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blackisler

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  5. Lemon Tree No More???

    in Other Clubs & Venues

    Posted

    Save The Lemon Tree Campaign Statement

    On Tuesday 4th December the decision was taken to put the Lemon Tree into voluntary liquidation and the venue closed on that day. Immediately the Save The Lemon Tree campaign was formed and a target was set for fundraising to save one of the most important arts venues in Aberdeen.

    We've had tremendous support from the people of Aberdeen and have received many individual donations for which we are extremely grateful. However, we've fallen a long way short of 150,000. On Friday 21st December the interim liquidator will have a meeting with the company's creditors and the process will be in the legal system. It is clear to us that the company cannot be saved.

    But the veune, the former St Katherine's Centre must continue as an arts venue serving the people of Aberdeen. Since 1992 it has provided the only mid-range theatre facilities in the city, a premier music venue and a range of community and outreach work that has been of benefit to communities throughtout Aberdeen.

    The focus of our campaign will now change; firstly, we'll lobby the city council to ensure that the building remains devoted to the arts; secondly, that the good work of the Lemon Tree Aberdeen Ltd continues - the youth music projects and community development, working with the older people's groups, adults with learning difficulties and physical disabilities, bringing innovative theatre, dance and kids shows to Aberdeen as well as the music! We believe that a new organisation should be created to continue that work and we will meet with Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Arts Council and others involved with the arts in the city with a view to establishing that organisation.

    Thank you all again for your messages of support over the past two weeks, it underlines for us the need to save The Lemon Tree as an arts venue.

    Anyone wishing to support this should email us. All monies donated have been deposited in a bank account and will be used to establish the new organisation to allow the vital work of The Lemon Tree to continue. We have the support of our local politicians; Frank Doran, Anne Begg, Lewis MacDonald and Richard Baker in this.

    Any donors who don't support these objectives are invited to contact us by email through the website, and request a refund of their donation before Monday 31st December 2007.

    email us at: info@savethelemontree.org

  6. Save The Lemon Tree

    in News & Announcements

    Posted

    Save The Lemon Tree Campaign Statement

    On Tuesday 4th December the decision was taken to put the Lemon Tree into voluntary liquidation and the venue closed on that day. Immediately the Save The Lemon Tree campaign was formed and a target was set for fundraising to save one of the most important arts venues in Aberdeen.

    We've had tremendous support from the people of Aberdeen and have received many individual donations for which we are extremely grateful. However, we've fallen a long way short of 150,000. On Friday 21st December the interim liquidator will have a meeting with the company's creditors and the process will be in the legal system. It is clear to us that the company cannot be saved.

    But the veune, the former St Katherine's Centre must continue as an arts venue serving the people of Aberdeen. Since 1992 it has provided the only mid-range theatre facilities in the city, a premier music venue and a range of community and outreach work that has been of benefit to communities throughtout Aberdeen.

    The focus of our campaign will now change; firstly, we'll lobby the city council to ensure that the building remains devoted to the arts; secondly, that the good work of the Lemon Tree Aberdeen Ltd continues - the youth music projects and community development, working with the older people's groups, adults with learning difficulties and physical disabilities, bringing innovative theatre, dance and kids shows to Aberdeen as well as the music! We believe that a new organisation should be created to continue that work and we will meet with Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Arts Council and others involved with the arts in the city with a view to establishing that organisation.

    Thank you all again for your messages of support over the past two weeks, it underlines for us the need to save The Lemon Tree as an arts venue.

    Anyone wishing to support this should email us. All monies donated have been deposited in a bank account and will be used to establish the new organisation to allow the vital work of The Lemon Tree to continue. We have the support of our local politicians; Frank Doran, Anne Begg, Lewis MacDonald and Richard Baker in this.

    Any donors who don't support these objectives are invited to contact us by email through the website, and request a refund of their donation before Monday 31st December 2007.

    email us at: info@savethelemontree.org

  12. Lemon Tree No More???

    in Other Clubs & Venues

    Posted

    this just fets worse, if the council were made aware of this fact, surely interim support would have been available & they should have funded The LT upto the point of the outcome.

    It just reinforces the fact thet the Council know the cost of everything and the value of nothing

  13. Lemon Tree No More???

    in Other Clubs & Venues

    Posted

    But the board must have known that it wasn't getting its SAC grant for some time now.

    Again there has been an awfull lot of mis-reporting with regards to SAC. SAC have not and never have pulled all funding from The Lemon Tree. In 2006 the way all arts organisations in Scotland were funded changed and TLT went from being automatically Core Funded to Project Funded. Yes it was a huge blow and Project Funding in itself did cause difficulties as it was only a 1 year award so very difficult to forward plan and run long term projects. However SAC were so impressed as to how TLT turned itself around that this year they specifically asked us to apply for the next step up of 3 year Flexible Funding. Ironically this application had recently been completed and submitted and we were eagerly anticipationg the successful outcome of the award which would have allowed us to develop a sustainable 3 year plan.

  14. Lemon Tree No More???

    in Other Clubs & Venues

    Posted

    Bill - you've made me cry again! I have done way too much crying this past week.

    I'm gonna pitch in on this MUSIC site and tell a little bit about the threatre side of things at the Tree - bet some of you never even know there was a theatre?

    Anyway I was the theatre/dance/kids shows programmer there for the last 5 years and I am angry & upset - but not for me

    I am angry for all the 700 kids who were supposed to be there on Wednesday & Thursday to see a show for their Christmas nursery/school treat. My own son's school included. It broke my heart to tell him he wouldn't be going.

    I am angry for the 40 or so mentally & phiysically disabled adults who come to their drama group every Tuesday night. They were the last ever group to use the venue before the locks were changed. If you have ever seen a Va Va Voom show you will know how truly special in so many ways that strand of the Lemon Tree's work was.

    I am angry for the 50+ Chior & Theatre Group who meet weekly and were supposed to have their Christmas show on Friday. The wonderful men & women of Vocal Moves & Theatre Serindipity - I salute you.

    I'm angry that the only choice of kids theatre in the city will be the Singing Kettle, Cbeebies, Lazytown and the likes. Are HMT and AECC going to be interested in putting on theatre for special needs children with makaton signing and limited audience capacity of 40? And theatre for under 3's for 20 kids at a time? So many kids have had their first ever experience of theatre at the Tree - that is now lost.

    What choice now will there be to see theatre in Aberdeen? Andrew Lloyd Webber et al musicals at His Majestys at 30 a ticket or amateur drama groups at The Arts Centre. How dissapointing to have the Oil Capital of Europe with nowhere to support a culturally diverse, bold, innovative and high quality programme of theatre, dance and childrens performances.

    I am personally gutted at all the performances I have had to cancel that were booked for 2008 - particular highlights included Tam O'Shanter Shadow Puppet Show, Dave Benson Phillips Get Up and Go Show (YES - the real DBP form Get Your Own Back) Mull Theatre Katie Morag, European kids shows as part of the Bank of Scotland Children's International Theatre Festival, Stellar Quines The Unconquered (CATS award for Best New Play) and lastly a 3 night run of Iain Banks The Wasp Factory which I was convinced may even have enticed some muso's to come and see a theatre show!

    I can see that some of the music acts who appeared at the Lemon Tree can now be slotted into other venues but I can't think of any viabale alternatives where the theatre/dance/kids shows could be performed elsewhere in Aberdeen - there simply is nowhere. Well except for the new 20 million Union Terrace gardens Contemporary Arts Centre. But surely thats just a co-incidence?

  15. Lemon Tree No More???

    in Other Clubs & Venues

    Posted

    Taken from the Press & Journal story:-

    Councillors agreed unanimously that the venue should be offered the chance to take out a loan from the city council administered Aberdeen Business Enterprise Scheme, or the Lemon Tree could have had its overdraft facility underwritten up to a new limit by the local authority.

    Neither option was taken up by the board.

    Full story can be found Here

    That is just one example of the completely inaacurate reporting by the press and sly and underhand way in which the council have handled this.

    Two very important points have been missed. The council's ONLY offer was a short term loan of 250k on the basis that each of the 10 board members personally put up a guarantee of 25k from their own pockets. The council simply did not make the reported second offer and the one that they did make was untennable

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