Baxter Park and the Olympia are two of the unique and well-loved venue settings for the equally unique Blue Skies Festival – Dundee’s festival of kite flying, stargazing and rainbow chasing which runs from 10 to 12 August 2012.
Brought to you by a partnership of arts organisations, including: Big Sky, Dundee Rep Theatre, Dundee Science Centre, Leisure and Culture Dundee, Smallpetitklein and the University of Dundee; the festival is being led by the DCA. We’ve selected just a few festival highlights below, but thoroughly recommend checking out the full programme which you can view here: www.dundeeblueskies.co.uk
Tip off… Events which require booking in advance are ‘selling out’ fast – so get booking! Saturday 11 August at Baxter Park doesn’t need to be booked in advance and will be a great way to spend an afternoon and take in a range of events.
Aqua Aeris
by Zoë Irvine
Olympia Leisure Centre, Earl Grey Place Dundee, DD1 4DF
Fri 10 August, From 20:30
The Olympia Swimming Pool has been a popular destination for Dundonians since it opened in 1974 and will continue to be so until its closure at the start of 2013. Artist Zoë Irvine has been commissioned to create a sound piece to mark the closure of the original Olympia. This work, which weaves voices together with a rich watery soundscape, will be presented in a special one-off event accompanied by a spectacular high diving display from Dundee City Aquatics.
Kite Flying; Rocket Launching and ‘Raindrop’
Baxter Park
Sat 11 August, taking place at various times between 12:00 – 16:00
Baxter Park, Arbroath Road, Dundee
Wonder at the beauty of a single raindrop in this artwork by London-based artist Alistair McClymont. Using technological apparatus created with the help of meteorologists at the University of Manchester, the work will capture and hold in suspension a single raindrop.
Skywalkers
by Smallpetitklein
Sat 11 August, 12:50 and 15:50
Dance company Smallpetitklein take inspiration from the pioneers of aviation and space exploration in this specially created dance piece. Immersed in a constellation of Chinese lanterns, Smallpetitklein’s dancers will embark on a flight of fanciful frolics fuelled by fun, fantasia and free fall. Smallpetitklein are a Dundee-based dance company who perform their work nationally and internationally.
Perseid Nocturne
Mills Observatory, Glamis Road, Balgay Park, Dundee DD2 2UB
Sun 12 August, from 21:30
During the night of 12 August the earth will pass through the belt of meteors that forms part of our solar system. We will be celebrating this phenomenon with a series of events around the Mills Observatory, the UK’s only full-time public observatory. We will begin with a torch-led walk from the Glamis Road/Lochee Park entrance up to the Mills Observatory during which we will have a second chance to see Smallpetitklein’s Skywalkers performance, a constellation of dance and Chinese lanterns.
Blue Skies Festival
10 – 12th August 2012
www.dundeeblueskies.co.uk