Irvine and Dreghorn Brass provides opportunities for young people in our community to learn music, play in a group and perform at competitions and concerts. Playing and experiencing music has major health and well-being benefits for participants and audiences alike.

We provide free music lessons and access to brass and percussion instruments for young people to learn. There is a learning pathway and once young people learn the basics of playing they can join our youth band. The youth band has members from various schools in North Ayrshire including Dreghorn, Glebe, Ardeer, and Springside Primaries, Greenwood Academy, Irvine Royal and St. Matthews.

We perform at 5 - 6 concerts each year, also competitions, festivals and some school events. Young people can also play with our other bands at community events e.g. Marymass parades.

Our request is for £400 to be spent as follows.

Musical instruments - £350.  Sheet music £50

Project supports health and well-being

Most of the funding would be spent on instruments that enable more people to play. Learner cornets and trombones cost between £150-200 per instrument. Demand for our services is growing and our membership has growing  significantly in the past 2 years.

This project is about providing an opportunity for people to meet up and enjoy an evening of company with their friends and other community members.

It’s about experiencing a live theatre event and enjoying a wee bit of lighthearted entertainment.

There’s audience participation, there’s quietly discussing your theories so nearby tables can’t hear you and there’s plenty of laughs.

And it’s about identifying the murderer!

The event will be held in a Dalry venue and costs include:

Hall Hire  - £100

Refreshments £50

Audio and light equipment £200

Promotion £50 

We are looking to further  strengthen the band .

By purchasing banners to promote the band at fundraising events. This will give the band a better presence , and encourage musicians from the area to come forward . 

Ecoprint banners. Budget banners with a bases 

We are  in need of new music stands, and music to add to our library. The band is now  of a high standard , but easier , more welcoming pieces are necessary in our library to invite less experienced players, or players returning after a long break We would also like to purchase some music to highlight the abilities of  the sections within the band

 orchestral music stands @  £22 each

 stand bag @ £6 each

Scores  from £50 

Money would be spent as follows 

Promotional goods £110

Replacement stands £150

Music £140

Writing for Well-Being is a 6-week, in-person course hosted by So in Flow with Molly Murray in Ardrossan, UK.

£180 - Teaching costs, £30 x 2 hour session x 6 weeks.

£20 - Coffee & Tea Costs, x 6 weeks.

= £200 per 6 week session x 2 times per year  = £400.

Last year, Everyone an Artist allowed a group of adults from across North Ayrshire to take part in a free six week art workshop where we used clay, learned how to cut and print lino blocks, and drawing techniques. Alongside the practical skills they gained, this opportunity offered the artists to build upon their self confidence, boosted their mental wellbeing and allowed them to meet new people. We would like to run this workshop again this year, but offer new techniques to learn with more materials. The project will run from the North Ayrshire Foodbank's new space on Glasgow Street, for six weeks (once a week) at evening time, to allow people time to come in from work.

proposed project breakdown: Lead artist - £168 hall rent and materials - £232 

In order to develop this project, the Parent Council aims to assist the Art Department with provision of cameras.  Existing photography equipment is in short supply within the school, so in order to ensure that each pupil has access to a high quality, specialist camera, we aim to purchase two bridge cameras.  This will allow pupils to develop and demonstrate skills in photography beyond that of a mobile phone camera.

The cost of an entry level bridge camera is around £200.  We would like to ask for funding to purchase two, costing £400 in total.

The exhibtion costs will be minimal, as it will take place on screen within the school and the Parent Council meeting any additional expenses such as refreshments.

Hame is a project looking at what hame (home, for those unfamiliar with Ayrshire accents) means.

Hame is, ideally, a place of safety, warmth and shelter, but it's not just our roof and walls. For many of us, our hame is our place of belonging; it's a playground where we're free to let our inner selves be. But it's also more than that; hame is also our friends and neighbours.

Documentary photographer and West Kilbride resident Mandy Edwards has been engaging with her neighbours, to find what makes hame for them, but also to discover more about what their presence means to her own sense of hame. This is captured in a succession of images and words to be shown in the Barony during March 2024.

Alongside the exhibition, workshops are being run to encourage young people (two groups; 8-11, 12-16) to explore what makes their hame, both within and outside their own walls; the resulting responses will be exhibited in the windows of the shops in the village, so that we build a picture of the faces that make a community of our hame. We're intending to produce the images for the shop windows ready for April, and the open air exhibition will provide an attraction during the Easter holidays.

Funding would help meet the costs of renting space for the workshops in the Barony Centre (£118), purchase of single use cameras for the 8-11 group (£144), developing and printing of images (£138)

Unlike the previous three festivals we are going to Lochranza this year. The primary reason for this is the need for accommodation.  We are working in collaboration with the Lochranza outdoor centre, the hotel, campsite and youth hostel to ensure we can host our visitors. We believe the commercial input to all of these businesses will help them survive as in recent years they have struggled.  We are giving opportunities for young people to play at the festival and particularly encouraging original Scottish artists.  We are also hoping for a small acoustic stage for local musicians too.  We have a large following of blues fans from previous festivals and are well know by the Blues music press.  We wish the £400 to help support the cost of hiring the hall to allow us to give the artists the best possible experience.  We will also run a market similar to ones on the Green in Lamlash and at Santa’s Sparkles.  We have a market license.  Our biggest cost is paying for band accommodation & fees.   Our provisional costings are shown on the attached document and we need to raise money to ensure we can cover our costs.