Choir flash mob highlights importance of sustainable travel

Passengers on the number 8 bus from Oakbank into Perth city centre on Thursday 5 October were treated to a pop-up performance in the form of a flash mob by Craigie Community Choir as part of a project highlighting sustainable travel.

Users of the 19:26 Stagecoach service from Oakbank Community Centre were left ‘feeling groovy’ and probably ‘all shook up’ after choir members morphed from passengers to performers to belt out a medley of contemporary songs whilst en route to Perth Theatre.

Conceived by Helen McCrorie, the embedded artist in Perth Theatre and Concert Hall and Creative Carbon Scotland’s Transforming Audience Travel Through Art project supported by Paths for All, the Flash Mob was recorded as part of a new film exploring buses for communities. The film will be screened at a free, drop-in Ticket to Ride event, at Perth Concert Hall on Saturday 11 November, which will also feature the Travelling Gallery exhibition on a bus on Perth Concert Hall Plaza, as well as exhibitions from creative workshops, performances, expert speakers and roundtable discussions around sustainable transport.

Craigie Community Choir leader, Debra Salem said:

‘Craigie Community Choir has always enjoyed being part of interesting projects and this one is no exception. Having connected with Helen through singing and knowing about her film work she told me about her project and the opportunity for us to get involved by providing a flash mob on the bus, became a possibility. It made us think of the joy of singing on bus journeys when you are with people you know, and spontaneously burst into song. The choir is really delighted to be involved in this project and be able, in our own way, to support getting the message across about sustainable travel.’

Artist Helen McCrorie said:

‘I am excited to collaborate with Craigie Choir on this flash mob and film to celebrate the potential of buses as a social form of transport that should serve the whole community. Audiences have been telling us they want more and cheaper services, so that they can travel by bus. A good bus service that is well-used benefits the whole community. We missed social spaces during the pandemic – let’s break out of our car bubbles and travel by bus!’

In addition to Ticket to Ride on 11 November, Helen is looking for people to help create materials for the event through banner making, set painting or sound recording at a Sustainable Travel Creative Workshop in Perth Theatre on Saturday 21 October.

For info on Ticket to Ride or to book a free Sustainable Travel Creative Workshop space visit perththeatreandconcerthall.com.

Perth Theatre and Concert Hall’s Transforming Audience Travel Through Art project with Creative Carbon Scotland is funded by Paths for All’s Smarter Choices Smarter Places programme.

(Image ID: Group of people on a bus, waving – inside a bright green frame. On either side are organisational logos on a cream background.)

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