Organised by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council a whole host of activities are on offer at the Aman Centre in Godreaman as part of Adult Learners’ Week.

On Saturday May 14th from 11am to 3pm a day packed with fun and free activities is taking place from pottery and jewellery making to circus skills and sign language.

The Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Cllr Eudine Hanagan said: “Adult Learners’ Week is one of the key dates in the lifelong learning calendar in Rhondda Cynon Taf due to the sheer variety and quality of classes available for adults – and it’s all free!

“Every year the enthusiasm displayed by adults to follow such a range of courses speaks for itself and I’m sure this year’s programme of events will be equally well received. As always we try and offer a variety of subjects for residents and hope they will develop their skills and be inspired to follow a course in the long-term.”

At the Aman Centre, the many activities and courses on offer at this free open day are: pottery, digital photography, jewellery making, family activities, local history, theatrical make-up, story telling, Welsh cooking, circus skills, climbing wall, competitions, hanging baskets, Indian head massage, sign language and helping to create a mosaic for the centre.

For further details contact 01685 870399.

Visitors can look around craft stalls, see animals and birds and enjoy entertainment in the main area including duck driving, a falconry show and performances from the Top Lodge Dancing Dogs.

This year’s Activity Zone will feature an armed forces assault course and climbing wall. Rhondda Cynon Taf 5×60 officers will be hosting cycling activities along with staff from Halford’s of Pontypridd, including free bike safety inspections.

One of the highlights of the weekend, the annual Mayor’s Harnessed Horse Parade, will set off from the park at midday on Sunday, August 2. The parade which features around 50 horses and carriages, will travel through Pontypridd, Trehafod and Trallwn. It will raise money for the chosen charities of Mayor, Cllr Robert Smith – MacMillan Cancer Relief, Help for Heroes and Diabetes UK (Cymru).

Cllr Paul Cannon, Rhondda Cynon Taf Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Housing, said: “We’ve had a week of poor weather in the run-up to the Big Welsh Bite, but the event’s new location on the park tennis courts means everyone can come along and enjoy a fun-packed weekend.”

Gates open from 10.30am to 5pm each day in Ynysangharad War Memorial Park and admission is free.

Dydd Llun 9.30 – 11.30 Rhondda Bowl Tonyrefail
Dydd Mawrth 2.00 – 3.00 Clydach Vale
Dydd Mercher 9.00-10.00 Glynfach Porth
Dydd Mercher 1.00-2.30 Glyncoch
Dydd Iau 9.30-11.30 Capel Bethleham,Tonyrefail
Dydd Gwener 10.00 – 12.00 Maes yr Hâf, Trealaw

Os hoffech fwy o fanylion am unrhywun o’r boreau coffi uchod, yna cysylltwch â’r swyddfa Cymunedau’n Gyntaf perthnasol.

Cofiwch hefyd fod na foreau coffi anffurfiol dal yn cario ‘mlaen yn rheolaidd ar agor i Gymry Cymraeg a dysgwyr yn ogystal dan adain Menter Iaith. Mae rhestr llawn o rhain iw gweld dan y ddolen GWASANAETHAU uchod.

This brand new 11 mile walk, co-organised by Macmillan and Jeff Cowland, who originally thought of the walk and is a Rhondda Cynon Taf Council employee, will take place on Saturday 5 September 2009 starting by Treherbert Rugby Club at 9am, and finishing at the Rhondda Heritage Park, travelling through Treorchy, Tonypandy and Porth on the way.

Every day 822 people are told they have cancer and they all need treatment and support. Over 116,000 people are affected by cancer in Wales every year, and one in three of us will receive a cancer diagnosis at some point in our lives. Macmillan currently helps over half of these people and our aim is to support everyone affected by cancer in the UK. Macmillan Cancer Support are the only charity to help people from the point of diagnosis through the whole of their cancer journey, offering them help, advice, information and support. We rely on donations for 99% of our income, which is why your involvement is so valuable.

The Rhondda Walk will help to raise vital funds for Macmillan in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area. Last year, Macmillan awarded 727 patient grants totalling nearly £302,000 to people in South East Wales who needed our help. Macmillan also has over 50 Macmillan professionals working in the area, including two welfare benefits advisors, who since being in post in 2007 have accessed over £1M in benefits for local people affected by cancer.

Gemma Jones, Fundraising Manager, said ˜the Rhondda Walk will be an exciting day for the whole community. We hope to attract a large number of people to get together, put
their walking boots on, have fun and get healthy, and at the same time raise money to help local people living with cancer.

So come and get involved with the Rhondda Walk now! Register for only £10, and you will receive your fundraising pack in the post, together with a t-shirt and goody bag on the day. For more information, or to register, please contact Helen Ashcroft on 01656 968968 or email hashcroft@macmillan.org.uk

The opening times are 10am until 9pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am until 4pm on Saturday. There will be £1 entrance fee.

A raffle will be running all week of a framed painting by local artist Paul Arnott. It will be drawn on Saturday afternoon.

Approximately 150 works of art by members of the society will be on show. The exhibition will be opened by local author and Councillor Cennard Davies.

Do come along during the week to browse and enjoy the exhibition.

This event aims to transport guests back in time to the good all days of swing in a celebration of the magical sound of the late Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr. – Rat Pack Legends! This fully choreographed all singing, full on entertainment show will have the audience dancing is the aisle.

The three first-class crooners will recreate the magic of the ‘Big City’ as part of the prestigious Mayors Ball, taking place at Llantrisant Leisure Centre on Saturday 25th April from 7pm till late. Tickets cost £30 and include a champagne reception, 5-course meal, raffle and lots more.

This fantastic evening of entertainment will take you back to the 1950’s/60’s with the greatest swinging Rat Pack hits of all time, including: Come Fly With Me; Lady is a Tramp; Under My Skin; Volare; My Way; My Bojangles; Me and My Shadow; What Kind of Fool Am I?, Fly Me to the Moon and New York, New York.

Councillor Margaret Davies, Mayor of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, said: “This event promises to be the night of the year, one that I have looked forward to and is the penultimate event in my turn of office, but we should remember that this event is for charity, so while we might be having fun, its good to remember that this event is for good causes.”

Money raised from this years Mayoral Charity Events programme will go to this years 3 nominated charities, which are the Special Care Baby Unit at Royal Glamorgan Hospital, the British Heart Foundation and TEDS (Drugs and Alcohol Misuse Advisory Service).

Tickets for this toe-tapping event are available from:

• Muni Arts Centre on 01443 485934,

• The Park and Dare Theatre, 01443 773112

• The Coliseum, Aberdare – 01685 881188.

From Saturday, April 18 to Friday, April 24, 2009 you can enjoy horse rides, a bird watching walk or a short countryside stroll and other events.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council adopted the Rights of Way Improvement Plan in 2008 as a way to protect and improve facilities in our local countryside, promote what is on offer to residents and visitors and involve people in making decisions. The theme of the plan is ‘More people, out & about, more often and having fun’ and the Welsh Assembly Government and the Countryside Council for Wales are providing funding to the Council to help put the plan into action.

All activities from April 18-24 are free. Many local organisations are taking part and events include:

· A walk on Monday, April 20 at Ynysangharad War Memorial Park from 10.30am to show people how to use the LifeTrail outdoor gym equipment installed along the river path. Contact Gareth Davies on 01685 874323 to book your place.

· A leisurely stroll along the Tylorstown river walk from Pontygwaith Community Centre at 9.45am on Wednesday, April 22. Call Sian Seymour or Amanda Maz on 01443 732549 to book your place.

· Cycle ride along the old tram road to Cwmaman and back, leaving Dare Valley Country Park, Aberdare, at 10.30am on Wednesday, April 22. Contact Eleanor Rothwell on 07887551303 to book your place.

The annual food and agricultural festival is being held from Friday, July 31- Sunday, August 2, 2009 in Ynysangaharad War Memorial Park, Pontypridd, and organisers are inviting local food and drink producers to come along and show off their wares.

This year, as well as showcasing local produce, the event will feature cooking demonstrations, sporting activity, animal exhibitions, children’s entertainment, craft stalls, an RCT Health Alliance marquee, vintage farm vehicles and live music.

Arena displays will include duck driving and a falconry display; performances from local dance groups and – back by popular demand – Crufts Champions, the Top Lodge Dancing Dogs.

Last year, around 20,000 people visited Ynysangharad Park over the Big Bite weekend. If you are a Welsh food or drink producer and would like to exhibit at this year’s show, please contact Rhondda Cynon Taf Events team at events@rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk or call 01443 425700

Cardiff Vale and Valleys Beekeepers is a friendly association promoting the craft of bee keeping and the benefits of the products within the hive, to the public.

They meet in Llandaff Village hall on the second Tuesday of every month from September to March and have meetings during the summer months at members’ apiary sites.

To confirm details of this talk please see the Cardiff Beekeepers website.

The weekly classes cost just £2.50 and will be held every Wednesday from 7-9pm in the theatre’s lounge bar from March 4-March 25, 2009. The classes are supported by Bro Dysg and delivered as part of Rhondda Cynon Taf’s Arts Council of Wales-funded Take pART programme.

Take pART aims to increase participation in the arts in Rhondda Cynon Taf and inspire and engage all ages in the arts and cultural life of the county borough.

The scheme is a joint venture between the Council’s three Cultural Services venues – the Park and Dare, the Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare and the Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd – together with the Council’s Arts Development Unit, community/arts organisations and visiting performing artists and arts companies.

For more information on the salsa classes, please call 01443 485934

Expect duelling, elopement, bribery, fisticuffs, mistaken identity, near drowning, and finally, imprisonment for debt! This is the orignial and ultimate roadtrip – funny, intriguing, imaginative.

Follow the haphazard and often farcical journey of Samuel Pickwick and a host of well-loved characters including Sam Weller, Mr Jingle, Nathaniel Winkle, Mrs Bardell and The Fat Boy on their weird and wonderful ‘perambulations, perils, travels and adventures’ throughout the country.

European Arts Company is a national and international touring theatre company which has gone from strength to strength, performing all over the UK, Greece and Italy with works by Oscar Wilde, John Buchan, Anton Chekhov and John Osborne. It has developed a reputation for producing quirky classics with great imagination and a highly physical style.

The Pickwick Papers is a Rhondda Cynon Taf Theatres co-production (Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Cultural Services Department) with European Arts Company, and supported by the Arts Outside Cardiff ACW/WAG production fund, Creu Cymru Inventive Promoter Scheme trhrough funds from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

Tickets for this outstanding evening of drama, as part of the act8 drama season at the Cultural Services venues, are just £9.00 (concessions £7.00). Call The Coliseum Box Office now on 01685 881188.

The Youth Arts Plan: Inspiring Creativity will be launched at the Muni Arts Centre, Pontypridd, on Wednesday, March 4, when talented young people from across RCT perform in a youth arts extravaganza, including dance, drama and a film showcase.

The plan is funded by the Arts Council of Wales and developed by the RCT Youth Arts Strategic Partnership (YASP). The Council’s Youth Arts programme within Cultural Services – commissioned by Fframwaith – will develop youth arts opportunities, in partnership with other Council services and the voluntary sector, for children and young people eight-25, and leads the YASP.

Councillor Robert Bevan, Cabinet Member for Culture and Recreation, said: “All children and young people in Rhondda Cynon Taf should be able to take part in arts and cultural opportunities, as it is a great way for them to express themselves, gain confidence, learn new skills and make new friends. ”

For further information and to request a copy of the Youth Arts Plan, please contact: Caroline O’Neill, Arts Development Officer for Learning and Inclusion on 01443 490258 or email caroline.a.oneill@Rhondda-Cynon-Taff.gov.uk

· If you would like to attend the launch at The Muni at 7pm on March 4, please contact the Muni Arts Centre box office on 01443 485934. Tickets are free and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The cast list for Taffy Fest includes RCT-based talent such as famed storyteller Megan Lloyd; harpist and singer Bethan Nia (who recently appeared at Celtic Connections in Glasgow) and singer Siriol Burford, who has just released her first album of traditional songs Tua’r Wlad.

Other Welsh talent featured at the event will be the folk band Calan. The brothers persuaded Leonard Cohen to allow them to release the first Welsh language version of perhaps his greatest song Halleluljah - Brigyn.

Taffy Fest will conclude with a performance from Brittany-based Bagad Plougastell (25 young musicians performing on bagpipes, biniou, bombardes and drums) with young dancers from St.Pol De Leon.

Young performers from the Pontypridd area will also be providing entertainment of their own devising. The Muni Performance Crew came together as a result of Rhondda Cynon Taf Cultural Services’ Arts Council of Wales Take pArt funding. The Crew recently made their debut performing on every one of the Owen Money Theatre Company’s performances of Robinson Crusoe at The Muni.

The Footlights café bar at the Muni will be serving a special Welsh menu all day, and there will be informal performances in that space too.

Taffy Fest gets underway at 2.30pm and runs until late on February 28. For tickets and more information, call the box office on 01443 485 934

Llantrisant Community Arts Festival, which runs from Wednesday, February 18-Saturday, February 28, 2009, aims to involve people of all ages. Activities planned over the ten days include visual arts, music, dance, literature and performance.

Events will take place all around the town in Llantrisant Parish Church, The Model House, Llantrisant library, Y Pant Comprehensive School, Gwaun Ruperra, The Old Victorian School, and local primary schools.

Highlights of the festival include

· A mural workshop at Y Pant School on Wednesday, February 18 from 10am-3pm (Ages nine-18 years)

· Author workshops at Llantrisant Library on Thursday, February 19

· Family Day drop-in activities including painting and cardmaking on Saturday, February 21 at the Old School

· Smarty tots mums and toddlers’ art group at The Model House on Wednesday, February 25 from 10am.

· Children’s photography competition: Youngsters aged six-12 and 13-17 are invited to submit photographs taken of the local area. Images must be submitted to Llantrisant Library or The Model House by Tuesday, February 24.

There will be a chance to sample what’s gone on during the festival at an exhibition and performance evening at Llantrisant Parish Church from 5.30pm on Friday, February 27.

The following groups and organisations have lent their support to the festival: RCTCBC Cultural Services Arts Development’s Youth Arts Programme; Fframwaith, Y Pant and their E3 team, Llantrisant Community Council, Llantrisant Parish Church, South Wales Valleys Literature Project, Academi, The Model House, OTAG, The Giles Gallery, RCT Music.

For more information, contact Y Pant’s E3 office on 01443 237701, Llantrisant Community Arts on 01443 222671 or Llantrisant Library on 01443 237842

The Council-run competition has nominated 24 building schemes for inclusion in this year’s competition, with the award’s ceremony taking place shortly at Rhondda Heritage Park. The winners will then go forward to the All-Wales Awards to be held in April.

In December a group of adjudicators viewed the many stunning developments, projects that protect and complement the environment and schemes that have changed ways of life.

Run in partnership with the UK-wide Local Authority Building Control, the national body dedicated to excellence in Building Control, and sponsored by Vent Axia Ltd, YBS Insulation, Glyn Howard Builders Merchants and the Rhondda Heritage Hotel, the Building Control Quality Awards recognise and reward the excellent work achieved so far.

It also raises awareness of the incredible standards of development that can be attained when developers work with the experts on hand at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Building Control Service from the planning stage onwards in order to achieve maximum results. And it highlights once again the challenges developers face today as they consider the environmental impact of their schemes and the sustainability issues we all have to face in the future.

Contractors and agents/developers will attend the final stages of the Building Control Quality Awards at the Rhondda Heritage Park Hotel on January 30th 2009.

YGGG Llantrisant’s Childrens’ Choir, Cor Meibion Pontypridd, the Richard Williams Singers, Llantrisant Male Voice Choir, Cwmaman Institute Silver Band, Cor Meibion Morlais, Llantrisant Community Band and Treherbert Brass Band are among those who have been invited to perform at the Mayor’s Symphony of Sound and Song extravaganza.

The event is the first of its kind in Rhondda Cynon Taf and will see bands and choirs from across the county unite in music and in song to entertain an audience of all ages.

Tickets for the event are £10 and include a commemorative brochure. Concessions of £7 are available. For more information and to book, contact the Mayor’s office on 01443 485934.

The Birdwatch is the world’s biggest bird survey and bird lovers of all ages are being invited to join in the celebrations at Barry Sidings Countryside Park, Trehafod, near Pontypridd, on Saturday, January 24, 2009.

Meet at the Countryside Park’s visitor centre at 10am, where you can make a bird feeder for your feathered friends. The event is free. For more information, contact Stacey Humber, Rhondda Cynon Taf Countryside Project officer, on 01443 490250

In the late 1970s, the RSPB asked its junior membership to count the birds in their garden – over the same weekend. This ‘one-off’ idea was so successful, it has grown into the world’s biggest survey of its kind – the Big Garden Birdwatch.

For the past 30 years, the RSPB has asked people in the UK to look out for the birds in their garden for an hour and record the maximum number of each species seen at one time. This year, the RSPB is asking people to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch over the weekend of January 24 and 25. For more information, go to www.rspb.org.uk

Don your wigs, glitter and platform boots and get down to the popular venue on Friday February 20 at 7pm for an evening of Abba-themed fun, music and dancing.

Tribute act Abba Gold will get the evening started, belting out the Swedish group’s much-loved hits, from Dancing Queen and Waterloo to Voulez Vouz and the Winner Takes It All.

Once the audience have been well and truly transported back to the glory days for which the band created a soundtrack, there will also be a disco.

All proceeds from the evening will be donated to TEDS, the Special Baby Care Unit and the British Heart Foundation.

Mayor Cllr Margaret Davies said: “We knew, because of the popularity of Abba and the revival of the era thanks to the film that Mamma Mia at the Muni would be a huge success.

“But we were overwhelmed by how well the evening went, it was truly such a great night and everyone had such fun dancing to the tunes and wearing fancy dress.

“Because of the success, many people asked for a repeat performance and we are delighted to be able to announce the return of Mamma Mia at the Muni!”

The evening features a fully licensed bar and, based on its huge success last year, tickets are guaranteed to sell out fast so book yours now!

They cost £12 and can be obtained by contacting the Muni on 01443 485934, or the Mayor’s Office on 01443 424122

The competition will be held in association with Barnardos Cymru and the winning act will get to perform at a top Cardiff venue in November 2009.

The show will be hosted by Wales own singing sensation Kara Korbella who herself will be competing in Ganu Cymru 2009 .

Living The Dream 2009 will be held in November with a finale song composed by 21 year old Rhondda composer Jason Staddon. who is a student at the Royal Welsh College of
Music And Drama.

Both Kara and Jason are previous pupils of a Theatre School run by Welsh choreographer Sandra Gage.

The audition line is open until January 31st 2009 and you can register at kidsgottalent@talktalk.net before this date.

South Wales Orienteering Club are holding an event at Dare Valley Country Park on January 25th.

Orienteering is a sport for all the family, for all ages and you don’t have to be super-fit to compete. Be as competitive or as relaxed as you want, the idea is to have fun.

Event starts at 10.45 am onwards. Further details here.

It is suitable for all ages and abilities. All welcome.