NORTH Edinburgh’s popular Community Festival is on the move – to leafy BARNTON!
The annual festival has proved a huge hit since it was established in 2022, but organisers believe the event has outgrown it’s West Pilton Park home and it’s time to move on to pastures new.
Community stalwart Willie Black explained: “North Edinburgh Community Festival has been hugely popular with the local community but realise that other communities like Barnton and Cramond are losing out.
“That’s just not fair – we want to be as inclusive as possible so the move to Barnton makes perfect sense. It’s a win-win.”
Local landowner and Barnton Community Association chairman Fitzroy Arbuckle-Brightly added: “William and I have been chums since we attended Glenalmond together and the idea to move the festival came about after a jolly lunch during our annual skiing trip to Val D’Isere this spring. The more fine wine we quaffed the more sense it all made!
“North Edinburgh Community Festival has been a victim of it’s own success and has outgrown it’s rather small venue in North Edinburgh. It deserves a far grander stage and that is why I suggested the move to my estate in Barnton.
“There will have to be a few changes, of course, including a croquet competition to replace all that noisy music and the introduction of an entrance fee in line with other major festival events, but we’ll announce all the details later. Much later. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about that.”
North Edinburgh Community Festival organisers were unavailable for comment, but it’s understood the re-homed festival will take place on 1st April next year.
**HALF OF THE FESTIVAL STALLS ARE ALREADY BOOKED**
We have 80 stalls available to book for the festival. Over half are already booked, so if you were planning on taking a stall, please register!
Pricing recap:
Charities, groups and local organisations (not selling anything and offer a service) – £80 (or £150 if you can afford it and want to support the festival).
Traders (if you are selling anything) – £100 (or£150 if you can afford it and want to support the festival).
Food Traders – £250 for a pitch. These need to be self contained units, price cap of all food is no more than £6, you must have all health, safety and hygiene certification, hand wash basin and generator.
CRUDEN HOMES AND CITY COUNCIL SUPPORT NORTH EDINBURGH COMMUNITY FESTIVAL WITH £2,000 DONATION
The North Edinburgh Community Festival (NECF), one of the city’s most anticipated family-friendly events, has received a £2,000 donation from Cruden Homes and City of Edinburgh Council, to help deliver its biggest and most inclusive festival yet.
Taking place on Saturday, 17 May 2025, from 12:00pm to 5:30pm at West Pilton Park, the free event will feature a vibrant mix of activities, live music, workshops, food stalls, a community parade, sports, and opportunities for jobs, skills, and learning.
This generous donation will go directly towards the essential costs of hiring equipment and providing vital support for over 150 local charities, groups, and organisations leading community-focused stalls and initiatives at the event.
Cruden is building 143 energy efficient affordable homes at Silverlea on behalf of City of Edinburgh Council and this donation forms part of the range of community benefits that are being delivered here.
Adele Conn, Festival Director of the North Edinburgh Community Festival, said: “Many thanks to Cruden and the City of Edinburgh Council for their £2,000 donation, supporting the hiring of equipment and supporting local charities and organisations involved with the event.
“The 2025 festival is set to be one of the biggest and most inclusive festivals yet, and this donation will help us to continue to strengthen community bonds, pride, and unity in North Edinburgh.”
Michael Palethorpe, Production and Community Benefit Manager at Cruden, said: “The North Edinburgh Community Festival is a cornerstone of local culture, uniting the community through a vibrant celebration of music, dance, and food, alongside invaluable workshops focused on jobs, skills, and learning.
“As a company with deep roots in the area, Cruden is proud to be involved, alongside our partners at the City of Edinburgh Council, in supporting this enriching event that makes such a positive impact on the community.”
Jane Meagher, Leader of City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We’re delighted to see this important annual festival for north Edinburgh receiving support through our contractor who is building affordable homes for us as part of our £1.3bn regeneration of Granton Waterfront.
“Providing events such as these is so important to bring communities together to enjoy inclusive cultural activities and have lots of fun for residents of all ages to enjoy.”
The North Edinburgh Community Festival has become a key event in the local calendar, fostering a sense of pride and creating opportunities for families, residents, and organisations to come together in a fun, inclusive, and celebratory environment. The 2025 festival is set to showcase North Edinburgh’s talent, culture and community spirit, with a diverse and exciting programme that will highlight the very best of the area.
The North Edinburgh Community Festival is thrilled to announce that it has won the Creative Edinburgh Festival Award. This is a new category for 2024, which celebrates a festival’s outstanding contribution to Edinburgh’s vibrant cultural scene and its innovative approach to community engagement.
Festival Chair, Willie Black, and Festival Director, Adele Conn were joined on stage to accept the award by Jed Milroy from the Tinderbox Collective and Ryan McGlone from Granton Youth along with 6 young people who have volunteered at the festival since it started in 2022.
Jed and Ryan, play an integral part in the festival by encouraging participation through music, running both music stages and encouraging over 600 young people to participate in the festival.
Lennon Hutchison, youth volunteer, said “As someone who has volunteered at the festival for the last 3 years, I feel incredibly proud to be part of something so special.
“It was amazing to win this award and myself and my friends can’t wait for next years festival.”
“We are absolutely delighted to receive this award,” said Festival Director Adele Conn. “It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team, and we are grateful to the community for their unwavering support.
“This recognition motivates us to continue creating a meaningful and inclusive festival that bring people together and acts as a year round catalyst for collaboration and change in North Edinburgh.”
The North Edinburgh Community Festival, held annually in May in West Pilton Park and the West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre, aims to benefit North Edinburgh communities by promoting pathways into employment, training, and recreation opportunities, addressing endemic challenges in the areas such as worklessness, low education attainment, and social isolation by providing a fun, free, 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.
This year the festival had over 10,000 local people attend, 150 charities, organisations and groups; over 600 young people participating in music activities, and we provided over 3000 free hot meals on the day.
The award was presented at the Creative Edinburgh Awards ceremony last week, which honours the best in Edinburgh’s creative community, highlighting the projects, people and places that flourish across Edinburgh and continually ensuring its place on the cultural map, nationally and internationally.
Winning this award highlights the festival’s role in its commitment to North Edinburgh and helping this community to thrive. The festival has imbedded itself within the community and has a vital role to play.
The strength of the Festival lies in its collaborative working model – with involvement from residents, artists, the local third sector and public sector bodies.
The diverse population of North Edinburgh includes families, individuals, young people, and children, all of whom stand to benefit from the festival’s offerings. By hosting a range of recreational, cultural, educational, leisure, and social activities, the festival aims to create opportunities for community engagement and personal development.
The festival also proudly celebrates cultural diversity and serves as a vibrant tapestry of the many ethnic minorities residing in North Edinburgh. Recognising the unique challenges faced by these communities, it is even more important to provide resources and support services tailored to the needs of these communities.
Willie Black, says: “As the Chair of the North Edinburgh Community Festival, I am thrilled and honoured that we have won the award for Best Festival in Edinburgh.
“This recognition is a testament to the vibrant spirit and hard work of our community. It highlights the incredible talent and dedication within North Edinburgh and showcases our ability to bring people together through cultural celebration.
“Winning this award means a great deal to our city and particularly to the community of North Edinburgh. It underscores the importance of cultural festivals in fostering community pride, cultural exchange, and economic development.
“However, it also reminds us of the crucial need for financial support to sustain these valuable events. Continued funding is essential to ensure that festivals like ours can thrive, grow, and continue to enrich the lives of everyone involved.”
Regarding the Festival’s future, our vision for the next five years is both ambitious and transformative. We aim to expand the reach and impact of the North Edinburgh Community Festival, making it an annual highlight that continues to bring joy, education, and support to our community.
We plan to increase our engagement with local schools and youth groups, offering more workshops and programmes tailored to the needs and interests of young people.
In addition, we aspire to create more year-round initiatives that address socio-economic challenges, such as community art projects, and job training sessions. We’re committed to fostering inclusivity and cultural exchange, ensuring that all residents, feel valued and supported.
We also aim to strengthen our partnerships with local organisations, businesses, and volunteers, to drive home positive change. Our goal is to make North Edinburgh a thriving, vibrant community where everyone has the opportunity to grow, learn, and succeed.
As a community festival, we rely heavily on funding. However, we remain optimistic that this award will help to raise awareness of the festival’s importance and the community’s desire for it.
We are hopeful that it will attract the financial support needed to sustain and grow the event.
Next year’s festival will be held on Saturday 17th May from 12 noon – 530pm.
On Friday night we won in the @creativeedinburgh BEST FESTIVAL category.
Our Chair, Willie Black, Festival Director Adele Conn, along with young people from @grantonyouthinsta and Ryan McGlone and young people from @_tinderbox and Jed Milroy and Lucy attended the award ceremony at Central Hall.
We are all immensely proud of the festival and want to thank each and every one of you who have participated in the festival or have visited the festival over the last 3 years. We couldn’t have won without you
Here’s to 2025 and a bigger, better, more diverse and inclusive festival!
I was delighted to join my friends from Edinburgh International Book Festival’s Citizen Writers group at North Edinburgh Community Festival at West Pilton Park on Saturday, and the sun split the skies once again – that’s the third year on the trot!
Congratulations to the organisers and the entertainers who made it such a special day, and also a big thanks to the young festivalgoers who took part in our Citizen Big Board Game!
Looking forward to next year already!
There are lots more pictures on the North Edinburgh News Facebook page
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 11th 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.
80 stalls from local organisations, charities and groups hosting interactive activities such as glitter tattoos, hair braiding, craft workshops, facepainting, games, help, advice, storytime.
Edinburgh festivals – Edinburgh Science festival with their cargo tricycles and science demonstrations.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society – street performers.
Edinburgh Book Festival – free books and talks.
Colla Castellera – building human towers.
Edinburgh Equi Centre returns with their horses.
Obstacle course from North Edinburgh Childcare, and activities from Royal Air Force, Army and Scottish Fire Services.
Art and craft workshops with North Edinburgh Arts, National Galleries of Scotland, video games and scavenger hunt with Tinderbox Collective.
We have Granton Giants Dodgeball, Super strikers and Blast Boxing.
And things to buy include, tie dye clothing, pocket money toys, wax melts, cupcakes, dog accessories etc.
As for food we have RRT handing out free burgers again but we also have cupcakes and cookies, Indian food, hotdogs plus several other stalls to purchase food from.
We have 2 Music Stages this year – the park stage filled with community music and performances and the North by North West stage inside the WPNC for up and coming young musicians.
The parade will kick start the festival, starting at North Edinburgh Childcare and heading along Ferry Road Drive, round the park and into the park. Everyone welcome to join in the parade – theme is Superheroes!
There is so much going on at the festival, with something for everyone. I hope that you will all come along and enjoy the day.
The festival is free to attend. Many of the activities/food/items will be free but there will also be some that require payment.
Please feel free to share this and spread the word.
If you are looking to reach and engage with over 10,000 people in the North Edinburgh area, then register to participate in the festival.
We have 80 stalls this year and they are fast selling out!
You can be a group, charity, organisation or individual selling arts and crafts. From gardeners to third sector, from armed forces to housing associations; from free food to glitter tattoos, we will have it all.
Stalls cost £50 – marquee, table and 2 chairs will be provided. To register complete this online form:
WE WON!!! 
