Interviews with Brewery Arts Members
At Brewery Arts, we want to make sure our supporters have the best possible experience with us. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been chatting with some of our Brewery Members including: Ian Chapman (IC) Thao Do (TD) Kerry McLoughlin (KM).
What does Brewery Arts mean to you?
IC: I think it’s brilliant. It’s a combination, it reminds me of being a student, like a student union with music and drinks and a good place to meet your friends, have something to eat, and it’s all here. I think it’s nice because it’s a space that has arts, so sometimes I come up for the art exhibitions as well, because I get an invite with my membership. I come up, have a glass of wine, look at the art, and I wouldn’t bother otherwise. Because I’m prompted, I do it, because often I think I really want to go and see that exhibition, and then I forget, and then it’s gone down again. So, yeah, it’s a good reminder.
What else, I think it gives a nice cultural twist to Kendal. So we do have a spoken word and theatre and art and all that stuff in a modern space, which is good, because otherwise it ends up scattered. It’s a meeting point, everyone I know comes here at some point. And there are really good gigs on. Really good quality stuff. So that means a lot to me. Without it, Kendal would be a different town. So I think it is good that we have it.
TD: If there is a movie on, we always check all the time to see what’s on. So any new movie coming out, we’re there. My daughter loves to dance, her school just did the dance platform. It was amazing. I’m from Vietnam, we are out all the time there. We are all into all the different music and all the different festivals all the time, hardly any children in the house. So, when we come here, we want to look for something with the children to do, and the music just makes it much, much nicer, and you have the garden, you have the bar, and I love the food here.
KM: I think Brewery Arts actually adds such a lot to the town, you know, bringing in artists for the community to sign up to and go and see. Just want to do whatever I can to help keep it going because I think it is such a fabulous asset for the town.
Why did you join Brewery Arts Membership?
IC: We use Brewery Arts a lot, so my wife, Deb, and I both use Brewery Arts for food and drinks, and we come and see a lot of gigs and cinema. So, I used to visit the cinema a ludicrous amount a few years ago. Now I still visit the cinema often, but because I want to socialise, I also go to a lot more music gigs. Yeah, so it’s good for that.
TD: I always recommend people to Brewery Arts because you have a cinema, you have events on, and it just brings you together and brings life to the town. More activity, please and for the children, because they are the young generation. They are the ones who will go to see cinema. Go to see the gigs all the time. If you encourage them to go and do so, you’re leaving that lifestyle.
KM: They have some great offers like the two-for-one. Which encourages you to buy tickets for things that you otherwise wouldn’t have seen. So I’ve really enjoyed that. I’ve seen quite a few things that I probably wouldn’t have bought tickets for, but the two-for-ones encourage me to go; I really love them.
What kind of things do you come and see?
IC: Mainly live music, but some comedy. Verbalise is the best thing Brewery Arts does. We want more Verbalise. So, I had my free cinema ticket the other day. I went to see Becoming Led Zeppelin. Oh, it was great, just on my own.
TD: The children love to see the movies, and every week we go to see them. Also, my husband and I like the gigs as well, so into the music, it is brilliant. We like Floyd or the Seals, that type of music. A bit of rock music. The whole family love the Summer Sunday and you feel like the town has something to look forward to, this exciting thing. And the thing is, really, we are on the edge of the Lake District, and so many families come to the lakes in the summer. They want to look for something to do, and the Brewery Arts is the place.
KM: So last year I saw Morganway, Americana-type music, which I really enjoyed. And this year already, I’ve booked Top Loader and I went to see Fidelio, a brilliant opera, which I really loved as well. And then some crazy, mad stuff like Henge. The old fancy dress and everything, so I really enjoyed it. And there was another mad band, Oklahoma, like American southern style music, it was really brilliant, and the guy had this great big red hat on and just fabulous. I’ve seen some really great music.
What do you think about the membership newsletter?
IC: I skim newsletters, I often check the website anyhow. The Membership newsletter is good for the offers.
TD: I’ll hardly read it, to be honest with you, flick through. Yes, I’ve seen two-for-one offers, but I never use them. I only use the cinema, mainly just the cinema for us, really.
KM: I always read the newsletters. I’m not on the website all the time, so it just kind of prompts you a little bit. I actually really like it. It’s not too long. It’s got some good offers in there. I’m usually reading it, scrolling through for the things that are on and then pressing the link to the website to see if there are still tickets and having a little listen. I forget about the food offer myself, so the little reminder about the food and cinema tickets at the bottom is a good thing.
Do you ever use your Dining discount?
IC: Yes. We’ve had the whole family, five of us.
TD: 10% off the food bill for up to six people is really good. I’m so pleased to use that. I absolutely love the food here, especially the vegan option. My daughter is dairy-free, and usually, when you go to a restaurant, you always have to check what it is. There are so many dairy-free options here. It is fantastic, and I really like it.
KM: I often eat there to be honest with you I think it’s a great bonus with your Membership and I do I actually love the pizzas at Brewery Arts and it’s good Summer Sunday is back soon, it’ll be nice to get pizza and music.
What could we do to improve our membership experience?
IC: Not much you could do to improve it, really. I think it’s better now that it’s on a bit of cardboard. It’s good for the environment. The Membership card used to be plastic, didn’t it. I think what else would improve it? Nothing. It’s all good.
TD: I am so happy to pay my money because you are supporting the community. That’s what we need in town.
KM: Maybe, little reminders throughout the building on what your offers might be. It’s a great value, though, and I’ve seen a lot more by being a member.
Thank you to Ian, Thao and Kerry for taking part in these interviews.
Also, thank you to our 564 Brewery Members and our Business Members. Having a strong membership means we can continue to deliver a varied and exciting programme of live and cinema events and community workshops. We strive to improve our offer and ensure we deliver in terms of artistic quality and value. In the above interviews, we mentioned the exclusive membership 2-for-1 offers and cinema discounts.
You too can enjoy these offers and support the Brewery Arts by signing up for our membership here.
