Doughlicious is a bread club with a twist. Share recipes and techniques in a relaxed atmosphere and get practical with some hands-on activity. Open to all! Discover more about Doughlicious here.
Image by Jamie StrykerImage by Jamie StrykerImage by Jamie Stryker
The levain will be provided, but you’ll need to bring some tools from home. These are: A mixing bowl, a cloth or cover for your bowl and a jam jar.
We also have a small ‘Bread Book’ reference library for you to look through to get inspired and learn new techniques.
Free In-person donations welcome to go towards materials for the event.
Level Access is available at the rear of the building through the adjacent close located to the left-hand side of the Café (when facing the front of the building).
Hearing Loop:
We have a hearing loop system installed in the café to support individuals using hearing aids or cochlear implants.
Personalised Assistance:
If you have any specific access needs, please let us know, and we’ll be happy to accommodate. You can reach Sal at [email protected] or call us at 01387 252435 to speak with a member of our team.
Additional Support Available:
Walk-throughs of the building can be arranged prior to your visit so you can familiarise yourself with the space.
Reserved Seating can be arranged to ensure comfort and accessibility; please let us know if you would like seating assigned before arrival.
We’re committed to making your experience as enjoyable and accessible as possible. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions or specific requirements.
We’re rounding out our cinematic year at the Stove Cafe with one of our top pick films of the year, Kneecap. A fictionalised drama of the Irish language rap group Kneecap’s rise to fame, starring the band members as themselves, the film is a riotous exploration of Irish language, identity and politics in theNorth of Ireland told through a hedonistic haze.
Please note this film is rated 18 for its strong language and drug use throughout.
About the Film
When fate brings Belfast schoolteacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed ‘low life scum’ Naoise & LiamOg, the needle drops on a hip hop act like no other. Rapping in their native Irish language, KNEECAP fast become the unlikely figureheads of a Civil Rights movement to save their mother tongue. But the trio must first overcome police, paramilitaries & politicians trying to silence their defiant sound – whilst their anarchic approach to life often makes them their own worst enemies.
In this fiercely original sex, drugs and hip-hop biopic KNEECAP play themselves, laying down a global rallying cry for the defence of native cultures.
Watch the Trailer:
About Reel to Real
Reel to Real Cinema is a monthly film space in the Stove Cafe, featuring an eclectic mixture of conversational films – from artist made shorts to feature length documentaries, locally made to international cinema. A space for discussion and thought-provoking films, you are welcome to join us after the film for a short discussion about the themes from this month’s selection. The Stove Cafe will be open from 5.30pm – 6:45pm with a special pre-film dinner option alongside hot drinks and cakes.
Exhibition dates: 21st November – 21st December 2024
We’re inviting artists, makers, and creatives of all kinds from Dumfries & Galloway to showcase your talent in our cosy Stove Café this festive season. Whether you’re a painter, printmaker, jeweller, or craftsperson—this is your chance to share (and sell!) your work as part of our Midwinter Exhibition.
From unique artworks and handcrafted items to festive cards, decorations, and creative twists on holiday traditions—we welcome it all. This is an opportunity to brighten the season with your creations while supporting local artists in the lead-up to the holidays.
Our Midwinter Exhibition will run from Thursday, 21st November to Saturday, 21st December, with pieces available for purchase during our regular cafe hours (Monday–Saturday, 9am–3pm).
How To Submit Artwork:
Artists may submit up to a maximum of two artworks per person.
2D artworks should not exceed 60cm in any direction, and 3D artworks should not exceed 30cm in any direction.
Artworks must be dropped off during one of our scheduled drop off dates (see below), or by appointment only
Artists must complete a contacts form before leaving any artworks. These will be available during our scheduled drop off dates or by emailing [email protected].
Any unsold artworks must be collected on Monday 6th January 2025.
Artwork Drop Off Dates: Artworks can be dropped off on the 18th and 19th November, between 11am-5pm.
*Conversing Building is an ongoing project at The Stove, that looks to activate spaces around The Stove through a variety of visual and public art projects and displays. For more info on the project visit our project page here.
Maya was recommissioned for Phase 2 of the Harbour project in July-November 2024 to continue their creative engagement process toward developing a community design concept for the new piece of dredged land within the Waterfront re-development. Alongside gathering local insight for the co-design process, Maya hosted a programme of events and engagement at Creative Stranraer to test ideas and continue engaging people in the creative vision for the future of the town under the regeneration. Visit Harbour Project Phase 2 Blog Update 1 here to read the first chapter of Maya’s journey.
Harbourland is an Opportunity to Make a Whole New Part of Stranraer.
As part of the process of extending the marina, some dredging must take place to make Loch Ryan deep enough for larger sailing boats. Within the plans for One Waterfront a new area of land will be created next to the East Pier using the material dredged from the loch. I’ve been working with local people to imagine what this new area of land could be:
‘The safest harbour is a world between land and sea. Harbourland is an ecosystem – a place to witness and protect many forms of life and provide a space for them to survive, thrive and connect with one another. It is place that belongs to everyone and somewhere that will show the best of Stranraer to visitors. Harbourland asks: ‘how can we act like the oyster and build an area that benefits both people and the coastal biodiversity? What are the types of ‘surfaces’ that communities in Stranraer can attach to and make their own?’
Harbourland Polling Station Results
If you came down and joined the thousands of tourists and celebrators at this year’s annual Oyster Festival, you may have come across the Harbourland polling station. As mentioned in the previous update, Oyster shells were historically used as the first ever ‘ballot cards’ during the early days of democracy in Ancient Greece. This year, I worked with the Rhins Mens Shed to create an interactive installation to bring this tradition back to modern-day Stranraer to inform the Harbourland consultation. Using the data gathered from countless conversations with local people, community organisations and from Raise The Sails Festival in April, I collated the main hopes for Harbourland into 5 key categories:
A sheltered place to sit and bide a while,
Tidal rock pools for coastal wildlife
A place to share stories of Stranraer
A space for community events and festivals
Interactive play structures.
Over the weekend, nearly 400 people cast their oyster shells to vote on what they would like to see as part of Harbourland. The oyster shells that are typically gathered for redistribution back into the loch were instead used to facilitate important conversations about the communities hopes for the future of the town, before making their way back to the water. We had older residents keen for interactive play structures so that they could ‘share the town with their grandchildren’ and ‘give them a reason to visit,’ along with younger generations of nature enthusiasts who were terribly excited at the prospect of tidal rock pools in Stranraer.
A landslide amount of votes for tidal rock pools was the outcome of the initial consultation as seen below. All of the information gathered from the Harbourland Polling Station is being fed directly back into the Waterfront regeneration.
Sandcastle Competition
At the end of September, I staged the Great Stranraer Sandcastle Competition on the shores of Agnew Park. I designed bespoke Stranraer sandcastle buckets inspired by the topographical oyster forms that I’ve been working with for participants to take home for future days by the Loch.
Sandcastle competitions are an ancient tradition for coastal communities, an excuse to spend time down by the water and exercise the creative potential of natural materials. We’re hoping to create a future waterfront that is a place where families want to gather and to feel more connected to. Stranraer’s waterfront regeneration is set to transform the town in new and exciting ways, and we’re keen for these designs to be co-created to ensure a future landscape that reflects the needs of all communities – both human and sea species!
Following from my ‘Siltcrete’ experiments, there’s a strong intention to make use of the dredged materials from Loch Ryan in the plans for the new piece of land in creative ways that benefit the unique natural environment. The competition gave people of all ages the opportunity to take part in co-designing future structures of the coast, to be inspired by the shapes of their local ecology, and to build ambitious sand sculptures down on a mostly disused shoreline.
Over 70 people came down to take part and Stranraer beach was transformed with people coming together to play and find inspiration from their native oyster beds. The landscape was soon transformed into a mass display of everyday creativity and celebration of local site-specific ecologies. Teams won prizes from categories including ‘best sportsmanship’ and ‘most imaginative concept’, and as ever, the creativity of Stranraer’s community didn’t disappoint. Some of the sand sculptures included the story of Esmerelda the lost mermaid, Oysterland castle, Ailsa Craig and her lighthouse, and a whale who loved smarties! By the time the tide was returning, the coastline was covered in hundreds of oyster forms, reminiscent of a community made oyster bed.
Harbour Hub Takeover
As the final installation within this latest phase of the Harbour project, I will be feeding back all of the community ideas, events and interventions that have taken place so far, and what there may be to look forward to in the next stage. This will take the form of a Harbour Takeover in the Creative Stranraer Hub (23 King Street). 3 display boards will detail each stage of the project, along with the initial design principles for the new piece of reclaimed land highlighted through creative consultation.
Alongside the 3 display boards themselves, there will also be a window screening of underwater footage commissioned by the SCAMP (Solway and Marine Partnership) project to captivate passers-by as our evenings begin to get darker. The film by the Newton Stewart Sub-Aqua Club and John Wallace documents the underwater world of the of the Solway Firth and gives us an insight into some of the ecosystems that we are aiming to foster through Harbourland. Huge thanks to the Community Re-Use Shop for their donation of a TV!
The final aspect of the takeover is a community boat report created by artist and consultant Anne Waggot-Knott. Anne was our researcher/recorder/reporter in Phase 1 of the Harbour project and has been embedded within the project since its conception. The Community Boat Reports are interactive, informative documents which are designed to be folded up into the perfect paper boat. These are available for all visitors to read, build and take home.
Come and visit the Harbour Takeover from October 16th through to November 11th at Stranraer Creative Hub.
Until Next Time…
If you want to find out more about the Harbourland proposal programme or the context of the project, please contact Maya on [email protected]
If you want to read more about the Creative Placemaking strategies currently taking place in Stranraer, please visit the What We Do Now resource written by Shawn Boden here.
Tim Stead, Magician with Wood | Beatrix A. Wood | Documentary | 89 mins | UK
This month we are sharing a beautiful film created by filmmaker Beatrix A. Wood, following the story of Maggy Stead as she battles to secure the future of The Steading, a work of art sculpted from wood by her late husband Tim.
After the screening, we will be joined by Beatrix for a discussion about the making of the film.
About the Film
The film weaves the remarkable stories of the passionate people who worked with Tim to explore how Tim evolved as an innovative furniture designer and wood sculptor and his role in the creation of some of Scotland’s most popular public art. Tim’s belief to put back into the environment more than he took out led to pioneering the creation of the first community woodland n Britain which kickstarted the community land ownership movement in Scotland and internationally.
A deeply moving human interest story about a family, the bonds of love and grief, loyalty and friendship, collaboration, and community alongside our relationship with trees and Nature as a catalyst for our creativity and well-being in the face of climate change.
Reel to Real Cinema is a monthly film space in the Stove Cafe, featuring an eclectic mixture of conversational films – from artist made shorts to feature length documentaries, locally made to international cinema. A space for discussion and thought-provoking films, you are welcome to join us after the film for a short discussion about the themes from this month’s selection. The Stove Cafe will be open from 5.30pm – 6:45pm with a special pre-film dinner option alongside hot drinks and cakes.
As a dynamic organisation with a diverse range of projects across the region, we’re always eager to collaborate with talented freelancers. Whether you’re a photographer, graphic designer, communications expert, project manager, technician, or possess other specialised skills, we want to connect with you.
Our work is primarily based in Dumfries & Galloway, so we’re particularly eager to connect with freelancers from the region—whether we’ve worked together before or you’re new to us. If you’ve recently reinvented yourself or expanded your skillset, we’d love to hear from you. Even if you’re not based in D&G but are available for work in the region, we encourage you to reach out.
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