Tag: live entertainment

Shop ’til you drop at St James Quarter with unmissable deals and live entertainment

The countdown to Black Friday is now on and as shoppers in Edinburgh prepare to seek out this year’s best deals, St James Quarter has revealed the unmissable discounts that will be on offer across its exciting selection of retailers. 

Available throughout Black Friday weekend (from 25th – 28th November) and beyond, St James Quarter will play host to the biggest and best offers from top retailers including up to 40% off the latest fashion items at Zara (selected lines on 25th November), up to 20% off the hottest makeup, skincare and fragrance at H Beauty (between 25th – 28th November) and 50% off Neom’s ‘Night in with Neom’ Box for those who want to indulge in a little self-care (until 30th November).

For more information about all of the latest Black Friday deals on offer at St James Quarter click here.  

Shoppers can also enjoy the Black Friday feeling with live entertainment between 2pm – 6pm on Friday and Saturday from The Quarter’s very own resident DJs, Fi and Mairi Buchanan, who will be filling the Galleria with sounds of the best-known Christmas classics. 

Guests can shop til they drop before taking a moment to refresh with The Quarter’s impressive dining and leisure destinations including Ka Pao, The Alchemist, Lane7, Everyman Cinema and Tortilla which are open until late. The Quarter also recently welcomed back lively Alpine Village, Bar Hütte, to St James Square where visitors can enjoy a festive drink and singsong in one of its Cosy Karaoke Hüttes until 2nd January.  

Nick Peel, Managing Director at St James Quarter, said: “Black Friday marks the beginning of the festive shopping season and following the opening of some really exciting retailers this year, we expect there to be a real buzz at St James Quarter this weekend as our guests seek out the best deals and take advantage of our hospitality offering. 

“November has already been a strong month for us in terms of footfall, but at a time when we know saving money is important to our guests, we’re looking forward to a busy but no doubt successful day of deal-hunting, with plenty more festive activity still to come before the end of 2022.” 

With so many great deals on offer, nobody wants to be restricted by how many bags they can carry, and St James Quarter has the perfect solution with its handsfree shopping service, Dropit, which allows shoppers to drop bags at Guest Services for later collection or, have them delivered straight to their door (for guests who live in Scotland). 

For those looking for a more relaxed approach to Black Friday, the St James Quarter website offers Crowd Checker, which provides shoppers with live capacity updates to help guests find quieter times to visit.

The Quarter also has a 1,600 space car park, which offers all day and overnight parking, allowing more convenience for shoppers travelling by car. 

During the festive period, selected retailers at St James Quarter will also be extending their opening hours on certain days. 

Scotland’s first Deaf Rave is coming to St James Quarter

Deaf Rave, the organisation that provides live entertainment with music, sign songs and visual performances, has unveiled the dates for its first ever Scottish showcase on Friday, 19th August at St James Quarter.

Taking place on level B3 of the St James Quarter car park, the event will be an accessible day time clubbing experience, promoting deaf identity and culture whilst bringing music to the masses.

The event line-up will see the very best deaf DJ talent take centre stage including Troi Lee (DJ Chinaman), Matthew Taylor (MC Geezer), DJ Ceri Karma, Jia McKenzie, Billy Reid and Aerial Fung (Def Motion) dancers. 

Established in 2003, Deaf Rave began with a vision to provide a platform for deaf and disabled artists and to provide unique, live entertainment for the deaf community. The rave will be jam-packed with a variety of different performances including sign song, sign rap, sign dance acts and more.

The event will run from 5.00pm-10.00pm and tickets can be purchased via the Edinburgh Festival Fringe website with ticket prices starting from £10.

This one-off event is in partnership with Deaf Action, a charity based in Edinburgh supporting, and celebrating deaf people. Deaf Action was established in 1835 and works with deaf people across Scotland and the South of England.

The charity’s inspirational work is geared towards empowering all deaf people to achieve their potential and fully participate in society, with equality of rights, access and opportunity. 

Nick Peel, Managing Director at St James Quarter, said: “It’s an absolute honour to bring Scotland’s first Deaf Rave to St James Quarter this August.

“At The Quarter, we’re passionate about providing world-class events that are accessible to all and it’s great to see our Corporate Social Responsibility Committee’s vision come to life through this live event.”

Troi Lee, Founder of Deaf Rave, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Deaf Action and St James Quarter for providing us with the opportunity to bring our event to Scotland for the first time.

“Our events will showcase the very best deaf DJs and guests can expect a whole host of entertainment including sign songs, sign raps and dance performances against a highly visual backdrop.

“Our Deaf Rave is part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival so we’re looking forward to welcoming members of the deaf community from all around the world.”

Stacy Rowan, Fundraising Manager at Deaf Action, said: “We are incredibly excited to bring Deaf Rave to Scotland as part of the inaugural Edinburgh Deaf Festival.

“We want this event to unite everyone through a love of music and culture. The event is accessible to everyone, so bring your dancing shoes!”

For more information, please visit: https://www.deafrave.com/

Parking Lot Social brings carloads of comedy to Edinburgh

The Parking Lot Social has announced the line-up for its hugely popular “Parking LOL” sessions. Scottish comedy heroes Des McLean, Susie McCabe, Christopher MacArthur-Boyd and Ray Bradshaw will all be taking to the stage to entertain crowds at Dalkeith Country Park on Sunday 23 May.

The Parking Lot Social has been delighting audiences across the UK for the last two months with an unrivalled line-up of drive-in entertainment, adding additional dates in many cities due to demand. With comedy clubs across Scotland still closed due to COVID, Parking LOL is on hand to provide those longing for laughs with a hilarious night out. 

Here’s what to expect from Parking LOL in Edinburgh:

Des McLean – Des McLean is an award-winning stand-up comedian, presenter and actor.

Based in Glasgow, Des has toured extensively across the UK, America, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. A regular on TV, Billy Connolly has cited Des as his favourite Comedian!

Susie McCabe – Susie took her first steps into comedy as part of a drunken dare. Most people have to do a shot or strip. Well, Susie was drunk with her clothes on and building a career out of it. After a successful career working in the construction industry Susie has cemented herself as one of rising stars of UK stand up.

Christopher MacArthur-Boyd – Born and bred in Glasgow, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd is a rising star of Scottish stand-up. Fast becoming a Fringe festival favourite, Christopher’s debut hour Home Sweet Home was officially the best reviewed of any Scottish stand-up at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Ray Bradshaw –  One of the brightest and most exciting acts on the UK Comedy circuit, Ray has performed sell out solo festival shows in Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Christopher MacArthur-Boyd (above) said, “I’m really looking forward to doing stand-up again. I think it’s brilliant that Parking Lot Social are booking Scottish comedians instead of shipping in acts from elsewhere.

“Some of my pals have worked with them before and they said it was class, so I’m really looking forward to it. COVID struck a real blow to live comedy, so it’s great to be out doing events like this in front of a live audience again.”

Josh Kinnersley, Chief Operating Officer at XL Event Lab, added: “Parking LOL is always a popular session for us, and it’s been great to work with such incredible comedians up and down the UK, giving people access to live comedy while the clubs are sadly still shut.

“Scotland has a fantastic scene and we’ve got four of the country’s best loved performers on this bill for this event, so laughs are guaranteed!”

As well as Parking LOL, drive-in tickets are also on sale for a host of other live entertainment. Legendary party night The Big Weekender takes place on May 21, live spring panto The Wizard of Oz is May 22 and there’s two chances to catch the interactive family fun of Social Kids, taking place on both May 22 and 23. Classic films will play over the three days too.

Audiences will be entertained in their cars from a vast custom made stage. Shows are broadcast across two 60ft screens and audio is transmitted from the stage directly to each vehicle through a dedicated FM radio channel. Food comes from street food masters The Big Feed with orders made online and delivered straight to each car.

For tickets, live updates and information visit The Parking Lot Social website at https://theparkinglotsocial.co.uk/tour/edinburgh/