What Is Club Soda, What is the Pop Tent and What is Club Soda the Movie

What Is Club Soda, What is the Pop Tent and What is Club Soda the Movie

What is Club Soda ?

It is a question that has been rattling around the halls of Club Soda's for weeks, since it is the title of one our upcoming films. It seems to be on the tip of every ones lips (at Club Soda) but to date seems notoriously difficult to articulate. Perhaps the simple answer is that Club Soda is simply a state of mind or philosophy, and thus can mean different things to different people.

Club Soda according to it web site can be described as the following '' Club Soda events are produced and run by people with learning disabilities. Our aim is to create exciting arts events that appeal to a wide and diverse audience. We are especially proud to give opportunities for emerging artists with learning disabilities to present and develop their work''

As a volunteer at Club Soda perhaps a more demanding question could be what dose Club Soda mean to me ?Club Soda is a beacon of inclusiveness for the disabled within the Croydon community. It generates the expectation for education, entertainment, and creative opportunities in partnership with the rest of the community. In short Club Soda mean the disabled are no longer alone. By Caroline at Club Soda

What is the Club Soda Pop Tent

Croydon Summer Festival 2010 Last weekend Lloyd Park hosted a vibrant celebration of Croydon as thousands came in the warmth for the 10th Croydon Summer Festival, around 32,000 attending Saturday’s World P A brand new tent, The Club Soda Pop Tent was hosted and run by adults with learning difficulties and was packed during the Pop Choir and an emotional set by Michael Jackson impersonator Glen. Pauline Scott-Garrett, Director Culture and Sport said “Croydon Council is delighted with the success of the 10th Croydon Summer Festival. Seeing 50,000 local people coming together to enjoy a great event in one of the Borough’s favorite parks was a wonderful experience, particularly with the wealth of local creative talent on display. We would like to thank our many partners who helped make the event happen.”

(http:// www.croydon.gov.uk)

What Is Club Soda…The Film ?

On Saturday, 27^th November 2010 I was invited by Media Trust to attend the launch of a short documentary film produced by Club Soda, a group of people with learning disabilities in Croydon who organize events for others in their community, recounting their preparations in the run-up to hosting the Pop Tent at this year's Croydon Summer Festival. The launch took place at the Croydon Clocktower and was presided over by the London Borough of Croydon's Lady Mayor, Councillor Avril Slipper. As well as the first showing of the film, which has been funded through Media Trust's Community Voices program, there was also a fascinating Q&A with members of the group which indicated how much effort and skill had gone into the making of it - cutting hours and hours of video footage down into a coherent short film is not a task for the faint-hearted! Without further ado then, I give you 'What Is Club Soda? (www.londoneer.org).