Wales' funniest over 50s

CONTACT:

For all media enquiries, contact Iwan Rhys Roberts, Communications Officer – Age Cymru on 029 2043 1562, 07739 894 923, iwan.roberts@agecymru.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Gwanwyn Festival:

Gwanwyn is a month-long national festival held across Wales in May each year celebrating creativity in older age.

The aim of the festival is to:

• Celebrate the opportunity of older age for renewal, growth and creativity, hence the connotations of new-life in the name ‘Gwanwyn’ meaning ‘springtime’ in the Welsh language;

• Promote the benefits of exploring creativity, developing a critical voice and participating fully in the artistic and cultural life of local communities and Wales as a whole;

• Offer opportunities for greater participation by older people in the arts, such as painting, photography, music, drama, storytelling, literature, dance or film during the month of May;

• Highlight existing artistic work and creativity of groups and individuals who are older people themselves or whose work revolves around the concepts of older people and creativity;

• Promote the participation of older people in the arts throughout the year and highlight existing or new opportunities available locally. Gwanwyn is a collaborative initiative between key national organisations lead by Age Cymru, the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government; working closely with local arts groups, active retirement and community groups, public libraries, museums, schools and care centres;

Age Cymru:

• Age Cymru is the force combining Age Concern Cymru and Help the Aged in Wales;

• Age affects us all in different ways. We cannot promise good health, but we should be able to ensure good care for all of us. When we find loneliness, we will reach out. When age becomes a burden, we will lighten the load;

• Age Cymru will campaign. We will fundraise. We will research. We will make the powers that be listen.

• Age Cymru is a registered charity 1128436.

• Company limited by guarantee and registered by in England and Wales 6837284. • Registered office address: Tŷ John Pathy, 13/14 Neptune Court, Vanguard Way, Cardiff, CF24 5PJ.

• Age Cymru is working in partnership with local Age Concerns.

The Cardiff Comedy Festival:

• The Cardiff Comedy Festival is an independently run festival that takes place every July in over 10 venues across Cardiff including St David’s Hall, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Glee Club;

• We aim to bring to the for Welsh talent with the Welsh Unsigned Stand-up Award, a competition Sponsored by the Glee Club to find the most talented up and coming Comedian in Wales. We also run workshops for 14-18 year olds in conjunction with Cardiff Central Library;

• Eventually we aim for the Festival to become a city wide event attracting people from far and wide, incorporating more venues and bringing people to Cardiff for world-class comedy and not just for stag and hen nights;