NEWS: Evening of Creativity brings international music and musicians to Erdington on 17 May

Words by Lily Higgins / Pics supplied by Erdington Arts Forum

Erdington’s longstanding arts and music showcase, the Evening of Creativity, return to Oikos Café on Friday 17 May – running from 6:30pm – 9:30pm at the popular Erdington High Street venue.

Organised by the Erdington Arts Forum, the Evening of Creativity is one of Birmingham’s longest running music nights and will be approaching its seven year anniversary in June.

Sicilian singer Manuel Cangemi is travelling all the way from Germany for the event in May. His passion for music started at a young age, merging opera, classical music, and together – accompanied by his Sicilian origins. He will be singing songs by legends Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and others.

Drums Aloud will be performing rhythms which have been taught to them by master West African drummers. They will have up to eight drummers at their Evening of Creativity performance, playing on djembe – a hand drum, and dunduns which are bass drums played with a stick with a bell. Nigel Saddler of the group has been teaching drumming for 14 – 15 years.

Also performing are the two piece band Skint, from Tamworth. Skint perform country style music which they call “council estate poetry”. They will play a set of originals tracks which talk about dealing with being ‘skint’ in England in 2024, including songs ‘Cost of Living’ and ‘Cash Converter’.

When you put your hand in Grandma’s biscuit tin you never know what you’re going to get… which is how the band Grandma’s Biscuit Tin invented their named. An ensemble consisting of five 5 eclectic musicians, the band are classically trained musicians with a huge passion for jazz.

Grandma’s Biscuit Tin have been together for about a decade, who just started out as friends and family having a jam session, and their repertoire includes trad-standards with their own twist.

The International award winning Birmingham Opera company will also be performing at Oikos café.

Jobe Sullivan told Erdington Local: “I think Erdington needs to trumpet loudly what a brilliant achievement the Evening of Creativity is. Seven years, 84 events… not including all our satellite events in Kingstanding, Castle Vale, and other places in the constituency.

“It’s so great to have acts visiting us from around the world – Joana Carvalhas on her world tour, a touring group from New Zealand, an opera singer who flew in from Germany the night before.”

He added: “But our bread and butter are the community. Featuring visual artists, and encouraging choirs, bands, from everywhere – and Erdington is at the heart of it. Erdington has a huge heart, and we’ve been quietly kicking-ass here for seven years, come hell or high water.”

The next Evening of Creativity events will be held at Oikos Café on 17 May and 21 June, between 6:30pm – 9:30pm.

For more information and links to online ticket sales visit: www.facebook.com/ErdingtonArts

This content was generated and supported by GET WRITING GET WORKING and LOCAL AMBASSADORS – to get involved in local journalism and find opportunities in the creative industries email [email protected]

OPINION: Festive fun comes to Erdington High Street on 25 November and 2 December

Words by John Hodgkiss, Erdington BID & Town Centre Manager

With the challenging year which we have all had, it’s that time again when we focus on Christmas and maximising on footfall in Erdington Town Centre throughout late November and December.

The festive period is a crucial time for retail in general, so once again, we want to focus on showing Erdington in its best light and provide family entertainment to increase footfall from the end of November through until New Year.

Erdington’s Christmas Lights will be officially turned on 25 November, on what will be a packed day of entertainment and fun and maybe even a brief visit from Father Christmas himself! From The Salvation Army Band to Bhangra Dancing, there will definitely be something for everyone to enjoy as the festive season kicks off!

Then he will be back on 2 December at his HQ in Erdington Library, with a FREE Santa’s Grotto for Erdington Children, so it’s best to stay on his good list!

Further details of Christmas events through until the day itself will be advertised and posted online throughout the next month.

(Ed’s note… Erdington Local will be publishing a full CHRISTMAS SPECIAL feature on Sunday 12 November, giving you more info on what’s coming to Erdington High Street over the festive season.)

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A quick guide to the completely free Christmas Lights Switch On – Saturday 25 November

Check out what will be happening across the afternoon as we countdown to the official Erdington Christmas Lights Switch On. Five, four, three, two, one…

  • Completely free and open to all ages
  • Live music and dance on the High Street from midday – hosted by BBC WM Breakfast presenter Rakeem Omar
  • Salvation Army Band – playing your favourite Christmas carols and traditional winter songs
  • The Nitecrawlers playing live rhythm and blues – following on from the success of the Birmingham Jazz and Blues Festival
  • Bangra dance for children and adults – from award winning performer and CBeebies presenter, Sohan Kailey
  • Come and meet larger than life Pokemon characters – have your picture taken with Pikachu and Alakazam
  • A special winter market by the Village Green – outside Oikos Café and The Swan

Watch out for more about the festive fun on Erdington High Street on the Erdington Business Improvement District Facebook page: www.facebook.com/erdingtonBID

NEWS: New York’s The Hitman Blues Band pack out Oikos Café as citywide Jazz & Blues Festival comes to Erdington

Words by Ed King / Pics by Connor Pope

Last weekend, hundreds of music lovers packed out Oikos Cafe in July to watch homegrown and international acts perform as part of the citywide Jazz & Blues Festival.

Organised by the Erdington Business Improvement District (EBID), the main Saturday stage was set for New York based The Hitman Blues Band, playing two sets of modern/alt blues, including originals ‘Bad, Bad Man’, ‘Not My Circus Not My Monkey’ and “the track that got us touring in the UK” – ‘Angel in the Shadows’.

Classic covers were also on the set list, Including Dylan’s folk anthem ‘Time They Are A-Changing’ and Willie Dixon’s blues standard ‘Hoot Koochy Man’ – all given a firm Hitman twist. The UK’s Honeyman Hickling Blues Band were also on the afternoon bill.

Originally planned to be held outside on and around the Village Green, the bad weather forced the live gigs into the upstairs room at Oikos café. But in a space usually reserved for church services and community groups, the musicianship, comradery, and comedy made it feel like Saturday night at Ronnie Scotts.

Regaling stories of broken hearts, relationship battles, and pet tortoises who might survive the tour due to poor merchandise sales, Russell ‘Hitman’ Alexander had the room devouring every word and chord change – with superb support from keys, a horn section, percussion, and vocal harmonies.

“Thank you all for coming out, we really appreciate it,” exclaimed charismatic front man at the end of the final set, with many sticking around for signed CDs and photos with the band.

After a short break, Oikos then welcomed the UK’s own Honeyman Hickling Blues Band, serving up a second slice of the Blue & Jazz Festival pie.

Earlier in the weekend, local trombonist Clive the Slide headlined the Erdington Arts Forum run Evening of Creativity – bringing another rafter packing crowd to Oikos Café, as part of the citywide annual event.

Erdington Town Centre Manager, John Hodgkiss, who brought the Saturday Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival to Oikos, told: “Today has been fantastic, hundreds of people came out to welcome international musicians and a citywide music festival into Erdington.

“The Hitman Blues Band travelled all the way from New York to play in Erdington, delivering two incredible sets – alongside the UK’s amazing Honeyman Hickling Blues Band. Erdington High Street can be a vibrant and exciting place with a generous and supporting community, and we (EBID) want to keep bringing acts and events here to celebrate that.”

Erdington Ward Councillors Gareth Moore and Robert Alden (Conservative) were also in the crowd on Saturday afternoon.

Cllr Moore said “it was great to have the Jazz festival here on Erdington High Street and to see so many people enjoying the events. Thank you to the Jazz Festival, volunteers, the Erdington BID manager and Oikos for all their hard work.”

Cllr Alden said: “We will be working with the Erdington Town Centre Manager to try and bring the festival back and expand the shows in future years.”

Pastor Dan Mandley from Oikos Café and Church added: “Wonderful to have such a wonderful event come to Erdington. Great bands and great atmosphere. I am already looking forward to next year’s festival.”

Look out for a special PICTURE GALLERY feature on the gigs with The HItman Blues Band and Honeyman Hickling Blues Band at Oikos Cafe – in the next print edition of Erdington Local, out from 1 August.

For more on The Hitman Blues Band visit www.hitmanbluesband.com

For more form the Erdington Business Improvement District visit www.facebook.com/erdingtonBID
For more from Oikos Café and Church visit www.oikoschurch.co.uk

For more details on Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival visit www.birminghamjazzfestival.com

NEWS: Oikos Café to host international artists as part of Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival – on Saturday 22 July

Words by Ed King / Pics supplied by Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival

Oikos Café and Church will play host to an international array of musical artists on Saturday 22 July, as part of the citywide Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival 2023.

Brought to Erdington by the Business Improvement District (EBID), this year’s festival will see New York based Hitman Blues Band and UK’s Honeyboy Hickling Blues Band perform two free to access live shows at the Erdington High Street venue.

Formed in 1989 by Russell ‘Hitman Alexander, The Hitman Blues Band have recorded six studio albums and one live album since their debut LP, Blooztown, was first released in 2000 on Nerus Records – featuring a special aprearance from Ray Alexander on two of the album track.

Their latest and seventh full length release – Not My Circus, Not My Monkey – was released in March 2021, produced and engineered at New York’s Parcheesi Studios.

Honeyboy Hickling is a renowned UK harmonica player, singer, and songwriter, having spent over 30 years touring and performing with artists including legendary blues guitarist Bo Diddly, rock guitarist Steve Marriot (Small Faces, Humble Pie), and multi-instrumentalist Anthony Thistlethwaites (The Saw Doctors, The Waterboys).

Both events at Oikos Café and Church will be free to attend and open to people of all ages, with The Hitman Blues Band scheduled to perform at 12noon and Honeyboy Hickling Blues Band at 2:30pm – both gigs on Saturday 22 July.

Dan Mandley, pastor at Okios Church, told Erdington Local: “Events like this are great for the community of Erdington.

“It’s an opportunity to bring people together from across our diverse community to enjoy live music and food. We get to showcase what a great place Erdington is.”

Erdington Town Centre and EBID Manger, John Hodgkiss, added: “We are delighted to be welcoming two international Jazz and Blues acts to Erdington in July.

“It’s the first time that Erdington has taken part in the Birmingham wide Jazz and Blues Festival, so we want to make it a memorable day, inviting the whole community to the free event.

“We have already received some great feedback on social media and it’s pretty evident that there are quite a few Jazz fans in Erdington. It’s also a great excuse to do some summer shopping in the town centre.”

Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival has been running for 39 years, organised by rock photographer, jazz musician, and early Black Sabbath band manager, Jim Simpson, who has close ties to Erdington.

Performance times at Oikos Café & Church on Saturday 22 July will: The Hitman Blues Band at 12noon + Honeyboy Hickling Blues Band at 2:30pm.

For more details on Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival 2023, running from 14 July to 23 July –  including full listings for this year’s event, visit www.birminghamjazzfestival.com

NEWS: Local businesses invited to hear ‘10 point plan’ to tackle crime on Erdington High Street – meeting on Thursday 23 March

Words & pics by Ed King

On Thursday 23 March, local businesses and retailers are invited to a meeting with Birmingham City Council and West Midlands Police, to hear their combined ’10 point plan’ to tackle crime on Erdington High Street and in the Town Centre.

Crime and antisocial behaviour have become key concerns in the central Erdington shopping district, with High Street retailers losing thousands each week to shoplifters and many local residents feeling unsafe to visit the area.

Organised by the Erdington Business Improvement District (BID) and Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton, the meeting is a continuation of consultations between the elected officials and the local business community – this month to be held at Oikos Café and Church at 6pm on Thursday 23 March.

Anyone wishing to attend should contact the EBID to register a place by emailing [email protected] or sending a message through their Facebook page – click here.

Local businesses and retailers can also secure a place at the meeting by emailing Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton’s office at [email protected]

Promoting the event, a message on the Erdington BID Facebook page said: “The next police and crime meeting, focusing on Erdington Town Centre will take place on Thursday March 23rd at Oikos Church, Erdington High Street at 6pm.

“West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council will be talking through their 10 point plan to help improve the High Street moving forward.”

Erdington MP Paulette Hamilton added: “At my previous meeting in February, I heard many local traders talk about the problems they are facing on the High Street. There is no doubt that something needs to be done to improve the situation if we want to prevent more shops from closing.

“This week, I have called a follow-up meeting with local businesses and look forward to hearing about Birmingham City Council’s action plan for our High Street.

“I’m pleased that we are making progress and I hope to see as many local businesses as possible at the meeting.”

Erdington suffers with a higher than average crime rate across the city, with an already stretched local police force facing a huge challenge with limited resources.

Since 2010, police teams across the region have been decimated by budget cuts – losing around 50% of officers dedicated to neighbourhood and community policing.

But in a recent meeting Chief Constable Craig Guildford maintained his force’s commitment to “…providing the best service we can to the residents, business owners, and any visitors to the High Street in Erdington.”

He added: “I definitely need people to report (crimes), to ring 999, if there’s a shoplifter detained that kicking off or assaulting anybody.

“And at the same time, I’d also encourage you to engage the BID and encourage the local businesses to work with the BID as well.”

To secure a place at the crime strategy meeting at Oikos Café on Thursday 23 March, at 6pm, email [email protected] or [email protected]

For more on the Erdington BID visit www.erdingtonhighstreet.co.uk or www.facebook.com/erdingtonBID  
For more from Paulette Hamilton visit www.paulettehamilton.org

For more on Oikos Café visit www.oikoscafe.co.uk

If you have been a victim of crime on Erdington High Street we want to hear your story – please get in touch with us at: [email protected]

REVIEW: Erdington Arts Forum’s Evening of Creativity at Oikos Café, Friday 17 February

Words by Leni Remedios / Pics by Studio Creativity

Another stunning night at the last Evening of Creativity (EoC) at Oikos Café, Friday 17 February.

The theme of the night was the triangle, and the mesmerising instrument was indeed accompanying all the artists throughout the night, from music performances to poetry readings.

Opening the night was a brilliant young star of Erdington, Zach. The 16 year old musician delighted the room with two jazz piano pieces, a cover of a Bill Evans’s piece of music, and Zach’s own composition, inspired by his favourite jazz musicians. The young pianist said he also likes to explore other genres, such as samba and fusion. Mitch Thomas, a member of Erdington Arts Forum, accompanied him on the triangle.

Headliners of the evening were Forrό Tempo, who blend Brazilian music with European folk influences.

“We formed about 10 years ago,” Recardo, lead singer, disclosed after their gig, “thanks to an influential teacher and musician, Brian Parsons, who set up the ‘Bongo Go’ events at the Moseley Dance Centre and other venues, promoting world, afro, and Latin music.

“Forrό Tempo means ‘time for Forrό’, which is the name of a vibrant traditional music from the North countryside in Brazil. After my trip in Brazil, I shared the Forrό experience with Brian. He encouraged me as frontman singing in Portuguese and always supported the band.”

(Fun fact: Forrό Tempo keep losing their triangle player. Interesting, considering the theme of the evening.)

“Yes, for some reason we have to find a new triangle player every single time,” says Terry, the band’s charismatic double bass player, “but, on the other hand, the four of us have always been there since the start of it and we are still together.”

If you like Forrό Tempo, see them every last Sunday of the month at The Station Pub in King’s Heath and follow them on their Facebook page.

Forrό Tempo brought dancing vibes into the February Evening of Creativity, and so did the Ukulele Allsorts: a seven piece band from Sutton Coldfield, consisting of all types of ukulele and a rather slick, clandestine contrabass. They played a mix of ‘60s classics, and one of the members, Sue, even shared her own song about being on the road, travelling, and finding somewhere to call home.

The triangle notes, this time played by Terry Hall (from Birmingham band Terry and Gerry – not the Coventry namesake), also highlighted the poems recited by the five members of Writers Without Borders: Femi, Barrington, Fiona, Viv, and Hamida. “We thought it was, weird, exciting, excellent,” the group explained.

Writers Without Boarders has been in existence for more than 20 years, meeting at the Hippodrome once a month to discuss, perform and write together.

“Oftentimes, when people do a reading, people might pass on comments – but feedback is always positive, encouraging, and constructive,’ said Femi. “Writers without Borders is a diverse group – one of the most dynamic of its kind. I’ve visited some other groups and this one is so diverse,” added Hamida.

Writers Without Boarders will be performing as part of Refugee Week and have workshops coming up. Members can also join via Microsoft Teams – sometimes, writers tune in from Morocco, Greece and The Netherlands – a truly international group.

The evening also saw performances by EoC regulars Stefan Stefanov, a guitar player who performed together with three of his young student, and John Stachula, who played classical guitar and violin.

John also played the violin with The Erdington Monkeys, an all-local band. In their very first gig, they performed ‘John Belly Mama’, a traditional Barbadian children’s folk song coming out of the post-slavery period – alongside their own rendition of Gotye’s well known pop song ‘Someboby That I Used to Know’, featuring Kimbra.

The Erdington Monkeys consists of John on violin, Mignon on cello, Nathan on ukulele, and Leni on bass guitar, but is keen to welcome new members. The band derive their name from a song by The Arctic Monkeys and love to explore different genres with their own twist.

The Evening of Creativity is founded and hosted by the Erdington Arts Forum – who engages people with workshops, exhibitions, training programmes, exhibitions, and music performances.

Next month’s Evening of Creativity will be held at Oikos Café, on Erdington High Street, from 6:30pm on Friday 17 March, with advance tickets costing between £5-£6.13

For more on Erdington Arts Forum visit: www.facebook.com/ErdingtonArts

For more from Oikos Café visit: www.oikoscafe.co.uk

NEWS: Forrό Tempo and Writers Without Boarders at Evening of Creativity tonight – Friday 17 Feb

Words by Leni Remedios / Pics supplied by Erdington Arts Forum 

Forrό Tempo will be the headliners of the next Evening of Creativity (EoC), to be held on Friday 17 February at Oikos Café, Erdington High Street.

Formed in Birmingham, Forrό Tempo defines itself as: “A Eurofusion of Brazilian folk dance music.”

Known by their Erdington’s audience after the bans 2022 performances both at Oikos and an outdoor festival held on the High Street, people are looking forward to listening to them again and dancing to their notes.

But the musicians have a long history of performances across the Midlands and beyond, from pubs and festivals to big venues such as the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre.

The theme of February’s Evening of Creativity will be the triangle – the three sided musical instrument will be accompanying all acts on the EoC bill, including the evening’s non-music performances, such as the reading from Writers Without Borders, a Birmingham based group founded in 2000.

Originally, Writers Without Borders started to meet up at the Central Library, then from 2021 they moved to the Hippodrome.

“The initial idea was for it to be a mouthpiece for refugee writers,” explains Fiona, one of the group’s members, “this was soon extended to writers from a variety of backgrounds, such as the Caribbean, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria, and India, to name but a few.

“We meet every month, sharing our writing and giving constructive feedback. Several times a year we invite guest speakers. Sometimes one of our members will organise a workshop for us. Until lockdown we often participated in local events.”

The triangle will also accompany The Ukulele Allsorts. “We are a group of friends who met through a ukulele class in Sutton,” the band told us, “we have different musical backgrounds and experiences, but we all enjoy making music and sharing it with others.

“We are called The Ukulele Allsorts because we play all sorts of music on all sorts of Ukuleles, although on Friday night our bassist is playing an upright bass not a uke bass.”

Last but not least, The Erdington Monkeys, an all-local brand new project, will be joined by Recardo from Forrò Tempo… playing the triangle.

The Erdington Monkeys consists of four people at the moment but, like in the case of the EoC, it is ready to extend to new members and/or collaborations. It all started last month at the Musical Hub – an event hosted every Wednesday evening by the RCCG Church on Orphanage Road, Erdington, where people learn to play their favourite instruments and socialise.

The Erdington Monkeys formed spontaneously, sharing a common passion for music exploration, from folk to pop to indie rock.

Mignon and Nathan from the band explain, “we love exploring the richness that different genres have to offer us. We are quite flexible, especially considering the variety of instruments we play: ukulele, cello, violin and bass guitar, occasionally joined by other instruments.”

February’s EoC will also feature visual arts from Benny Semp, alongside more music from solo artists Zach at the piano, John Stachula playing classic guitar, and Stefan Stefanov again playing the guitar.

The evening won’t lack visual arts, with Benny Semp and his artwork. Other artists might join the event last minute, so for any updates visit www.facebook.com/ErdingtonArts

The event will also be broadcast live via the Erdington Arts Forum Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ErdingtonArts

The Evening of Creativity is founded and hosted by the Erdington Arts Forum – who engages people with workshops, exhibitions, training programmes, and music performances.

This month’s Evening of Creativity will be held at Oikos Café, on Erdington High Street, from 6:30pm on Friday 17 February, with advance tickets costing between £5-£6.13.To book your advance tickets, click here.

For more from Oikos Café visit www.oikoscafe.co.uk

REVIEW: Eau da Funk’s debut gig at the first Evening of Creativity of 2023, alongside Elena Mylonas and Olivia Wilkes

Words & pics by Leni Remedios

“Music moves the world” is our motto, says Tony, guitarist of Eau da Funk, headliner of 2023’s first edition of the Evening of Creativity (EoC) – held at Oikos Café on Friday 20 January.

The world did move indeed, and so did everybody’s feet at the notes of this incredible band.

It was their very first gig, after having formed last year, and as a debut performance it was impressive – delivering a wide range of classics from James Brown to Lenny Kravitz and Kings of Leon.

Eau da Funk was founded soon after lockdown, when Tony was looking for other musicians to create a new project. Two of them are Erdington locals. “We got in touch online at first and we immediately understood that, beyond the different music tastes, we were united by a common ground,” explained Tony.

In fact, their range of music, as explained by their lead singer Sofire: “goes from funk to soul, to reggae and rock music, but also gospel, which is a big influence on our music. God is also very important to us.”

A diversity also reflected in the different backgrounds of the band members, each of them coming from English, Polish, or Caribbean heritage. Eau da Funk are also planning to compose their own songs.

In a packed Oikos Café, the Friday night crowd saw further performances from Elena Mylonas and Olivia Wilkes, both vocal coaches.

Elena performed songs by The Cranberries and Dolly Parton, but also her own song ‘Rose’ accompanied by some musicians from Eau da Funk (at the Evening of Creativity events, spontaneous collaboration between the artists is often involved). She started playing guitar at 11 years old in her native Greece, and after attending Birmingham University aged 23 she started teaching as a vocal coach.

Backstage, Elena revealed details about her song writing and approach to performing: “When I was younger, in Greece, for some reason everybody expected me to play only cheerful songs.

“Furthermore, people in the music industry were requiring from me to adhere to certain beauty standards, asking me to appear more sexy or girlish. I felt really uncomfortable with it, especially after the death of my brother about seven years ago.

“I needed to express my grief somehow, and music gave me the perfect opportunity to channel those feelings. I wasn’t fitting in the Greek scene of the time though, so I decided to move to the UK, where there is a long tradition of ballads and a broader variety of music genres.”

Elena regularly performs both original songs and covers with bands in small venues, with her debut album set for release in the coming months.

Olivia Wilkes was another big surprise. With her powerful voice, she offered her own rendition of classics from Nina Simone to Nirvana, but backstage further disclosed she is working on original material. Her upcoming gigs include Saturday 27 January at Deadwax and Friday 10 February at the Gunmakers Arms.

Olivia’s performance was followed by Josh, the guitarist and lead singer of the indie-rock band The Shore. He performed the original single ‘Left Alone’, and you can see him and his band on 28 January at The Victoria, in Birmingham City Centre.

The event also welcomed an extraordinary community activist and writer, Veronica ‘Judith’ Asare, who opened the evening talking about her book, The Healing Power of Grace – a journey about a terrible accident that changed her life.

Judith, a practicing Christian, never fell into the darkness thanks to her faith. On the contrary, she found motivation in helping others and funded the charity Judith Ark of Hope Foundation – through which, as a qualified counsellor, she helps people such as single parents, people in jail and their families, and refugees. She gives them hope, providing food, clothes, and psychological support.

“I met her about six years ago, in an outdoor event where she was promoting her charity,” says Michael – who was supporting Judith during her EoC performance. “I was going through a very dark phase in my life, she helped my family and me, and she adopted me as her child.”

Judith Ark of Hope operates in the Midlands but also offers help and support elsewhere, reaching London, Manchester, and other areas.

Another highlight of the night was the reading by Laura Liptrot – actress, poet, and playwright from Stourbridge – who started acting at just six years old. The Evening of Creativity audience was captivated by her lively performance and expressions.

Laura’s new poetry book, Cocktails, is about to be launched; already available on Kindle digital edition, the paperback will be available by the end of the month.

Finally, the event also saw the participation of some ‘regulars’ of the EoC, such as resident poet Simon, reading some of his poetry. Mitch Thomas also showed the audience a piece of her ceramic collection and talked about her artistic journey.

Then was a performance by the duo Stefan Stefanov and Nathan Czeszejko-Sochacki. Stefan is a guitarist and music teacher who is very active in the community, whilst the younger Nathan has been singing and playing ukulele, guitar, and piano at EoC events for about a year.

They performed ‘Hotel California’ and a gospel gypsy song. “All around the World Music,” so Stefan defines his style, and you can see him perform every Sunday at the Bulgaria Church by Six Ways from 5pm.

The Evening of Creativity is founded and hosted by the Erdington Arts Forum – who engages people with workshops, exhibitions, training programmes, exhibitions, and music performances.

Next month’s Evening of Creativity will be held at Oikos Café on Erdington High Street from 6:30pm on Friday 17 February, with advance tickets costing between £5-£6.13

For more on Erdington Arts forum visit: www.facebook.com/ErdingtonArts

For more from Oikos Café visit www.oikoscafe.co.uk

NEWS: Eau da Funk and Olivia Wilkes to headline Evening of Creativity on Friday 20 January

Words by Leni Remedios / Pics supplied by Erdington Arts Forum

2023 starts with two extraordinary headline acts at this month’s Evening of Creativity, Eau Da Funk and Olivia Wilkes – to be held at Oikos Café on Friday 20 January, as organised by the Erdington Arts Forum.

Eau Da Funk is a six-piece covers/function band delivering an eclectic repertoire of funk, soul, pop, reggae, and RnB.

They only started playing together in 2022, formed in Birmingham, and Erdington Arts Forum is extremely excited to host this newly formed band.

January’s Evening of Creativity will also see the participation of outstanding singer and musician Olivia Wilkes. “My vocal tutoring journey started at a music school in my home town where I have taught 45+ students in face to face private lessons,” says Olivia, a singing coach who has a long experience in teaching different genres, from musical theatre to heavier tracks.

Since the age of 15, Wilkes has performed in festivals, weddings, and charity days, collaborated with a lot of musicians and featured on local radio stations, including BBC Radio Stoke.

But that’s not all for the first Evening of Creativity of 2023.

Greek singer and musician Elena Mylonas will be also featuring on the January line up, delighting the audience with her pop rock songs.

Also on the bill will be Mitch Thomas, a regular of the Evening of Creativity, introducing to the audience her ceramic artwork “influenced by love,” alongside a poetry reading by Laura Liptrot – a Stourbridge based actor and playwright.

Members of Arts All Over the Place, a local mental charity that has been active since 2007, will also speak about their community arts projects for adults with mental health problems.

Now a permanent fixture on the city’s cultural calendar, the family friendly Evening of Creativity events at Oikos often sell out – so organisers encourage people to buy advance tickets through a special Eventbrite page.

The Evening of Creativity was founded and hosted by Erdington Arts Forum, whose primary goal is to improve the status of artistic activity in the Erdington constituency. Erdington Arts Forum engages people with workshops, exhibitions, training programmes, exhibitions, and music performances.

This month’s Evening of Creativity will be held at Oikos Café on Erdington High Street from 6:30pm on Friday 20 January, with advance tickets around £5-6. Click here to book your ticket.

The event will also be broadcast live via the Erdington Arts Forum Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ErdingtonArts

Follow Erdington Arts Forum on Facebook and Instagram
For more from Oikos Café visit: https://www.oikoscafe.co.uk/

NEWS: Kaleidoscope fun day on Erdington High Street, outside Oikos Café – TODAY

By Erdington Local editorial team

Local families and residents are invited to a Kaleidoscope Fun Day (Saturday 16 July), being held TODAY outside Oikos Café on Erdington High Street from 1pm until 6pm.

Completely free to attend, the afternoon will see an exciting programme of live music, street games and sport, arts and craft, and food and drink available from Oikos Café – as delivered by the Kaleidoscope events team.

Kaleidoscope is the shared identity created for the recent Little Amal visit to Erdington, led by Active Arts, where the globetrotting 12m high ‘living statue’ visited the High Street in a special event to highlight the plight of child refugees and displaced people across the world.

The Kaleidoscope Fun Day is another chance for local families and residents to come together to enjoy street games, sport, music, arts and craft, and make new friends through a fun afternoon of family friendly activity.

Local arts and craft organisations will be making fantastic pictures and patterns to decorate the High Street, with UP Creative Community CIC showing us how to ‘upcycle’ old clothes and turn ‘someone else’s discarded items… into something incredibly beautiful.’

Craft workshops will held inside Oikos Café.

Live music will come from a programme of artists, including Jo Baldwin, Collective Sleep, Forro Temp, and Erdington own Cloud 9 – who will be performing a specially written track in celebration of the Commonwealth Games.

And helping to burn off some Saturday afternoon steam, whilst building your knowledge and confidence around foreign languages, the fantastic Liguasport will be hosting special sporting and language activity throughout the afternoon.

Headed up by an elite athlete who represented England in the high jump, Linguasport run sports camps and school clubs – combining sport and athletics with learning foreign languages.

An effective and fun way to learn, as well as exercise, Linguasport will be hosting inclusive sports and language games across the afternoon – with something for all ages to enjoy.

Active Arts Projects Director, Claire Marshall, told Erdington Local: “Saturday (16 July) is going to be a really exciting and special event, with lots for children of all ages to enjoy – it’s a real community celebration.

“There will be lots to keep the children entertained, from street games and sport to lots of hands-on arts and craft. We also have a brilliant afternoon of live music form local bands and musicians from across the city and beyond.

“And it’s 100% free for everyone, with lots going on throughout the afternoon. We hope people can come down to Erdington High Street on Saturday and join us for a fantastic event of fun for the whole family.”

Kaleidoscope Fun Day take place on Erdington High Street, outside Oikos Café, TODAY (Saturday 16 July), running from 1pm to 6pm – 100% free to attend and open to people of all ages.

Kaleidoscope Fun Day is funded by Birmingham City Council’s Celebrating Communities Fund – as part of celebrating the Commonwealth Games coming to Birmingham this summer.

For more on Active Arts and Kaleidoscope visit www.activearts.wordpress.com