Looking back at October

On October 1st, we launched our first installment of our Accessible Discos, which take place on the first Friday of each month and are designed to provide a safe place in the local area for individuals with a learning disability and/or Autism to have fun and socialise without judgement.

Our October open mic night took place in our Theatre Space to the backdrop of the stunning converted church. Some fantastic acts came along, including Grammy award winning guitarist Amrit Sond and keyboard player and singer Sacha Tomkins, who was paying her first visit to the arts centre open mic after some rehearsals. 

On Saturday 9th October, we welcomed The Six:Fiftys and Chasing Violet for a cracking evening of live music in our Theatre Space, and we followed that up on Saturday 16th with Big People Party: Strictly Back in Time Music. That was all about playing strictly music from before the millennium, which is good news for anyone who doesn’t like autotune.

On Friday 15th October, we welcomed Guitari Lounge back to the arts centre for High Wycombe’s #1 under-18s open mic night, and on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th, we were home to Bucks Handmade, offering a great chance for people to pick up a few early Christmas presents from local, hand-made producers.

The weekend after that was another great weekend of live music, too. On Saturday 23rd October, we welcomed Screamin’ Irene, the Drop Downs and Into the South for our indie night, and that was followed by our regular Sunday Jam on Sunday 24th October. That takes place every fourth Sunday of the month, so come on down to our next one to jam with the house band or just to soak up some music.

On Wednesday 27th October, #BreakingBarriers returned to Wycombe Arts Centre for #BreakingBarriers6. The event was based on body positivity through creativity and workshops were delivered on the topic through photography discussions, art and graffiti. Workshop providers included Fitness Garden, Flux Photographic, Bubble Gum Print and Demografix.

On Saturday 30th October, Bare Jams came to Wycombe Arts Centre for a gig in the Theatre Space that was organised by Moons Music, and we followed that up on Sunday 31st with some Halloween inspired theatre. Titled Greta’s Ghostly Goings On, it was written and performed in our Theatre Space by our in-house company, Roundabout Creative Theatre. 

Films @ Wycombe Arts Centre hosted not one but two screenings, a family-friendly film on Sunday 3rd October and a Halloween movie on Friday 29th October with an introduction by paranormal investigator and stuntman Ash Darkwood.

And we continued our Open Studio Art Club, where we invite people to use our inspiring art studio to make their own work, with tips, advice and regular skillshare demos. On October 25th, Dan and the team painted and carved some pumpkins for display on Wycombe High Street on Tuesday 26th and Friday 29th as part of My Wycombe‘s free, fun Halloween activities. You can check those out here.

We also had our usual regular events including Pottery Workshops with Connie Fielder Ceramics, Hatha Yoga by Humming Bee Yoga, Roundabout Creative Theatre and the Rock Project. And we shared a call-out for artists from the Chalk Cherries and Chairs Chiltern Landscape art exhibition at Wycombe Museum, and you can find out more about that here.

We also announced a bunch of exciting new shows, including:

• Focus, Wednesday 6th April 2022: With their unique brand of progressive rock, Focus manifested themselves at the start of the 70s as the most successful and appreciated of all the Dutch pop-rock exports. 
• Kristin Hersh, Monday 9th May 2022: As the lead singer and songwriter of Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh helped define the sound of late-80s and early-90s college rock.
• The Blackheart Orchestra, Saturday 21st May 2022: Award-winning electronic folk pioneers who’ve been described by Progressive Aspect as “simply stunning” and compared to Pink Floyd, Portishead and Kate Bush.
• A Head Full of Coldplay, Saturday 24th September 2022: A Head Full of Coldplay brings an evening of hits and favourite album tracks from the one and only Coldplay. 

And to cap it all off, we also shared some photos from the Maz Manzini performance at the end of September, where he was supported by the fabulous San Demas and Harry Quinn. Big thanks to Sabrina (@Silver_Nettle on Instagram) for post-processing. You can check out our photos in the gallery below.