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Nithraid – The Results Are In!

Nithraid

The Whitesands came alive this weekend – as the Nithraid did indeed come up with the tide. From the starting point at Carsethorn, thirteen boats made the trip up the Caul – with first place being awarded to Piella, skippered by Adam Booth with a time of 2 hours and 6 minutes. But a challenging race it proved to be, as sandbanks, strong currents, and low winds made the course a tricky one.

Photo Credits: Colin Tennant
Nithraid
The Salt Cow Being Lowered into the Nith by the Winning Team. Photo Credits: Oriel Marshal

The Salt Cow was paraded through the streets of Dumfries with all ceremonial care, gathering numbers as it passed the Midsteeple, rounded the Burns statue (twice), went down the Vennels, and across the Devorgilla Bridge to continue a loop around the river bridges to the beating of drums (and diggeri-moos).

Banners were released over the Old Bridge as the boats arrived, proclaiming the words of Dumfries, including:

Seize the potential.

On the brink.

Decent.

Cut rates.

Despite the slightly dreich conditions, spectators arrived and lined both sides of the river to behold the unusual sight. Many thanks go out to everyone who was involved and to all who turned out on Saturday.

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Nithraid Banners Take Over Dumfries Town Centre

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The #Nithraid Sets Sail on Social Media

We’ve been busy gathering words for the Nithraid this week. When the boats arrive in the town on Saturday, 21 September, they will be greeted by The Stove’s huge fabric banners floating downstream from the Old Bridge, welcoming them to Dumfries with messages from the townspeople.

The #Nithraid discussions on Twitter and Facebook have arrived at ‘Three Words for Dumfries’ – as broad and as limited as it sounds. We’ve had some really interesting contributions.

Here’s a summary of the #Nithraid tweets and posts:

We’ll continue the discussion on Facebook and Twitter this week. Come along and join in!

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The Nithraid

Celebrate the Nithraid: Dumfries’ Annual River Race and Festival

From now till September, The Stove will be inviting people to contribute to an event that celebrates the River Nith’s importance – both historically and today. From its role as a trade route delivering economic lifeblood to Dumfries, to its significance as a conservation area, and to individuals and groups who find peace, tranquillity, and joy from its banks and passing moments.

Forming part of the Environmental Arts Festival Scotland, The Nithraid will culminate in a daring dinghy race from Carsethorn to the very centre of Dumfries on Saturday, 21st September. As the equinox pushes the tide to its annual peak, intrepid sailors will tackle the river head-on, surfing (maybe literally) the incoming tide to reach the finishing line at the Caul in Dumfries, where the salt water and fresh water meet.

When the boats arrive in the town, they will be greeted by a sculptured cow cast in salt and The Stove’s huge fabric banners floating downstream from the Old Bridge, welcoming them to Dumfries with messages from the townspeople. We would like your help writing those messages.

We’ll be decorating banners at community events in August and September and will turn to our social media channels for inspiration too. As we gather words and phrases, we’ll start to build a wall of words. Then our bicycle-powered poetry machine will mix them up and stick them together to form messages for our banners.

The Stove’s community fun day takes place in Lochside on Sunday, 18th August, and we hope to do a similar event in Dumfries town centre on Tuesday, 10th September. The social media initiative will kick off in August. Keep your eyes peeled for #NithRaid on Twitter and Facebook.

Our River Nith; the passenger, the deliverer, and the exporter. With untold tales from its length and breadth, and its historical depths. From its rise in the East Ayrshire hills to Ards Point, 15 miles south of Dumfries, where it meets the Solway Firth and greets the wider world – connecting the town locally, nationally, and globally.

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UWS’s Student Showcase Takes Over the Stove Building

The weekend saw The Stove Building come to life with the University of West of Scotland’s (UWS) Annual Student Showcase – running from 9am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The Showcase is an integral part of the BA Applied Enterprise (Creative Industries) students’ experience and provides an opportunity to come together and celebrate the fruits of the academic year.

It was pleasing to see the Stove Building being used by a group of very talented young adults who injected life and vibrancy into the building’s blank canvas.

Local folks, visitors to Dumfries, and those with a keen eye for emerging talent were given the opportunity to view the work and get to know a little bit more about what the UWS’s Dumfries campus has to offer.

As The Stove Network continues to formalise, grow, and develop, we look forward to welcoming the UWS back to the building in the future and hope to see similar initiatives taking inspiration from the weekend’s showcase.

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The Stove Presents: Art Shorts

Saturday, 4 May at 6.00 pm

The Stove Arts Collective presents a programme of short films by and about local (or local-ish) art and artists.

InBetween: Dumfries – As part of a national project exploring the role of the arts in shaping the future of market towns led by The Stove in collaboration with the University of Newcastle, five artists worked in and around Dumfries during 2012 to create works that examined place, identity, and belonging. This 15-minute film details the works created by Mike Inglis, Hannah Brackston, Suzanne Parry-John, Marion Preez, and Lisa Gallacher, with commentary by the artists.

Stonypath Days – Shot on 8mm film in 1973, this film by Professor Stephen Bann of Bristol University gives a rare insight into the early period of Little Sparta, the artist’s garden created by Ian Hamilton Finlay and his wife Sue at Stonypath in the Pentland Hills. Accompanied by a four-minute interview with their son Alec Finlay and contemporary views of the garden commissioned in 2012 by TATE Media.

The Eskdalemuir Harmonium – A US-built harmonium is disintegrating in a farmhouse near Lockerbie. An intimate visual exploration of a much-loved but decaying instrument, accompanied by an interview with its current owner, this short film by sound artist and filmmaker Chris Dooks is the result of his repeated ‘pilgrimages’ to visit the dying device.

Booking info: Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre, Mill Road, Dumfries DG2 7BE – Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre Ticket prices are £6.30 (£4.70 conc), available from the Box Office (01387 264808) or at the door.

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