Forth – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

North Edinburgh Community Festival Set to Shine!

West Pilton Park will come alive on Saturday, 17th May, from 12:00 to 5:30 PM, as the much-anticipated and award-winning North Edinburgh Community Festival enters its fourth year.

Known for its vibrancy, inclusivity, and celebration of local talent, this year’s festival promises to be bigger, brighter, and more colourful than ever before. With over 10,000 attendees expected, it’s an unmissable event for the entire community.

Festival Highlights

This year, the festival will host over 160 local organisations, charities, and community groups, offering a kaleidoscope of activities—from hair braiding and glitter tattoos to boxing and dodgeball, from live music programmed by Granton Youth and Tinderbox to dance performances and pop-up dance mobs from Edinburgh College, and from Edinburgh Fringe Festival street performers to North Edinburgh Arts for all things arts and crafts.

North Edinburgh Arts and Imaginate have once again collaborated creating commissioned performances that will be performed by local children and young people from the North Edinburgh Youth Arts Collective.

As well as running their jam packed arts and crafts tent for families; their Art for Grown Ups, Arts & Dance and CREATE groups are all planning to join the festival parade en route as it passes by the Macmillan Hub.

We’ll be hosting North Edinburgh’s very own ‘Crufts’ with our first ever ‘Scruffs’ Dog Show – with 6 categories to enter and prizes up for grabs including North Edinburgh’s waggiest tail!

This is hosted by Audrey Coltart of Branniffmhor Cockers, a seasoned professional in dog competitions, and a respected judge!

Whatever your interest, we’ve got it all!

The festival remains free to attend, with 90% of activities free of charge, ensuring accessibility for everyone. While food vans and items will be available for purchase, the festival aims to keep costs low for attendees.

Key Projects Spotlight

The North Edinburgh Community Festival will feature three major projects that celebrate local food, culture, diversity and artistic expression:

THE TATTIE PROJECT

Celebrating the humble potato, this collaborative initiative includes over 10 local organisations such as Lauriston Farm and R2. Residents will engage in activities like growing, harvesting, cooking, and distributing potatoes.

In the food demonstration tent, six local home cooks will share potato recipes from their cultures, highlighting the diversity of local cuisine.
Scran Academy and Empty Kitchens, Full Hearts will serve up 2,000 free hot baked potatoes with toppings, ensuring everyone gets a delicious taste of this staple food.
While we regret the absence of RRT this year due to budget cuts, we remain grateful for the 5,000 free meals they’ve provided at past festivals.

THE NORTH EDINBURGH COMMUNITY CHOIR

A festival legacy project, the choir unites over 100 young people from Pirniehall, St. David’s, Forthview and Craigroyston Primary Schools and Craigroyston High School as well as Tinderbox Music Club to perform at the festival.

Earlier this year, these students had the opportunity to perform with international megastar Ed Sheeran alongside Tinderbox Orchestra at the West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre. Their performance will include his hit song, Bad Habits!

THE FESTIVAL PARADE

Pulse of the Place, Edinburgh Carnival and Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival leads the way with the festival’s largest and most colourful parade yet.

Featuring vibrant costumes, masks, and performances, the parade will embody the theme of rainbows.

Starting at North Edinburgh Childcare, it’s a 1-mile journey into West Pilton Park. The parade departs NEC at 1030am and will reach the park at 12noon to kick off the festivities.

Expect up to 12 dance groups to bring the vibe.

Over 200 families and groups will participate including Oaklands School, LACAE and North Edinburgh Childcare.

Parade participants are welcome to join at the start or en route.

Entertainment Across Three Stages

This year, the festival will feature three unique stages:

Main Stage: Showcasing local community music groups and organisations such as Fischy Music, Ama-zing Harmonies, Tinderbox Tuesday Hub, Rhythms of India and Edinburgh Ukrainian Choir
Indoor Stage – North by North West: A platform for emerging young singers and bands including All the Wrong People, The Clamz, Bows and Bridges and Abigail Kerner
Carnival Stage: Hosting parade participants’ dazzling live performances including Passion 4 Fusion, Street Mash, Sol de Peru and Angie Disney’s Silent Disco!

The North Edinburgh Community Festival is a celebration of collaboration, creativity, and community spirit. Whether you’re attending for the music, activities, food, or simply to soak in the vibrant atmosphere, this event has something for everyone.

Join Us

When: Saturday, 17th May, 12:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Where: West Pilton Park, Edinburgh
Cost: Free entry

Mark your calendars, bring your friends and family, and experience the magic of the North Edinburgh Community Festival! We can’t wait to see you there!

Interested in a career in banking?

Looking for a career in banking?

Join us for a session with TSB Bank professionals!

Gain valuable insights on CV writing, interview skills, personal branding, and explore career opportunities at TSB.

– Date: Friday, 7th March 2025

– Time: 14:00-15:00

– Location: ELREC, 14 Forth Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3LH

If interested, please register by emailing mrostami@elrec.org.uk.

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TONIGHT: Tea-time Cuppa with a Councillor!

Do you have questions, concerns, or ideas about our community? Your voice matters!

Join Stuart Dobbin, SNP Councillor for Forth Ward for an informal Twilight Drop-in session tonight Monday 19th of August from 5pm to 6:30pm at Pilton Community Health Project.

This is great opportunity to chat about local issues, share your thoughts. Whether you are looking to discuss specific concerns or just want to stop by and say hello.

Feel free to drop-in anytime during this session – no appointment necessary.

#communitywellbeingprogramme

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Royston Wardieburn Community Centre

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Cuppa with a Councillor at Pilton Community Health Project

Living in #NorthEdinburgh and would like to raise an issue affecting you?

Drop In this Friday for a cuppa and a chat with local @Edinburgh_CC Forth Councillor Stuart Dobbin this Friday 16 August in our welcoming Community Hub any time between 9.15am and 11am.

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#community

Community engagement takes centre stage at North Edinburgh Community Festival

Where: West Pilton Park
When: 12pm – 5:30pm, Saturday 11 May 2024
Social Media: Instagram – northedinfest, Facebook – northedinburghfest, Twitter – northedinfest

The third North Edinburgh Community Festival will take place on Saturday 1th May 2024 in West Pilton Park. The park sits in the heart of North Edinburgh and draws its audience from Pilton, Muirhouse, Granton, Drylaw, Davidson Mains, Silverknowes and Wardie.

The event which has grown year on year is a fun, free to attend, family day out for new and existing residents to enjoy – promoting opportunities, creativity, enhancing community cohesion, reducing social isolation and celebrating the diversity of the area.

The Festival is going from strength to strength with over 100 local groups, organisations and charities taking part and providing workshops, information and activities – from glitter tattoos to video games, from dodgeball and football to obstacle courses and interactive theatre.

In the open area at the far end of the park we will have the Army, Marines and the Airforce in attendance showing as well as the Scottish Fire Services.

This year and moving forward, one of the key aims of the festival will be to work with young people in North Edinburgh and encouraging young people to take the reigns for future events and festivals.

One of the ways to engage with the young people is through music and over 600 young people from across North Edinburgh have taken part in the Tinderbox Garage Band Challenge, creating their own new music for the event. The winners will perform their original tracks on the main stage at the festival.

The music for the festival has been curated by local organisations Tinderbox Collective and Granton Youth’s Mixtape Music Club.

There will be more than 30 acts playing over the afternoon including over 160 performers, almost all of them from the local neighbourhood. On the outdoor stage, highlights include the incredible Fischy Music, Ama-zing Harmonies Choir, Heritage Of India Through Dance and Edinburgh Ukrainian choir.

On the indoor stage we have an exciting lineup of youth bands who are part of ‘North By North West’ a collaboration project between 5 youth music organisations across North Edinburgh the aim is to get the very best emerging talent out onto the Edinburgh music scene.

From the slick electronic pop of Muirhouse local (and BBC Introducing alumni) Laurent, Granton rapper Leon Highway, or the pop-rock stylings of Drenched in Dreams – we’ve got something to suit all tastes. Look out for amazing youth artists A420, Kieran Crosbie, Mezari, and Trisha Muco finishing out the festival in collaboration with players from Tinderbox Orchestra.

Head into the Sports Hall of West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre to find Tinderbox Games Showcase, an exhibition of playable games made by young game designers of all ages from North Edinburgh.

These will be featured alongside an exciting new escape room made in collaboration with young people from Granton Youth, which draws inspiration from trips to the Granton Hub archives and the area’s rich history, as well as a selection of games made by previous winners of the East Lothian Game Jam.

You’ll discover a mix of digital, physical and table-top games made by the next up-and-coming generation of game designers and creators from the neighbourhood.

Look out for Granton Youth’s stall advertising its youth work provision, which includes work with local schools, detached youth work, counselling for parents and young people, open access youth clubs, family support, and Mixtape – our music club.

This year we are extremely excited to have so many of the Edinburgh Festivals joining us on the day.

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Society will have street performers on the day and will be handing out free tickets to shows at this years Fringe Festival under their new Fringe Days Out Scheme which offers free Fringe vouchers and Lothian bus tickets to people who wouldn’t normally get to experience the Fringe.

The Edinburgh Science Festival are back with bigger and better street performance style science shows as well as their cargo tricycle for their science demonstrations.

And there will be storytelling activities for families from the Edinburgh International Book Festival Citizen Adults Writing Group plus loads of free books for children.

North Edinburgh Arts have a host of activities planned across their two large marquees this year. There will be drop-in arts activities for children and families, carpet bowls, and information on their newly refurbished and extended building opening later this year.

There will be family-friendly performances by commissioned artists, selected by local children from Forthview Primary School and Pilton Youth, as part of the Creative Encounters project, delivered in partnership with Imaginate, the Childrens Festival and North Edinburgh Arts.

And there will be storytelling activities for families from the Edinburgh International Book Festival Citizen Adults Writing Group plus loads of free books for children.

Of course, there cant be a festival without a parade and this year North Edinburgh Childcare have stepped up and organised the parade which will leave from their premises at 1130am and make its way along Ferry Road Drive around West Pilton Park and entering the park for the official start of the festival at 12noon.

The theme is Superheroes and any families looking to join in are most welcome. Pulse of Place will lead the parade and if you are around North Edinburgh on Saturday 11^th May, you’ll most certainly hear the parade before you see it!

Other activities on the day include:

Important information from around 80 third sector organisations
Badge making with Pilton Community Health Project
National Galleries of Scotland’s Art in the Open electric cargo-bike for a sustainable art making workshop
Storytelling with Muirhouse and Granton Libraries
Human tower building with Colla Castellera d’Edinburgh
Horses from Edinburgh Equilearn

Each year the festival provides free food – the amazing RRT (Rapid Relief Team) hand out a few thousand burgers and will return again this year.

There will also be free food from Bangla Kitchen and Multi-Cultural Family Base.

This year we have yet again a larger food presence with some new vendors but as always there is cap on the cost of food at £5.

Lyndon Cane from RRT says “RRT is pleased to support North Edinburgh again by providing the signature burger meal at the North Edinburgh Community Festival.

“Care and Compassion is at the heart of what we do, and this event is important for us to attend so we can widen our support to communities during times of need.”

North Edinburgh Community Festival really does have the community at its very heart and we can’t wait to see everyone on the day.

Meet the Police at Morrisons

Pop along to Morrisons Ferry Road TODAY (Saturday 6/4/24) to chat to PC’s Hall and Lawrence who will be there from 1030 – 1230.

#forthcommunity

#keepingpeoplesafe

Capital Carers: February Programme

SIDE BY SIDE PROJECT

SUPPORT AND ACTIVITIES FOR UNPAID CARERS AND THOSE THEY CARE FOR

Trams: Northern Loop back on the agenda … twenty years late!

A public consultation will help inform the Strategic Business Case for a tram route from Granton to the BioQuarter and beyond, if approved by councillors next week.

On Thursday (1 February) Transport and Environment Committee will hear about a recommended north – south tram line, which would extend the existing network between the Airport and Newhaven.

This would run through the city centre via Roseburn then on to North and South Bridge, Clerk Street and Minto Street to Cameron Toll, before following the A7 to the BioQuarter. Further consideration is being given to potential future routes into neighbouring local authorities.

If members agree to proceed, a 12-week consultation in spring 2024 would show participants the recommended route across the four sections (Granton – City Centre; through the City Centre; City Centre – BioQuarter; and BioQuarter and beyond) and explain why it has been chosen. It will include details of alternative options that have been explored and the reasons why these have been discounted.

Engagement builds on a consultation on the City Mobility Plan (CMP) in 2020/21, which found that 62% of respondents would like to see tram network expanded, and 89% desired general improvements to public transport. Exploring the expansion of the tram network is outlined in the CMP and supports aims to both reduce car kms travelled by 30% and become a net zero city by 2030.

Future plans would build on the success of Trams to Newhaven, which was completed on time in June 2023, and has contributed to the award-winning Edinburgh Trams service carrying more than 9 million passengers in the last year.

Councillor Scott Arthur, Transport and Environment Convener, said: “Like cities around the world we’re challenged by poor air quality, congestion and carbon emissions relating to transport.

“This, paired with a rapidly increasing population – projected to grow at three times the rate of Scotland’s – demonstrates the pressing need to rethink the way we move people and goods around the Capital.

“By improving public transport, we want to provide safe, efficient and affordable travel in Edinburgh, and expanding the tram network is key to this. It’s clear that the public support it too, with almost two-thirds of respondents to our CMP consultation in favour of more tram routes. Of course, we know how disruptive a project of this scale can be to residents and businesses, but the success of the recently completed line to Newhaven is proof that we’re well prepared.

“Our recommended route for Granton to the BioQuarter and beyond links key areas of growth and development to the city and will more than double the capacity of our tram network. Not only would this support local regeneration and the delivery of much-needed affordable homes, but it would help create new jobs, boost economic growth and link to educational and cultural venues along the route.

“We’re already engaging with Transport Scotland to explore financial options, and it’s encouraging that mass rapid transit in the area has been highlighted as an investment priority by the Scottish Government. We’ll continue to work closely with them and other stakeholders as we look to progress this major project.

In addition to local policies, The Scottish Government National Transport Strategy (NTS) and Transport Scotland’s Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2) have highlighted Edinburgh and South-East Scotland Mass Transit as an investment priority.

“Alongside the existing line between the Airport and Newhaven, a Granton to BioQuarter tram service would also improve transport links to four priority investment zones identified in the City Plan 2030 – Waterfront, West Edinburgh, City Centre, and South-East Edinburgh – connecting major development sites, employment centres, retail hubs and educational facilities.”

If approved, the public consultation will run in spring 2024 and feedback received, along with a draft Strategic Business Case, would be reported to committee in autumn.