Wales’ first fully inclusive dance event– Strictly Cymru – is set to hit Cardiff for a dance-off next week. This will be the last regional heat of the competition, after which the 12 finalists will go to the Grand Final in Caernarfon on 11 May. Competitors will go head-to-head on 18 and 19 March at the Sports Wales National Centre in Cardiff. Previous heats across Wales have seen participants take on everything from fifties swing moves to hip hop. Organised…

New figures reveal that nearly £457 million of National Lottery funding has been invested in the Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan  since, the National Lottery began, almost 25 years ago. Nearly 7,700 National Lottery grants have been awarded since 1994. The funding is  helping to strengthen our communities, power our sports teams, protect the environment, unleash local creative talent and look after the elderly and those at risk. A wide variety of local projects have received National Lottery funding…

The Explore Learning Writers’ Awards are now open for the eleventh year and will be judged by best-selling author, singer, dancer and TV presenter, Alesha Dixon! Whether they’re a reluctant writer or a budding Roald Dahl, this competition will inspire children from across the UK to get creative and write their very own short story. Children are tasked with creating a 500-word story all about how they could transform the world, whether that’s by making waves to save the planet,…

Disabled people in Wales are set to benefit from a new way of receiving social care, thanks to a scheme being officially rolled out across the country. The ‘Together as One’ project, launched by the disability charity Leonard Cheshire, will offer people who receive social care the option to take part in shared social and sporting activities with other disabled people living locally. Leonard Cheshire was the first provider to be awarded £1million from the Welsh government to deliver the…

Carter rings the bell at home time. An End of Treatment Bell has been installed on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the University Hospital of Wales, so that when the smallest, most vulnerable patients have grown and finished their treatment, they ring the bell and move on to the next chapter of their lives. Carter Griffin, along with his dad Martin, were the first family to ring the End of Treatment Bell on the unit before leaving for…

BE WARNED…Julian Clary is back with his filthiest show yet and he’s coming to St David’s Hall on Wednesday 27 March!  Emma Cox chats to Julian Clary, and quickly finds out that no subject is out of bounds…   Let’s talk about your tour first. It’s called Born to Mince, isn’t it? Yes. The last one was The Joy of Mincing. Before that was Natural Born Mincer, Lord of the Mince, Mincing Machine. You get the general idea. I just…

THE nation’s favourite historian Dan Snow comes to St David’s Hall on Tuesday 26 March armed with some fascinating facts about the Welsh capital! An Evening with ‘The History Guy’ features incredible research from the beloved BBC broadcaster aided by digital screen presentations depicting Cardiff’s heritage. This show is unmissable for the whole family including academics and students young and old. Plus, you’ll get the opportunity to partake in the audience Q&A, so have a think what you want to…

Lufkin Coffee Roasters established themselves in King’s Road Yard, Pontcanna in 2015 and have since become the top place to stop and enjoy a speciality coffee in the area. The Cardiff-based company now plan to open two new sites in Canton and Grangetown this spring. Husband and wife team, Dan and Frances Lukins, are hoping that their new ventures will allow the people of Cardiff further opportunity to stop, relax and enjoy the meditative experience of their special approach to…

SING&SMILE charity is reaching across South Wales with fun-packed daytime singing sessions for older people. Starting on Thursday evening April 4 from 6-7pm a new Goldies Cymru session based on Bollywood music and dance will take place at Penylan Library in the community centre. It is supported by the Cardiff-based Moondance Foundation and will be taken by Amruta Garud who is well known for her work with older people from the Indian community across South Wales. Originally from India, Amruta…

One of Cardiff’s best-loved restaurants has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help to fund the opening of its first bricks-and-mortar site. The husband and wife team behind Dusty Knuckle are hoping to raise £40,000 to help them refurbish an old park-warden’s bungalow in Sophia Gardens – and turn it into one of the city’s most sustainable, food and drink venues. Dusty Knuckle is one of the city’s biggest pop-up-to-permanent success stories. Having started life selling pizza from a homemade oven…