"CARAD (Community Arts Rhayader And District) is a Community Arts and Heritage organisation. It develops Arts and Heritage projects allowing people to express themselves creatively, learn and develop new skills, make new friends, find out about their heritage, plus much more.
The centre has a fully equipped professional 24 track digital recording studio, and records musicians ranging from young guitarists to 28 piece brass bands.
We have a photographic dark room facility, and a digital print studio, which can be used for community printing projects such as 'Time' - a book the Rhayader Community wrote, compiled and printed in one day. We provide Art classes, with Watercolour, pastel, botanical and life drawing.
We have a Theatre with a sprung dance floor, which can be used for Live Theatre, Dance, and Music performances. The Theatre is also used for bellydancing, circle and Appalachian dance, and yoga classes. Local young people have been involved in devising, and performing theatrical performances at CARAD.
As well as creating Arts projects for the community, such as the recent Community Concert 'The Groe Gathering' with a wide variety of local musicians showcasing their talents, CARAD also provides Heritage projects.
Staff, volunteers and local people add to the story and heritage of our area by participating in summer exhibitions, oral history recordings, research, and film making projects. We also hold touring local history days with information, artefacts, and photographs encouraging people to bring their personal photos etc, to share their memories with each other.
This year CARAD celebrated the centenary of the building of the Elan Valley Dams with their summer Exhibition 'Under The Shadow Of The Dams'. The Exhibition was inspired by the Elan Village created for the workers on the Dams, and CARAD has recreated 4 huts, with 1 representing the hospital, another the old school, the village shop, and a typical Foreman's hut. With much more to see and learn too."
Written by Debbie Wozencraft from CARAD
'The Groe Gathering'CARAD's Elan Valley Exhibition Past & Present - CARAD's Book in a Day challenge.
your comments
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We try to publish as many comments as we can but unfortunately, due to the volume of comments we receive every day, we cannot guarantee that all comments submitted will be published
Sylvia Turner, formerly of Rhayader, now in Linco
My mother (Elizabeth Andrews, better known as Mrs Price the Chemist) was born in 1904, in one of 4000 huts built to accommodate workers and their families. She claims that her big brother, Ned, looked into her cot and said: "Oh, fach, if you'd come a bit sooner you'd have seen the King and Queen." As a child she remembered William Price (later to become my paternal grandfather) coming to the house one stormy night to fix the fish weather vane on the tower. Family legend has it that my maternal grandfather (a fitter) made the fish and my paternal grandfather (a stone mason) built the tower, but I don't know how accurate a truth that is. My grandfather certainly worked in the fitting shop, now the Visitors' Centre; my mother remmbers
cycling there with his sandwiches when he'd mistakenly left them behind.
Well done, Carad. Rhayader sounds a lively place to be right now!
Wed Mar 22 14:27:39 2006
Robert Andrews Streetly W.Mids
I live in W.Mids & have farm cottage near Rhayader. I was shocked at news that B.ham would not donate to CARAD. After www enquiries I wonder why CARAD have not approached Severn Trent instead. BCC have legal obligations to their spend. Severn Trent are taking the water.
Wed Mar 8 19:45:09 2006
Sally Owen
Any chance of a current timetable here?
Wed Aug 24 22:32:37 2005
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