I have never volunteered this much with any organisation.
I innocently thought I would give a few hours here and there, but my enthusiasm as grown, its like I'm addicted, I'm in deep, and I just want to do as much as I can to help make this work and be a great success!
(and that seems to be the general consensus from other volunteers on site today.)
Heres 10 reasons why you should volunteer with Granby park.
Really cool diverse mix of creative people,
Great atmosphere on site
Endless possibilities in one space
Free tea and coffee
Free crisps & Chocolate
You will probably bump into someone you went to school with..'Hi Donal!'
Place to experiment
Place to get creative and play
Place to engage with people you don't usually
Learn how to do cool stuff*
*Today I built a teepee and Learnt how to tie a clove hitch knot- Thats survival skills right there.
Heres some pics of some of the volunteers on Site today.
What a handsome bunch we are!
YOU can be a
'Handsome High VisVolunteer' too!
Never too late to help
.. drop by on site or email Annemarie-> helpout@upstart.ie
Unless you have been living under some kind of rock, I am presuming at this stage, you have heard about about Granby Park either in National newspapers, radio stations, on Twitter, and blogs alike, right? And would I be right in also saying you are intrigued and curious and would maybe like to get involved in a small way, just a small way because your a busy bee?
Well currently I need some willing participants (and their voices) for an installation I am creating in Granby Park. The below flyer explains what I need from Participants and a little bit about the installation.
I would be forever indebted to you.
I cant offer any money or prizes in return.
This is simply an opportunity to help me create something beautiful and engaging using YOUR voice
And YOU remain anonymous too!
If this sounds like something you be interested in, read the below information and if you need clarity on anything, email me: playingspaceproductions@gmail.com
With 10 days till theLaunch of Granby Park, we are now at THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!!! I have been volunteering with Upstart for the past 3 weeks and its been all GOOO!. Upstart are creating an urban cool pop up park from Aug22nd- Sept22nd. I am helping because I think its a great Idea and believe its gonna be the bee's knees, the cats pyjamas, AND cooler than cool!! Watch this video to get a better idea of whats happening in Granby park in 10 days time! https://vimeo.com/69850400
This post is really just about getting more bits and pieces from the public and acquiring more tradespeople/volunteers with some 'unbelievable Tekkers'(*skills- I have wanted to have a reason to say that for ages! YusS!) We need help with the following...
First Aid Help: If you have trained in first Aid or know of anyone that
can offer their services for the duration of the park we would really
appreciate it.
Call to Action For
Bloggers: We would greatly appreciate if
everyone could do their bit to circulate the news and updates of proceedings
relating to the park. We need as much coverage as possible before kick-off on
the 22nd.
Cafe Volunteers: If anyone has cafe experience and/or resteraunt knowledge
Plant Donars:All plants are welcome for
donation, small and big. If anyone knows of a cool garden centre that might be
interested in getting involved please, please let us know.
Labourers and Tradespeople: Last but by no means
least we come to the subject of labourers. We truly NEED people to role up
their sleeves and get dirty with the build. If you think you can help,
please
If you are able to help or provide materials or are skilled in someway that will help and can dedicate a little spare time, Please, please get in touch with helpout@upstart.ie
I
am sorry about my delayed post. It’s been go go go...
Upstart
is now 2 weeks till launching Granby park, Dublin’s first pop up Park (August
22nd - September22nd,
2013). eeeEEEK! The weeks are whizzing by!
The digging and resurfacing of the park is underway as of last week. I was down on Monday for a meeting and its getting there, slowly but surely. It’s a huge site.. I think I may have underestimated the scale of this project! But, Upstart team, if you start to feel the pressure, just play this really cheezy hip hop song about digging and somehow, you just get back to the daily grind!!
The next 2 weeks are dedicated to getting on site, and building this Beast of a park!
Now, Its about getting the aesthetic of the park right, However, A key focus for Upstart, is that the park is representative of the local people and that the park provides the community with what they want. So really trying to engage with that now.
A lot of hard work is happening behind the scenes
from dedicated project managers, enthusiastic volunteers, and charismatic community folk.
The
Media have really connected with the project and hopefully this is helping to
get the word out, but you cant beat a bit of word of mouth, so please tell all
your family, friends and therapist to check out the park in 2 weeks time OR if you need a bit more info on all of this - click here.
Anyway,
back to updating you kids, last week was a silly auld week, with work and
my Granby park artistic proposals. Both things, managed to keep me seriously
preoccupied. The downfall of this preoccupation, was that I have been less
hands on with Community engagement (*Slap on the wrists) but am back on track
this week and hope to be out with Community early next.
As mentioned
proposals were due last week, The art theatre and events project managers have
received all applications and have selected works that is suitable for the
park. (One of my projects has been selected- Hurrah! - I will provide further
details on that, in my next post at weekend).
Inside scoop lads, if your still interested in submitting a theatre piece to perform in Granbys amphitheater - model below. You can still get in touchhere . So any of you Fringe fest folk who might want to continue your run in the park? Do get in touch or contact me directly with any questions?
Finally the most exciting development of Granby park is the start of Trade
school Dublin. Trade school is a self organized school where you barter for
knowledge. Have a nifty skill to trade for those singing lessons you cant afford?
Then trade schools for you!! I know I have put off so many workshops, classes
and online courses because I cant afford it. No longer should my bank account
determine what knowledge I acquire once Trade school Dublin gets up and
running!
So here's my second blog but I suppose my first real insight into volunteering with Upstart on the Granby park project.
The wheels on my Upstart journey really started turning, when I met with my group for the first time last week.
Karla, upstarts community engagement project manager invited myself and a few other willing volunteers to our first meeting which basically gave us the low down on who is now involved and what exciting projects are bubbling away behind the scenes.
The group was a lovely mix of 20-40 year olds from all over the shop (Brazil, Canada, Waterford!)
As a group, Karla asked us to discuss things like…
Who is the Community?
What the positives and negatives of engaging with the community?
This really helped streamline our ideas and opened up lots of side conversations of possibilities within the space.
Most importantly in my opinion, it helped us understand, who specifically can benefit from Granby Park?
The list was actually endless but of course the local residents have to be the first community to consider because this is happening on their turf!
The meeting really got us thinking outside the box and we even went as far to say that Granby Park could be beneficial to not only the local community but to wider community in Dublin, Ireland, the world!
The positivity was bursting in this Room; we all nearly exploded at one point!
It wasn't all rose tinted glasses though, we did highlight negatives like anti social behavior, exclusivity etc. etc.
We agreed that, social and community engagement over the next few weeks before the park opens is vital for illuminating these potential negative factors.
After the first meeting I was buzzing with ideas for events and workshops in the Park - My 'Thinking cap' was firmly on and ready to Rock N Roll!
If your creative and have an idea..today is the last day for Submissions - 6pm
So this week, we have all been assigned tasks. I have spent a couple of hours each day going through my little black book.. I.e. Facebook, twitter, and my emails to see what artist/groups I could approach.
For the record I wish I had an actual little black book of ultimate contacts!
Perhaps after this I will!
Anyway I digress...
Slowly but surely the word is getting out, people are appearing from far and wide to get more involved, The Fundit campaign has reached over the halfway mark with only 3 days to reach their 20k target and the finally The Irish times voted Upstart as 60 as the most creative people in Ireland right now. Which I at this stage, already knew but made me smile all the same and be grateful I had the sense to get involved when I did.
The real icing on the cake this week was giving plants to locals to foster for a month before the park opens. Local residents will nurture, (No Pressure!!) gorgeous plants for a month and then plant with us on the opening of the Park. Check out some pics from last night
below!
So its been a great week all round. Thanks for reading and I’ll be sure to update ya'll again next week.
