We are very pleased to announce that we now have reciprocal membership arrangements with two wonderful clubs.  This is part of a programme of teaming up with other clubs with a similar outlook, in towns and cities around the UK and overseas.  News of others will follow but for now the two clubs that that we have an arrangement in place with are::

The Union Club, Greek Street, Soho, London
United Arts Club, Dublin

We are looking forward to this Friday when we welcome one of the UK’s top cabaret artists Miss Terri.

http://iwmail.co.uk/2013/07/a-visual-chameleon-the-definitive-cabaret-artist/

Kory came and played the club this weekend and was not only good but also charming. Good luck on the rest of your UK / Ireland tour Kory. We hope to see you back with that song you wrote on the beach all finished.

We’ve been enjoying some very good jazz and blues nights over the last month. Jazz from Jim Thorn & friends, gypsy jazz from Cat Skellington and blues from Yank Heartsrings and Beeno. All have been great and suited the setting of the club well. July sees more of the above as well as some new jazz from the Alan Nichols Trio, blues from the Oregon blues traveller Kory Quinn and others to be announced. Keep an eye on our coming up pages and join us for a relaxed evening of jazz and blues.

We are very happy to say that Jim Thorn will be the nucleus of a regular, fortnightly jazz night at the club – usually Fridays but keep an eye on our ‘coming up page’ or Twitter feed @ventnorartsclub. We have really enjoyed the gigs so far and look forward to many more  – Jim on his own, sometimes with Jon Thorne on Bass, Loren on vocals and others who will sit in when they are in town.

If you require a lush, comfortably furnished private space in which to hold a cocktail party, reception,screening, presentation or private dining event we offer an elegant environment in the heart of Ventnor. Our manager and chef will work with you to ensure that you and your guests are well catered for and service is attentive but unobtrusive.

If you would like to see the club and discuss your event needs, please contact us on 01983 857060 or info@ventnorartsclub.com

It’s weekends like the one we just had make us wish that we could use the roof and our courtyard. Well, we can I suppose, but we can’t allow public use. We are often asked why we don’t open the roof as part of the club but it is not as suitable as it may appear from the road. It would need a great deal of work, in its current form could be unsafe and in fact, the views are not great. We are also asked a lot why we don’t utilise the courtyard as a smoking area to prevent people having to stand on the high street. Unfortunately, although it was always our intention and the preference of the police officer when he inspected, it is against our current planning permission. But a very nice summer staff room it will be…very soon.

Next weekend we take a break from enjoying musical performances to take part in the Isle of Arts weekend. There are four events at the club from Friday to Sunday including talks, films and a mixture of both. For more information and details of where to purchase tickets for the events that we are hosting and others around Ventnor, click here.

Life in crime fiction
RC Bridgestock
Friday 19 April, 8pm, Ventnor Arts Club. £6.50

Jane Austen
Her Life & Works
Saturday 20 April, 12 noon, Ventnor Arts Club, £6.50

Town of Runners
Screening & filmmakers’ talk
Saturday 20 April, 3pm, Ventnor Arts Club. £6.50

Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict
Screening and filmmaker’s talk
Sunday 21 April, 3pm, Ventnor Arts Club. £6.50

Dan was moving swiftly between the coffee machine and his spirit bottles on Saturday to keep up with the demand for Espresso Martinis.

Having spent Friday evening trying out several new cocktails in preparation for a specials list next weekend, market forces voted the coffee, vodka, Kahlua based cocktail the clear winner on that night. However, there are others that will be contenders when they leave the shaker, sweet, sour and some confusing the senses next week.