It’s here! Edinburgh’s community gardeners take centre stage this weekend as The Power of Food Festival takes place at venues and locations across the city.
For further info visit https://poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.com/
Tag: Festivals
Connecting town and country: Royal Highland Show opens today
When it started as a small show at Queensberry House in Edinburgh’s Canongate in December 1882, The Scotsman reported: ‘ .. between sixty and seventy five cattle were exhibited. There were also eight New Leicester sheep and two beautiful pigs.’ The Royal High Show now attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually and celebrates it’s 175th Show this week …
The Royal Highland Show, one of Scotland’s most iconic and enduring annual events, is ready to welcome visitors to its 175th Show, which runs from 18 -21 June 2015 at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.
Billed as the biggest and best celebration of farming, food and rural life,
the ‘Royal Highland’ is one of Europe’s most impressive rural shop
windows, showcasing handpicked livestock, the finest food & drink and
rural living at its most vibrant.
The Royal Bank of Scotland, partners of the Show since 1981, maintain
their support for the four-day event, which attracted in excess of 178,000
people in 2014.
Scotland’s Larder Live!
This year sees the launch of Scotland’s Larder Live! at the Royal
Highland Show. Showcasing the diverse range of quality Scottish farmed
produce it will be a live, experiential food show, promoting and
celebrating our Scottish food provenance, regionality and seasonality.
The event will relaunch food at the Highland, build interactivity and
visitor engagement and bring to life the consumer message that ‘farming
equals food’. Scotland’s Larder Live! will be lively, informative and
interactive, full of the smells, sights and tastes of Scotland. The Cookery
Theatre will have a theatrical element, with chefs being challenged to
whip up a dish against the clock. Tastings and talks will feature some of
our finest producers and plenty of audience engagement and
participation. Follow the clues around the event and enter the Scotland’s
Larder Live! competition to win a selection of goodies from some of
Scotland’s top producers.
2015 will be the second year of the Show’s industry leading Food
Charter, an initiative that sees on-site caterers and the show’s other food
partners use, where possible, only ingredients that are locally produced
and ethically sourced. Only a small number of companies from 2014
have not make the grade, demonstrating the show already serves to
showgoers a huge number of responsibly sourced Scottish produce.
The loveliest of livestock
The Royal Highland’s big attraction is without doubt the livestock, with
more than 5,000 of the finest cattle, sheep, goats, horses and poultry,
heading for the showground over the four-day event. However, there will
be other furry friends entertaining and enticing showgoers over the 4
days of the Show, including Elite Falconry, the Sealpin Gundogs and
Fife Foxhounds, who can all be found in the Countryside Area.
Hooved heaven
The Royal Highland Show is the largest equestrian show in Scotland
with almost 3,000 horses and ponies competing in classes for light and
heavy horses, private driving, heavy horse turnouts, harness and
grooming plus top class show jumping.
The Highland offers an impressive array of equine sections and classes,
38 categories in total, including nine much sought after Horse of the
Year Show (HOYS) qualifiers. Over 2,200 riders are expected to
compete over the four days.
With a challenging International Stairway class – which allows British
Show Jumping to monitor up and coming riders and horses – a vibrant
top class show jumping section, seven championship Final classes and
a total prize fund of £45,000, the Royal Highland is undoubtedly
Scotland’s premier equestrian event.
An agricultural shop window
With the vast majority of agricultural manufacturers, dealers and
specialists represented at the Show, farmers and others in the
agricultural sector have a unique opportunity to review the latest
releases and developments.
Over the four days of the Highland, visitors will be able to explore a
diverse range of contemporary farm equipment, machinery and
techniques and get up to the minute, relevant advice and support.
The place to do business
As well as playing a significant role in supporting the Scottish agricultural
industry, the Highland also has a much wider economic impact – £47.1
million in 2014 – and plays a key role as a forum to highlight and discuss
some of the crucial issues affecting Scotland today. The 2014 Show saw
top figures involved in the Scottish Referendum using the event as
opportunity to promote their manifestos; and in the 2015 the Show will
come a month after the General Election.
Grass roots learning
This year over 30,000 children are expected to visit the Royal Highland
Show where The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) is providing
free interactive activities for school groups and the public at the
Education Centre.
The Centre will be split into two sections one focusing on food with
cooking, cheese tasting, seafood sampling and much more on the menu.
The other focusing on farming where children can learn about livestock,
cereals and celebrating the Year of Soils can take part in two soil based
activities.
Retail therapy
The Show offers a unique ‘High Street’ experience for all visitors,
offering everything from luxury fashions, arts, crafts and home and
garden accessories. Visitors will have the chance to pick up the latest
country styles or take home a piece of rural life.
RHASS president for 2015, Lord Forsyth, is looking forward to this week’s events: “In the 18th century the Highland Society fought for roads
and bridges to revive rural Scotland. Today’s communication challenge
is digital and access to fast broadband and reliable mobile coverage is
vital to the future prosperity of our countryside. I am immensely proud to
have been elected President, in this, the Royal Highland and Agricultural
Society of Scotland’s 175th year, and look forward to continuing its
tradition of connecting town and country.”
The Royal Highland Show takes place at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh from Thursday June 18 to Sunday June 21.
www.royalhighlandshow.org.uk
Leith Festival: follow the parade
Leith Festival gets underway at midday today with the traditional pageant and Gala Day …
Leith Festival set to kickstart summer
Sunny Leith’s all set for nine days of festival fun
Nine days of fun, entertainment, exhibitions and performance kicks off in Leith tomorrow with the Gala Day and pageant from midday.
There’s been a festival in Leith for over a hundred years and this year’s programme is as bold and ambitious as it’s ever been with a range of events and activities to suit all tastes.
Dave Carson, Chair of Leith Festival, said: “Leith is one of the largest community festivals in Scotland, with a regular attendance of between 11, 000 – 15,000 local people and families participating on Gala Day, and many more besides during the following week of activites in our comunity.
“Leith Festival celebrates and reflects the cultural diversity amd richness we have in Leith, acting as a facilitator to celebrate our community assets and seeking to promote a sense of community, neighbourliness and connectedness with each other.”
To see the full Leith Festival programme visit
www.leithfestival.com
Power of Food Festival is fast approaching …
North Edinburgh plays a major part in this month’s Power of Food Festival with events and activities in Blackhall, Drylaw, Granton, Leith, Muirhouse and the Botanics to name just a few …! 
Hello everyone!
It’s an amazing privilege to be in a position today to launch the programme of Edinburgh’s first Power of Food Festival, only five and a half months after we decided to turn the original idea into a reality. It’s been a bit of a mad time getting everything in place, but really exhilarating to see it all coming together thanks to the efforts of a wide range of individuals keen to share their resources, skills, energy and passion. And how appropriate to be launching such an initiative on Volunteers Week! Volunteers are at the heart of community food growing and of the centre of the Festival.
We look forward to seeing you in one (or several!) of the 15 gardens of the Festival on 20-21 June and hope you enjoy the celebration!
Best wishes from
The Power of Food Festival Committee
Rebecca Crowther
Christine Giraud
Marie-Amélie Viatte
After months of preparation, The Power of Food Festival is pleased to announce an exciting programme of free events organised by each venue in line with what they do best: connecting people!
From well established award winning gardens, to new grassroot food growing projects, the diversity of the initiatives which feature in the programme will surprise and delight Festival goers. Venues open on the weekend of 20 and 21 June include a library, an office block, a secret garden, and a farmhouse which is undergoing an incredible transformation!
A citywide celebration
From Portobello to Wester Hailes, Granton to Blackhall, Tollcross to Old Dalkeith Road, and many others in between, every corner of Edinburgh will have a garden celebrating the joy of community food growing. There will be a rich menu of events suited for every taste, for children and adults alike, including: children’s poetry writing, bug hunting, storytelling and sharing, choir music, conversations on nature, food and sustainability, wind band, foraging, cooking and eating, as well as practical gardening workshops, and the launch of Edible Edinburgh Food Charter of a Sustainable Food City.
In association with Sustrans, visitors can also join in a guided bike tour of the
gardens (free but ticketed). Bookings can be made online.
Whether on foot or on two wheels, visitors can plan their Festival trip and keep up to date with the latest events and information via The Power of Food Festival website (details below).
A Festival for everyone
Why not invite your friends and family to take part in the first Edinburgh Power of Food Festival? The weekend will give everyone a chance to meet people in their local community, to join those who are transforming the city landscape everyday, and to give a deeper meaning to the word ‘community’. Maybe it will be the beginning of a great adventure: who knows where The Power of Food will take you?
The full programme of events can be accessed here: PoF Programme
Come with family and friends to The Power of Food Festival
Celebrating community food growing and local change makers
summer solstice weekend 20-21 June
W: poweroffoodfestival.wordpress.
Twitter @PoFFest FacebookEdinburghPowerofFoodFestival
Electrifying talent on show in Let’s Glow festival
Let’s Glow festival shines a light on Edinburgh College’s creative talent
Edinburgh College’s dazzling creative students are about to light up the city with a two-month celebration of their luminous talents.
The Let’s Glow festival gives Edinburgh the chance to enjoy performances and exhibitions from college students covering everything from music, theatre and dance to photography, film, art, animation, textiles and design. The programme of events will showcase the skills and talents of the students, demonstrating the work they have undertaken at Edinburgh College over the last year.
Let’s Glow runs from 4 May to 22 June, with events taking place at venues across the city – including the college’s campuses, Summerhall, The King’s Theatre, The Traverse Theatre, The Edinburgh Filmhouse and The Queen’s Hall. Photography students are also taking their work to exhibit at Brick Lane in London.
The festival will feature students from all the college’s creative industries study programmes: Art and Design; Broadcast Media and Photography; Computing; Music and Sound Production; and Performing Arts.
The programme includes large-scale end-of-year shows by music, arts, photography, film and animation students; the PASS Cross Currents dance event choreographed by college staff and performed by students; an exhibition of make-up artistry; a graphic design exhibition; performances of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and contemporary Scottish play My Romantic History; the PASS Out showcase for final-year Acting and Performance students; a musical theatre revue; and the premier of an original musical about Scotland’s most revered and most controversial instrument – the bagpipes!
The festival launched last night with sneak peek performances at the city’s La Belle Angele.
Jon Buglass, head of the Centre for Creative Industries at Edinburgh College, said: “Following the success of the first Let’s Glow festival last year, we’re delighted to showcase the incredible talents of our current crop of students. The events at this year’s festival allow us to celebrate and share the remarkable work our students have been producing over the last year. We are constantly blown away by the quality of their work and the time, effort and dedication they put into its production.
“The diversity in the programme means there really is something for everyone on offer. So if you want to be inspired by the talents of our students, get along to one of our Let’s Glow events.”
The full programme of events – some of which are free – and details of where to buy tickets can be found at www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk/letsglow.
Keep up to date with Let’s Glow events on Facebook and Twitter.
#letsglow15
Light my fire: Edinburgh ablaze to celebrate Beltane
Edinburgh welcomes summer with Beltane Fire Festival
PIC: Jon Kendrew
Edinburgh’s skyline was ablaze last night as hundreds of revellers took part in the ancient Celtic celebration of the coming of summer, the Beltane Fire Festival.
As darkness fell more than 7,000 people gathered on Calton Hill to watch as a procession of fire, drums and mystical characters set off from an epic opening sequence on the National Monument, to the lighting of a huge bonfire that could be seen for miles.
The night also saw a faerie garden of giant glowing mushrooms made from candlewax reclaimed from Edinburgh’s caves, a zip line whizzing fire performers across the hill and red acrobats making giant people-pyramids!
Sara Thomas, event coordinator said: “We’re really pleased the festival has had another successful year and that so many people could join us. Beltane is an ancient tradition with a modern twist, and we want to share it with as many people as possible.
“We’re hugely grateful for the support of everyone who comes to witness Beltane, and for the hard work of everyone involved in putting it on – from the hundreds of volunteers that perform, acts as stewards and make the event happen, to our partners in the local community – the City of Edinburgh Council, Police Scotland, the Incorporation of Candlemakers of Edinburgh and so many others. It’s only possible to put something incredible like Beltane on with a massive collective effort, and that’s what makes it so special.”
The modern Beltane Fire Festival has run since 1988 and is the spring and summer counterpart to Samhuinn Fire Festival, which is held in the city centre on 31 October. The events are modern re-imaginings of ancient celtic festivals marking the turning seasons.
The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient Celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.
Beltane to spark a celebration of summer
Organisers have released details of how Edinburgh’s world-famous Beltane Fire Festival will mark the coming of summer tonight.
The Beltane Fire Society, the charity of volunteers who run the event on 30 April each year, say the modern take on an ancient celtic festival will be an incredible spectacle. They want everyone – locals and tourists, old hands and those new to the event – to book tickets now and be part of the celebration.
Beltane Fire Festival takes place as the sun sets on the last night of April (gates open 8pm), at Calton Hill. This year hundreds of specialist volunteer performers will welcome in the summer with more than 40 drums; fire dancing, fire sculptures and flame torches; a huge performance of physical theatre on the national monument; a procession of weird and wonderful characters awakening from their winter sleep around the hill; and the lighting of a huge bonfire by the incarnation of summer, the May Queen, and her counterpart the Green Man.
The 2015 Beltane will incorporate new elements too. Performers will be using fire in dramatic ways not seen before, and there will be the international debut of interactive sound and light performance ‘Spark’.
The festival will also include a faerie garden of giant, glowing toadstools and mushrooms made from candle wax reclaimed from Edinburgh’s underground caves. Also this year, the Incorporation of Candlemakers of Edinburgh will take part in the event. The candlemakers were part of Beltane celebrations in the Capital as far back as medieval times.
Lila O’Leary, Festival Secretary of the Beltane Fire Society, said: “Beltane is a huge community project, kept alive and reinvented every year by hundreds of dedicated volunteers. The night itself is always special, the result of months of hard work, and this year will be particularly impressive. We’re going all out with dazzling fire performances, mysterious characters and stunning costumes. Beltane is something we are really proud of and we want people across Edinburgh – and Scotland – to get tickets, join us on the night and be proud too.”
The modern Beltane Fire Festival has run since 1988 and is the spring and summer counterpart to Samhuinn Fire Festival, which is held in the city centre on 31 October. The events are modern re-imaginings of ancient celtic festivals marking the turning seasons. The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.
Advance tickets are available via The Hub and www.beltane.org from £10 + booking fee, and at the event gate, subject to availability
Beltane organisers announce Fire Festival details
Organisers of Edinburgh’s world-famous Beltane Fire Festival have announced details of how will mark they plan to mark coming of summer later this month.
The Beltane Fire Society, the charity of volunteers who run the event on 30 April each year, say the modern take on an ancient celtic festival will be an incredible spectacle. They want everyone – locals and tourists, old hands and those new to the event – to book tickets now and be part of the celebration.
Beltane Fire Festival takes place as the sun sets on the last night of April (gates open 8pm), at Calton Hill in the heart of Edinburgh. This year hundreds of specialist volunteer performers will welcome in the summer with more than 40 drums; fire dancing, fire sculptures and flame torches; a huge performance of physical theatre on the national monument; a procession of weird and wonderful characters awakening from their winter sleep around the hill; and the lighting of a huge bonfire by the incarnation of summer, the May Queen, and her counterpart the Green Man.
The 2015 Beltane will incorporate new elements too. Performers will be using fire in their performances in dramatic ways not seen before, and there will be the international debut of interactive sound and light performance ‘Spark’.
The festival will also include a faerie garden of giant, glowing toadstools and mushrooms made from candle wax reclaimed from Edinburgh’s underground caves. Also this year, the Incorporation of Candlemakers of Edinburgh will take part in the event. The candlemakers were part of Beltane celebrations in the Capital as far back as medieval times.
Lila O’Leary, Festival Secretary of the Beltane Fire Society, said: “Beltane is a huge community project, kept alive and reinvented every year by hundreds of dedicated volunteers. The night itself is always special, the result of months of hard work, and this year will be particularly impressive. We’re going all out with dazzling fire performances, mysterious characters and stunning costumes. Beltane is something we are really proud of and we want people across Edinburgh – and Scotland – to get tickets, join us on the night and be proud too.”
The modern Beltane Fire Festival has run since 1988 and is the spring and summer counterpart to Samhuinn Fire Festival, which is held in the city centre on 31 October. The events are modern re-imaginings of ancient celtic festivals marking the turning seasons. The Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by volunteers, dedicated to marking the fire festivals of the ancient celtic calendar and keeping traditional Scottish skills of street theatre, music and pageantry alive.
Advance tickets are available via The Hub and www.beltane.org from £7.50 + booking fee until 27 April. Some tickets may be available on the night, but as interest in this year’s event is expected to be high, organisers say it’s best to book in advance.
The show must go on!
Government commits over £2m to Edinburgh’s festivals
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, has confirmed £2.25m in funding to support Edinburgh’s festivals.
The latest round of the Scottish Government Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund will support twelve projects and the work of strategic umbrella organisation Festivals Edinburgh in 2015/2016.
The Expo Fund provides Edinburgh Festivals with £2.25 million to promote themselves to overseas audiences and invest in the work of talented Scottish artists and performers. Running since 2008, this year’s allocation brings the total invested close to £16m.
The focus of the 2015/16 Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund is new creative works by Scottish artists, international collaboration and the promotion of Edinburgh as the best festival city in the world.
Ms Hyslop said: “The Scottish Government Expo Fund is direct investment in the future of Edinburgh’s Festivals. The fund has given the festivals scope to deliver world class pieces and performances that have caught the imagination of international audiences. Thanks to the Expo Fund festivals are working more closely together boosting tourism and Scotland’s cultural ambitions.
“The investment in Edinburgh’s Festival is about creating long term benefits for Scottish artists, the economy and our country’s’ international reputation. The Edinburgh festivals contribute more than £250m in additional tourism revenue to Scotland’s economy but just as important is their international profile.
“Edinburgh’s Festivals have been defining and promoting Scotland’s identity as a confident, creative, welcoming nation for over 65 years. We are supporting their work through the Expo Fund to fund innovation, collaboration and artist development, all vital for future success of our festivals.”
Faith Liddell, Director at Festivals Edinburgh, said: ‘The Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund provides an incredibly powerful platform for Scotland and its artists, thinkers and companies to be showcased to the world at Edinburgh’s Festivals.
“As a direct result, not only have hundreds of performances and events of the best Scottish work been presented as highlights in our prestigious Festival programmes; many have also been taken to other venues and festivals around the world and new networks and opportunities have been delivered for Scotland’s artists and thinkers.”
All twelve of Festival Edinburgh’s members benefit from the Expo Fund. The funded projects develop the creative industries at home and showcase Scottish talent abroad. The projects included in this round of funding are:
- ‘A Bollywood Love Story’, a collaboration between the Edinburgh Mela and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. A forty-minute, full length show in the Bollywood tradition will be created for the Mela Festival. Key aspects of the show will also be presented as part of this year’s Edinburgh Tattoo in August.
- The Edinburgh International Film Festival Short Film Challenge will profile new Scottish filmmakers from across the country and the EIFF Talent Lab and Animation Lab will work with emerging feature film writers, directors and producers during the 2015 Festival.
- The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival will use the funding to create new works by Scottish musicians and opportunities for them to perform internationally.
- The Edinburgh International Festival will premiere a new stage adaptation of a classic Scottish novel with a leading Scottish theatre in 2015.
- Expo Funding supports Edinburgh Art Festival’s commitment to opening up new and unexpected places across the city through its annual, city-wide commissions programme, providing a platform for leading and emerging Scottish artists to make ambitious publicly-sited work.
- How a multilingual society influences literature in Scotland and elsewhere and how language and identity shapes the writers that Scotland produces will be examined in a dedicated strand for Edinburgh International Book Festival.
- The Mela World Dance Feste continues this year as a platform for diverse arts within Scotland and will work alongside ‘A Bollywood Love Story’
- Expo Funding makes the Made in Scotland Showcase, part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, possible.
- The fund has already supported Scot_Lands during the 2015 Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations earlier this year.
- Expo Funding will support, live and digital works as part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival will bring some of Scotland’s oldest cultural resource to international audiences with explorations of global issues.
- In celebration of Scotland’s year of Innovation, Architecture and Design in 2016, the Edinburgh International Science Festival will launch a major new programme that will combine a cutting-edge technology showcase with an innovative series of associated events for teenagers.
- Imaginate Platforms will be a celebration and showcase of Scottish-based artists who consistently create work of a world class standard for children and young people.
Festivals Edinburgh receives £250,000 to continue to promote and position Edinburgh as the world’s leading festival city.
Since 2008 the Scottish Government Expo Fund has provided a legacy of important new work. This includes writing by Don Paterson, Ali Smith and James Robertson to installations by artists Callum Innes and Martin Creed at Regent Bridge and the Scotsman Steps as well as science installations and ambitious new performing arts commissions that have gone on to tour around the world.
That funding in full:
Funding (2015/16)
| Edinburgh Art Festival | £150,000 |
| Edinburgh International Book Festival | £110,000 |
| Edinburgh International Film Festival | £115,000 |
| Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Made in Scotland | £590,000 |
| Imaginate | £89,700 |
| Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) | £200,000 |
| Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival | £110,000 |
| Edinburgh Mela | £80,000 |
| Edinburgh International Science Festival | £100,000 |
| Scottish Storytelling Festival | £95,300 |
| Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo & Edinburgh Mela | £160,000 |
| Hogmanay Festival | £200,000 |
| TOTAL | £2,000,000 |
Money well spent? Is the government right to support arts and culture to this extent when so many public services are under severe pressure? Or do you think our festivals are a key element in Edinburgh’s quality of life and deserve to be supported?
Let us know!