Latest News
At the Branch Meeting on Saturday 27th March, the bands in attendance were in support of the Executive's recommendation to explore the possibility of running 2, possibly 3 showcase events in August/September 2021 (in line with government restrictions),
The Executive committee will now go ahead and engage with sponsors and begin planning for such events,
If any bands have any ideas for these outdoor showcase events, please ask your band secretary to submit them via secretary@rspbani.org
The RSPBANI Executive Committee have met and decided that they will make a recommendation at the next Branch Meeting on Saturday 27th March 2021, that there will be no contests in April, May, June or July 2021,
The RSPBANI Executive are actively considering organising Pipe Band "Festival" events on two Saturdays in August 2021 (potentially one in September).
The detailed format of the ‘Festivals’ remains to be determined as the Festival is still in the early planning stages, however, the intention is that they would involve showcase performances by the bands who are in attendance,
Bands will understand that the ‘Festival’ events would require considerable planning to ensure that they are organised to be Covid-19 safe,
Prior to undertaking this planning, we would be very grateful if bands could advise us by emailing secretary@rspbani.org indicating if they could commit (subject of course to Government regulations at the time) to attending such a Festival
See email below from the Ulster Scots Agency,
Please contact Danielle if you require Derek's mobile number
The Ulster-Scots Agency has secured additional money from the Department of Communities to support groups under our Covid Small Grants programme.
I have noted that your group did not apply under the first round of funding, I would urge you to consider applying for this final tranche which opens today and closes on the 22nd February but is delivered on a first come first served basses. All items funded under the programme must be purchased by the 31st March and while I appreciate that time is short, the Agency will endeavour to process applications as quickly as possible.
Please find below the registration link, once you submit the registration form an application and guidelines will be automatically emailed to you. The form is very simple and should not take any more than 30 minutes to complete. Please spend a few minutes reading the guidelines especially the eligibility section and section outlining what we can fund. There are only two questions in the form, please read them carefully before submitting you answers. Please note, you only need three quotations if a single item is valued at £1,000 or more.
To assist you a member of the Agency staff will contact you in the next day or so to answer any questions you might have, or you can contact me on my mobile
Regards,
Derek Reaney
Community Development Officer.
The January Branch Meeting will take place on Saturday 30th January 2021 at 2pm via Zoom
The meeting link will be sent to Band Secretaries next week
We now know the extent of the Covid-19 pandemic and even at this stage, we are unsure of getting a competition season in 2021.
We do however, have to plan and to that extent, we have been working closely with Councils to put a plan together. At this stage we are unable to confirm dates as Councils have yet to agree budgets, also we do not know to what extent the Virus will require us to provide extra controls and safety measures.
Although there have been no events this past year, we are continuing to work on the principle that we will get going some time in 2021. We do not however, anticipate that we will get the go ahead from Government to run such events as our Championships in their known form before July 2021.
We do have in hand, back up plans with regards to Covid-19 and a range of safety procedures such as limited spectator numbers and spectator seating arrangements. We will continue to review these proposals as time and information change the picture.
Further information will be posted on our website as developments become known.
Explore our culture and what it means to YOU from the comfort of your own armchair ....
An inspiring set of talks presented to local people from across the Mid Ulster Council District will be able to fill the dark evenings by availing of a free series of talks over the next two weeks focused on cultural expression.
The talks will see speakers from across a wide spectrum, including Ian Burrows of the The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Northern Ireland Branch, Derek Moore of the Londonderry Bands Forum, the lecturer, writer and musician Fintan Vallely, Peter Smith from Ulster University and Linda Ervine of the East Belfast Mission and cover topics around the shared heritage and culture in Mid Ulster.
The project will feature a series talks before Christmas and volunteer training workshops in the new year.
To register your interest in the talks or the training programme, contact
info@dunuladh.ie
or
028 8224 2777
(The project, which is supported by the European Union’s PEACE IV programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) within the Mid Ulster District Council)
Can any band secretary who has not received the Order Paper & Zoom Link for the AGM please email the secretary - secretary@rspbani.org