th September in Library Theatre.

On Sunday 12th September, the focus will be on a former Birmingham Young Poet Laureate, with Matt Windle, who was unveiled as a ‘Face’ of the Library of Birmingham in May, set to make an appearance. Matt will be on hand between 12pm-4pm to help inform visitors about the new building and the search for new ‘Faces’, as well entertaining the crowds with displays of his energetic brand of ‘Slam Poetry’, including his specially commissioned Library of Birmingham poem, ‘Rewriting the Book’.

Children and families can also take part in a wide variety of activities in Central Library’s Centre for the Child, which will open between 12pm and 4pm on Sunday 12th September with the theme of ‘It’s a Cat and Mouse thing’, celebrating the birthdays of popular characters Mog and Maisy.

Information videos, displays and models of the Library of Birmingham will be available to view in Central Library’s reception, while knowledgeable staff will also be on hand at reception and at the Library’s stall, sharing information about the project and the search for ‘Faces’ of the Library of Birmingham.

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30 Days of Fashion and beauty is a 30 day long event put on by the National Magazine House. This company is responsible for bringing us our favourite magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Reveal and Best, and for the month of September all the magazines club together to celebrate all thing wonderful.

As part of this event they are putting on ‘The Show’ a touring show that showcases a truly unique showcase of collections from some of the centre’s most prestigious retailers, including Reiss, COS. As part of Birmingham’s Style Live, The show will be stopping off at the Bullring from the 24^th – 26^th September.

There will be human statues and performers alongside the obligatory models showing of the best Autumn Winter fashion that the Bullring has to offer. With the help of a narrator, you will be guided through prints, bold colours, embellishment and everything else thing season has to offer.

The event, which will take place on the Lower West Mall, if free to attend and will be visible from the balconies of the shopping. However if you want to ensure that you back one of the few seats, you can enter a competition to win a pair of front row tickets

To enter visit www.browsebullring.co.uk/theshow. The competition also includes the chance to WIN two fantastic shopping sprees to the value of £250 at Reiss and River Island.

The walk will begin in the Jasmin Fields then to the canal, then along Bayston Road and onto Broad Lane where we will cross the road to enter Brandwood End Cemetery through the pedestrian entrance. Using a set route we will walk through the cemetery to Brandwood Pool. Here the walk will end.

Taking part in the event is free but donations welcome to the Brum Bats organisation. Places are limited so you are advised to email/phone in advance to book your place.

Attendees are asked to bring a torch, wear warm clothes and sturdy foot wear. Children must be accompanied by an adult and supervised at all time. Not suitable for young children and buggies.

For further details and to book your place contact Claire Vaughan, Selly Oak Constituency – 0121 303 9387 sellyoak@birmingham.gov.uk

Festival season is still going strong, the next one to hit the streets of Birmingham will be the Moseley Folk Festival. The festival which is in its 5

The festival continues to champion Birmingham’s music scene as new local acts will share the second stage with up and coming talent from across the UK and beyond. Broom Bezzums will be returning from Germany and America’s Arborea will be performing as well as fiddle player Dan Cassidy, whose strings featured on his sister Eva’s legendary ‘Songbird’ track.

There will also be entertainment for all the family, with storytelling pirates, traditional fairground rides and a variety of music and dance workshops.

For further information ant tickets visit www.moseleyfolk.co.uk

Lets face it, the site of so many people without shelter, food  and some having lost family members, is heart wrenching.  So when we received the following charity event information, we thought we should get the word out to Birmingham’s community.

Here is the event details:

We are working with the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC – who are an umbrella organisation for 13 registered humanitarian aid agencies - * First Aid * Save the Children * Islamic Relief * Oxfam * Christian Aid * British Red Cross * Care International UK * Concern Worldwide * Help the Aged * TearFund * Merlin * CAFOD * World Vision )

www.dec.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1062638

The DEC brings together a unique alliance of the UK’s aid, corporate, public and broadcasting sectors to rally the nation’s compassion, and ensure that funds raised go to DEC agencies best placed to deliver effective and timely relief to people most in need.

We are joining forces with everyone to make this event in Birmingham a memorable and successful one in raising enough money to save lives and use music to do so.

EVENT DETAILS:  Music Charity Fund-Raising Event (supported by Performances & Appearances of the Asian Artists in the Bhangra Industry)
NAME: Music Saves Lives
DATE: Friday 17th September 2010
VENUE: The Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston. Birmingham
TIME: 6pm til late
EXTRA ACTIVITIES: Dance performances / Stalls with Food, Clothes, Jewellery, etc….

Please donate here

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Birmingham

Virgin Trains have hooked up with Visit Birmingham to offer some great foodie treats over the summer. These offers are only available to customers who can show a valid virgin train ticket to Birmingham. So if you’ve left the city and recently returned, why not treat yourself. On the other hand, it’s a perfect excuse to get any friends and family that live fair away to congregate in Birmingham for the day

The foodie discounts available are

10% off total bill at Pushkar

15% off total bill at Opus Restaurant

15% off total bill at Kinnaree Thai Restaurant

15% off food bill at Aria Restaurant

25% off your food bill at Filini Restaurant and Bar

There are also a couple of hotel deals for those who want to make the trip a little longer

£99 Bed & Breakfast at Malmaison (Fri – Mon)

£99 Bed & Breakfast at Hotel Du Vin (Fri – Mon)

These offers run until October 2010. For full terms and conditions, visit  www.visitbirmingham.com/foodie