Music to go with Tea in the Park
Informal accompaniment at community picnic
We are trying to encourage people to start using their park John Young
Stonehouse is preparing to host a Tea in the Park event.
The day will be held at the Alexander Hamilton Memorial Park on Sunday, August 19 from 1pm.
It is a collaborative effort from the Friends of Stonehouse Park group and Lanarkshire Songwriters, with support from Stonehouse Folk Club.
Musician John Young, and new member of FOSP, explained: “The event is a joint venture between Friends of Stonehouse Park and Lanarkshire Songwriters, who in September will be moving from Crossford to meet in Stonehouse.
“Every year the songwriters previously met before the start of the session for an informal gathering of songwriters and musicians to play songs and have lunch on the lawn of Craignethan Castle, but we thought in light of the move we would have it in the local public park.
“This will be a chance for folks to hopefully come along in the sunshine –questionable! – and enjoy lunch while listening to music on the brae of the park above the bandstand.
“This will not be a performance, nor will we be using the bandstand as before but an informal Sunday afternoon community picnic for folks to listen or participate in if they wish. This will be a non amplified acoustic session.
“In respect of the FOSP, we are trying to encourage use of the park more and encourage people to start using their park and enjoy the facilities and events that are on their doorstep.”
The event comes at a busy time for FOSP, with the park hosting a Bounce, Boogie and BBQ the week before – on Sunday, August 12, between 2 and 4pm – which will feature a performance by James Kennedy.
The group also arranged a successful Gruffalo Walk with the South Lanarkshire Libraries team on Saturday (July 28).
Karen Kelly, secretary of FOSP, said: “We are thrilled James is joining us again for the Bounce and Boogie event. He is such a talented young performer and shows great community spirit to get involved with the park events – with so many gigs this summer we are so pleased he has continued to support us.
“John Young is our newest committee member, he has always supported our Hallowe’en event with his book of ghost stories but to now bring the Lanarkshire Songwriters event to the park is fantastic. With his huge local knowledge we are all really pleased he has joined us.
“As a committee we continue to plan and host events within the park to boost its position in the community, we continue to make steps towards realising the goals of our feasibility study and are once again in talks with local agencies and the council.
“We recently were invited to talk about our inception and growth as a ‘Friends of ’ group to another community in Westwood, East Kilbride, who are hoping to do the same with their green space.
“Apart from the public speaking nerves, it gave David Wilson, chairperson, and myself a chance to reflect on how far we have come in four quick years. We are looking forward to the future with many events in the planning and lots of hopes for the future.”
For more information on events at the park, search for Friends of Stonehouse Park on Facebook.