New York meets Galway in unique Club Tropicana

No more than the rest of us, people who have intellectual disabilities like a good party, and the organisers of Club Tropicana which will take place in the Black Box theatre next Wednesday, June 24, are pulling out all the stops for their event.

Club Tropicana is a nightclub for adults with intellectual disabilities, and for their families and friends. It is a major event in the annual calendar and involves weeks of preparation.

A prefab building in the Brothers of Charity Woodlands Centre in Renmore is a hive of creativity and colour as users of the service work on the theme for this year’s Club, which is a celebration of all things urban.

New York will meet Galway in the Black Box next Wednesday thanks to the ingenious props being made by 50 people who use the Brothers of Charity Services, alongside clients of Ability West and Galway Family Support Services.

There are gorgeous pink handbags, decorated with ribbons and bows as well as huge headphones and a massive beatbox. A giant swan hovers overhead, and nearby is a set of flashing traffic lights.

It’s difficult to believe that these complex creations are made of cardboard. But they are, explain Bernie Rowan and Claude Madec who run That’s Life, a Brothers of Charity programme which allows people with intellectual disability to explore their creativity.

The cardboard – of all kinds and quality – has been donated to the group by Connacht Packaging, who have been supporting That’s Life for the past 10 years.

So too have artists and members of the local arts community, including Macnas.

“They have been very generous with their time and ideas,” says Claude.

See full story in this week’s Connacht and City Tribune