Creative Arts and Leisure Showcase (CALS)

Article by Anne Rogerson on behalf of the 30th Anniversary Group

It was at a meeting of the 30 Anniversary Group on a dark, dismal January day that the idea of a big event to ‘show off’ what we do in our u3a was born. Venues were sought and a deal was struck to hire the beautifully restored Ballroom at the Palace Hotel.
It was back in April that the first contact was made with all Group Leaders/Co-ordinators (GLs), asking each one of them what contribution they, with their group, may be able to make to the
staging of the event. The replies were most encouraging. Some groups did not lend themselves to ‘running a stall,’ but despite that every one of the 50 groups listed on the website on the day was represented at CALS, as was Charabanc. Craft workshops were arranged and ran in the prestigious Cavendish Room for those who had either pre-booked, via Paula, or simply fancied dropping in to ‘give it a go’.
Banners, posters and flyers were ordered and distributed throughout the town. Facebook articles were posted to publicise CALS and raise awareness of the event. GL requests for equipment in the form of tables and chairs from the hotel and display boards were collated and the hiring of boards was arranged. The mammoth task of how to fit all these requests together and display them was undertaken by Simon who produced a scale plan of every required space and designed the room lay out accordingly. The day before CALS we were there to ensure the plan was brought to practical fruition. The 18 groups not having a stall were each represented by a poster and these were displayed, along with a visual history of our u3a, before leaving that evening in readiness for the day.

Take a look at our CALS poster, photo and video gallery

Come the morning, the Ballroom was transformed into a hive of activity with creative displays on the 32 stalls and the workshops established, ready for Jill’s welcome speech and the rendition of the song ‘Busy Every Day when you’re in the u3a’ at 11am. This was written and arranged by members Viv Doyle and Colin Rodgers respectively. A framed copy of the words was presented to Dena Lewis, a founder member of our u3a, who continues to lead Gardening Pure and Simple thirty years on! Entertainment was provided throughout the day by string quartet The Fifty Percenters, Singing for Fun, The Ukulele Group, French Connection and The Recorder Group. The atmosphere was amazing and reflected real teamwork not only within but across groups, encapsulating all that u3a is about.
There was a raffle for a stunning arrangement produced by Elizabeth from the Flower Arranging Group. All 130 helpers on the day were given a free ticket for this, by way of thanks for their involvement. It was won by Robin from the French Group, who promptly donated it to his Group Leader!
Over 500 people came to CALS and we signed up 29 new members on the day, with a further 11 joining subsequently, swelling total membership to 542. That is all due to the hard work of those who were there on the day and helped to prepare for it. A huge thank you to all who were involved in any way -it was your success!
I will finish with a quote sent after the event by Dena, (who will be delighted to have had the lastword!)
‘Thank you for giving us all the opportunity to see the full scope of the u3a. The variety of activities is impressive and much more meaningful when witnessed en masse’.

On Thursday 25th June, the Buxton & District u3a celebrated a massive milestone—our 30th Anniversary—with a fantastic Barn Dance at Chapel-en-le-Frith Town Hall.

It certainly was a scorching summer day, but the heat didn't stop us! We were treated to wonderful entertainment provided by the brilliant duo, Graeme and Gill. Graeme kept the energy high with a perfect mix of traditional and modern tunes, while Gill expertly called the dance instructions, ensuring everyone could join in the fun.

Because of the glorious sunshine, we made sure to take frequent, well-deserved breaks to cool down with juice, tea, and plenty of biscuits.

A Journey Through the Dances

Our dancers tackled a wonderful variety of styles throughout the event, including:

• Traditional Barn Dances: Classic favourites like the St. Bernard’s Waltz, the Gay Gordons, and (of course!) a lively Barn Dance.
• Country & Ceilidh: Beautiful traditional routines that had the whole room moving.
• Line Dancing: A crowd-pleasing performance of the Cowboy Charleston.

A True Community Celebration

The afternoon was made even more special by the crowd. Alongside our wonderful u3a members, we were absolutely delighted to welcome family members, old friends, and new faces alike.

Thank you to everyone who came along, raised a glass (or a teacup!), and danced the afternoon away to help us mark 30 fantastic years of the Buxton & District u3a.

What a fun Thursday afternoon we had, as we transported ourselves back to being young teenagers again playing Beetle. Malcolm, our Mad Beetle Man, his antennae trained to listen into all our questions, told us how to play, how to score and blew his referee whistle for us to start and then long and sharp blast from his whistle telling us to stop as a team had a completed beetle.

Would we ever get a six on the dice to start drawing our beetle’s body, then quickly we added the head, 2 eyes and 2 antennae and shaking the dice rapidly to get a tail and those 6 legs before shouting Beetle loudly for everyone to stop.

No time to scrabble on the floor for a pen while shaking the dice! Just shake the dice!  It’s all fast and furious with the noise levels rising of shouts of joy and despair at not getting that 6 for the body!

Jane and Mary were the winners narrowly betting Mary and Andrew by 1 point.

At half time we had a fabulous finger buffet organised by the Anniversary Committee.

A huge thank you to the 30th Anniversary Committee and all the helpers for giving everyone such a fun retro afternoon, and especially Malcolm our Mad Beetle Man tuning in with his antennae.