Southampton Craft & Zine Fair

Southampton is welcoming their first ever zine fest, in the shape of the Southampton Craft and Zine Fair, taking place over the weekend of the 21st & 22nd November at The Arthouse Gallery Cafe (178 Above Bar Street, SO14 7DW).



We really wanted to make it but have to be in Brighton for the next Eagle Legs clubnight (on the Saturday night), but would urge anyone living in or near Southampton to go along and join in the fun! Being a Salisbury girl I know it's rare to have these kinds of events around the mid South, so this is one not to miss.

Here's what they say about the event:

"Hip crafts meets subversive (and not so subversive) literature at Southampton's first (feel free to correct me on this one) zine and craft fair. 12-5pm both Saturday and Sunday. Stalls and workshops will be upstairs to browse and shop, whether for you or for Christmas presents for your nearest and dearest. Plus, as always, the Art House will be serving their super scrumptious cakes and lunch."

Sounds delicious!

The organisers still have stalls available to any zinesters wanting to take part, so drop them a line at craft@thearthousesouthampton.co.uk for forms etc. And help to spread the word! Facebook event is HERE

OFFICIAL PAGE

Handmade Brighton

Calling all Brighton-based creatives and craft-lovers! If you need a space to sell your wares, or want a peek at what other crafty folk get up to behind closed doors (without having to trawl for hours through Etsy), Handmade Brighton is here to help. The new monthly event aims to gather together local hand-made craft and fashion sellers, showcasing new talents and providing a space for everyone to meet and greet and buy original, handmade goods without the hassle of Internet fees or commission.



The event will be taking place on the 4th October downstairs at the Komedia, North Laines, and in addition to the craft stalls, there'll be live music, have-a-go workshops, bar, cakes and refreshments available from the Komedia cafe.

If you'd like to be considered for a stall or would like further info, email handmadebrighton@googlemail.com (the organisers advise booking stalls early to avoid disappointment). More info can also be found on their blog:
HANDMADE BRIGHTON

White Air Festival

The idea of us doing anything vaguely active and sporty is a hilarious vision, but thanks to Brighton's WhiteAir festival (taking place on 18th-20th September on Brighton beach) we've found a way to be wowed by extreme sports without having to break into a sweat.

The 3-day festival combines extreme sports and great music, including a headline set from our faves The Cribs, and British Sea Power, The Lemonheads and Sky Larkin, to name but a few. The festival is the biggest for extreme sports in Europe and features High Diving, Thundercats, Jetskis, Windsurfing Freestyle and Racing Championships, Surfing, Kitesurfing slider park, Wakeboards, Triathlon, Aquathlon, and a 56 miles off-road race starting in London and finishing at White Air, and many more. All of which we'll be watching from the sidelines, probably with an icecream in hand!

We'll be reviewing the festival in full in the next issue of Shebang.

For more info about WhiteAir, visit their official site:

Alternative Press Fair II

We're excited to share the news that we've been given a space at the Alternative Press Fair II, which takes place on the 2nd August '09 at St. Aloysius Social Centre in London.



The fair will be the final day in what's set to be a HUGE zine event, spanning 5 days, and including:

- The "Publish You" book launch, which includes submissions from tons of small press folks & zinesters, and also aims to act as a manifesto and discussion of the contemporary small press scene.

- Are You Zine Friendly? A chance for all those involved in small press to meet up and trade and sell their wares, along with music and general fun times. Even those who are zine-less are welcome to join in the celebrations and to hopefully go home with a goody bag of zine swag!

- Spoken Word Night Out! Taking a step away from the printed page, this night will see poetry, zine readings, story-telling and other performances from artists working in print media.

- Collaborama! A jam-packed BEAST of a zine event, Collaborama is a combination of zine, comix and small press stalls, a bbq, film screenings, workshops, performances and talks, and the chance for people to come together to create a collaborative zine for the day.

And to top it all off, Sunday will be the second Alternative Press Fair, a chilled-out day of perusing stalls selling comix, zines, poetry, radical literature and arts; a great ending to what's set to be a fantastic event! For more info on events, visit the Alternative Press Site and keep checking the Alt. Press Blog for the latest updates.

Hope to see you there!

Bradford Zine Fayre - 21st June

Another Zine Fayre! And this time it's in Bradford, on Sunday June 21st at the Treehouse Cafe, which is opposite the uni on the left as you wander up Great Horton Road (hopefully this will make sense to people familiar with the geography of Bradford). The day promises to be a "celebration of all things DIY and papery", which we like the sound of very much. Unfortuntely we're not able to make it us Brighton Shebangers are moving house, so it's up to you to go on our behalf and give all the details! And speaking of details, here is what we have learnt about the event so far...

"The Bradford Centre for Non-Violence / Treehouse Cafe will be transformed into a den of DIY.

Three rooms will be full to the brim with lots of incredible zines from all over the UK. Feminism, queer issues, anarchism, music, personal experiences, crafts, art, photography, history, comics, illustration… zines can and do cover everything; you’ll have a chance to peruse through these lovely self-published tomes of joy and meet the creators too! Manifesta, Lola and the Cartwheels, BD7 Punx, Branches Distro, Subtext, Mobile Menstrual Zine Library, Claptrap, Beep! and ZNA Distro will all be there for your enjoyment, plus a load more.

Then there are the special workshops! For full listings, click here.

So please do get in touch if you want to exhibit anything. There will be tables for people to put individual zines on, but we want this to be collectively shaped and sculpted- so if you draw, write, paint, type, photograph, glue or sew then please get in touch!"

All info on their Facebook event page.

Ladyfest Oxford 2008

Although the 'fest is now halfway through, there is still just enough time to share the news that another brilliant Ladyfest is currently in full swing, and this time Oxford is doing the honour of celebrating women and creativity.



What they say:

Ladyfest is a non-profit festival which presents and supports the creative talents of professional and amateur female acts in our community, including performances and workshops. Both men and women, students and locals, are very welcome to be involved in organising our events, but we feel that to demonstrate the underrepresentation of women’s acts in cultural activities the performances ought to be women-only, or majority-women if not possible.

This year's festival will take place in a variety of venues across Oxford in order to raise money for Oxford Rape Crisis

What's On?

There's a great programme of events organised, including gigs, films workshop, book groups, crafts and more! And we're very pleased to have been asked to send in some copies of Shebang to be sold on our behalf at the Crafternoon, alongside some ace zines! Here are a few events worth checking out...

Ladyfest Book Group (Thursday 21st May, 5.30pm, in Borders)
- We will be reading Joyce Carol Oates' short story 'Faithless.' All welcome for a friendly and informal discussion.
http:​/​/​www.​facebook.​com/​event.​php?​eid=​60349108491&​ref=​ts

Ladyfest Crafternoon (Saturday 23rd May, 2-6pm, St Peter's College)
- We will be showcasing women's creativity by holding workshops throughout the afternoon including knitting, zines and textiles. There will also be a chance to buy lots of handmade goodies!
http:​/​/​www.​facebook.​com/​event.​php?​sid=​91a8ac395606e84​0032790057de4d1​fc&​eid=​62141357644

Ladyfest MixTape Party (Saturday 23rd May, 7.30-11pm, University College)
- Come along to University College bar where we'll be playing YOUR Ladyfest MixTapes throughout the evening. Get involved by sending us a compilation CD of up to 20 minutes of your favourite female artists and bands!

For more info on the event, visit their MySpace or Facebook.

London Zine Symposium 2009

We're excited to announce that we've been given the thumbs up for a spot at this year's London Zine Symposium! The all-day extravaganza takes place on Sunday 3rd May '09, just off Brick Lane at The Rag Factory, London, from 12-6pm. The event (now in its fifth year) will play host to small-press, comics and zine makers, encouraging a large get together of zinesters, with the intention of building a stronger DIY network and community. After the success of the Brighton Zine Fest, we're already making up flyers and posters for the show, and might even attempt some baking (despite probably being the only people EVER to fuck up a kids' chocolate cornflake cake recipe)!

Workshops for the day have just been announced, and include:

- The politics of zines and comix since 1970 talk by Roger Sabin and Teal Triggs
- Examining the rise of the zine festival and how to organise one
- Running a zine library with speakers from Barcelona, New Orleans, and Poitiers (France)
- Zine readings with Alex Wrekk (Brainscan zine/must-have zine bible Stolen Sharpie Revolution) from Portland, Oregan and other zine readers from across the UK
- Facilities to make a zine from the day with collaborations from those attending with the help of Footprinters print co-op
- A radical history walk of the local area (“Housing, Class and gentrification in Spitalfields walk”)
- How to use popular website Etsy to sell zines

For updates on the day, visit London Zine Symposium Site

Record Store Day

"If you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends"

Record shops are my favourite places ever. Where ever I may find myself, stumbling upon an independent record shop, full of unknown promise, is geekily joyful. But times are tough, and a lot of our beloved and trusted indie's are biting the dust hard, leaving only the corporate bigwigs to provide us with some physical musical indulgence. I've never really enjoyed MP3s, with their lack of album artwork, liner notes and speedy, throwaway deliverance. It's a really impersonal way of listening to music, just plugging in and watching files stream across the screen. The more creative aspects are lost amongst technical jargon and the clicking of buttons.

Which is why I'm pleased to announce that on April 18th, Record Store Day is celebrating the modest indie record shop, and all the joy it can bring. Started in the US in 2007, the day often involves special vinyl and CD releases made exclusively for the day, and hundreds of artists making special appearances and performances in shops across the world. Festivities include live performances, cook-outs, body painting, meet & greets with artists, parades and djs spinning records.

But why only make a day of it? Pop by your local store today, show support and let's hope the independent record shop will remain an exciting visit for years and years to come.

For more info and listings of the day's events, visit Record Store Day Official Site

Coming Up - Brighton Zine Fest!

21st-22nd February 2009.

It's now less than 2 weeks until Brighton turns into a mecca of UK zine culture. For one whole weekend, zine-related events will be spread throughout the city; from zinesters selling their wares and live music, to a whole heap of workshops (inc. vegan cookery and papercraft) and a talk on sexism in activist spaces. It's all go, and all inclusive.

We'll be at the zine fair on the Sunday at West Hill Hall, selling the first ever copies of Shebang Issue #2 (fresh off the press!), along with Issue #1, badges, cakes and more! Please drop by and say hello!

Brighton Zine Fest Official Website

And thanks to some excellent timing, Jeffrey Lewis (one of our favourite musicians ever - featured in Issue#2) is also playing at the Komedia on the Sunday evening. So why not make a day of it & pick up a copy of his comic Fuff to add to yr zine collection? Tickets here

Shebang for sale at Ladyfest Goldsmiths!

We'll be bringing along copies of Issue #1 to sell at the Zine Fayre held at Ladyfest Goldsmiths on Thursday. Copies will be sold at £3 with a percentage going to the Poppy Project.



If you're near London that day, pop along! (See 2 posts below for full details of the day's activities).

www.myspace.com/ladyfestgoldsmiths

Hopefully see you there!

(Men welcome too!)

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