SATURDAY 16 MAY at WEST PILTON PARK
Scruffs Dog Show is back — and we can’t wait to see your four‑legged superstars shine!
From waggiest tail to best male, this is your pup’s moment to steal the spotlight. Bring the family, bring the fun, and let’s celebrate the dogs who make our days brighter.
Join us on the day and get ready for a whole lot of paws, applause, and happy chaos!
Saturday 16th May, 1.30pm – 3.30pm
West Pilton Park
£2 entry fee
We are looking for volunteers to help us at the 5th North Edinburgh Community Festival on Saturday 16th May. Any time you can give would be most welcome.
We’re looking for help with the following:
SETTING UP
help setting up the festival in the morning pre opening to the public at 12noon. This includes placing tables and chairs in all the marquees, helping set up the food court, putting up signage and other general tasks. 8am-11am.
MANNING THE REGISTRATION DESK
Showing people where to go and general information. 12noon – 530pm.
DISMANTLE AND CLOSE DOWN POST FESTIVAL
Helping to pack down the festival – packing up of tables and chairs, helping with rubbish and litter, and removal of signage.
PARADE STEWARDS
The parade starts outside North Edinburgh Arts, Macmillan Hub and walks towards the park. Route should take about 45 minutes.
If you are keen to get involved, even if its for an hour or two across any of these roles, please email northedinfest@gmail.com
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COMMUNITY PARADE ALERT 
Get ready for big colours, big noise and big North Edinburgh spirit. Whether you’re marching, cheering or just soaking up the atmosphere, come join the fun and show what this community is made of. Let’s make it unforgettable.
If you want to be part of the parade, wear costumes, sing, dance, or just walk the route, contact stephnecf@gmail.com
Local young people are behind the organisation of the launch event for North Edinburgh Community Festival, taking place in West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre tomorrow (Saturday 28th March) from 12-2pm.
Festival Futures, a six-month project between Tinderbox Collective and North Edinburgh Community Festival, has allowed ten young people from North Edinburgh to get hands-on experience, workshops and work experience on how to run a live event. This festival launch is the culmination of their work and has given the young people the chance to step behind the scenes and learn how a real community festival comes to life.
The launch event will host live music from local young performers who have been honing their skills and shaping their sound in youth clubs and community spaces delivered by Tinderbox Collective and Granton Youth, including Lotas, Georgia Amery, Abraham Olivier, and Leon Highway.
There will be community stalls from local organisations including Granton Baptist Church, Spartans, Childrens’ Holiday Venture, Project Esperanza and more, as well as sports activities and food stalls. Tinderbox Games Club will also be hosting an escape room they have designed, letting people try out computer games they have designed over the last year.
This weekend’s event marks the launch of the programme for the 2026 North Edinburgh Community Festival, which will take place on 16th May.
Returning for its fifth edition, the much-loved festival continues its mission as a family friendly fun day out for all the residents in North Edinburgh, and a vital community anchor which brings people together, strengthens local pride, and connects thousands with essential services and opportunities.
During the festival itself, Tinderbox Collective will be producing and running the Main Stage, which brings together choirs, youth bands and community performers from across North Edinburgh.
The North Edinburgh Community Choir – a vibrant group of around 100 singers from Pirniehall, St David’s Craigroyston and Forthview Primary Schools and Craigroyston High School – will return to perform, and Tinderbox’s Tuesday Music Club band – made of up thirty young people from across North Edinburgh – will also take to the stage with original tunes and reimagined covers they’ve been developing together.
Also featuring on the main stage are Edinburgh Ukrainian Choir, Ama-zing Harmonies and Pulse Of The Place.
Tinderbox Collective will also join forces with Granton Youth to produce the North by North West stage which will feature emerging young musicians and new talent still to be announced.
Adele Conn, Festival Director of North Edinburgh Community Festival, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the young people in our Festival Futures programme; their creativity, commitment, and professionalism over the last six months have been nothing short of inspiring.
“Seeing them lead today’s launch with such confidence and pride is a real joy, and they should each feel immensely proud of what they’ve achieved.”
The North Edinburgh Community Festival launch takes place tomorrow – Saturday 28th March, from 12 – 2pm at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre and is free to attend.
The full festival will follow on Saturday 16th May 2026 at West Pilton Park and the West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre.
You’re invited to the Festival Launch this Saturday 28 March, 12–2pm at the West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre!!
The young people in our Festival Futures programme have been hard at work organising the North Edinburgh Community Festival launch.
On the day, they’ll be running and managing a mini‑festival packed with community stalls, sports activities, a games hub, live music and great food.
We’d love to see you there. Free entry, and everyone is welcome!
BE PART OF THE NORTH EDINBURGH COMMUNITY FESTIVAL!
Register below!
Deadline closes in 14 days!!!! MONDAY 30th MARCH.
Register using this link – https://forms.office.com/r/jMTLzXQUds
Even if you don’t know what you might do, or cant fill in the details yet, register so that we know you require a stall or pitch.
SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY FESTIVAL – REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!!
As many of you know, we run this event on passion, community spirit, and a shoestring but this year the funding challenges have been extreme. So much so that, for the first time, we’re facing the very real possibility that the festival might not be able to go ahead.
To give us the best chance of keeping it alive, we’ve introduced a tiered cost for stalls, ranging from a heavily discounted £80 up to £250 depending on the size of your organisation.
This structure lets smaller groups stay involved while asking those with more resources to chip in a little extra to support the wider community.
If you’re taking a trading or community stall, we’re encouraging everyone who can to select the £150 payment. That contribution genuinely makes a difference to whether the festival can run. But if £80 is what’s manageable for you, please know that it’s still hugely appreciated, your presence matters just as much.
We’re doing everything we can to protect this festival and the space it creates for local makers, groups, and neighbours.
Your support, in whatever form you can offer it, means the world.
Thank you for sticking with us and for being part of what makes this festival special.
Find your registration form here – https://forms.office.com/r/jMTLzXQUds
NOTE: DEADLINE FOR REGISTERING AND PAYMENT IS 30TH MARCH 2026
BEST PHOTO COMPETITION! 
WIN A £100 FOOD VOUCHER! Whoever takes the best photo at the festival tomorrow can be in for a chance to win! All you have to do is:
– Take your best photo of/at the festival!
– Tag us @northedinfest
– Use hashtag #NECF25
The winner will be announced here on 24/05! Best of luck to everyone entering! 
TOMORROW at 10.30am
REMINDER!!!
JOIN US FOR THE PARADE! 
The parade begins May 17th at 10:30am at North Edinburgh Childcare Centre (address on the flyer!) We want to see you all there, dress up, have fun! It’s time to party!! 
Remember one of our themes this year is 
RAINBOWS so get out your most colourful attire! We can’t wait to see you there 
As part of a project run by Imaginate, children involved in the new North Edinburgh Youth Arts Collective have been working with artist Bishop May Down on a new performance, Election which will premiere at the North Edinburgh Festival (Sat 17 May) ahead of its inclusion in the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival Family Day programme at the National Museum of Scotland (Sat 24 May).
Election is a short, humorous pop-up performance theatre piece about politics and power, seen from a young person’s point of view. The show imagines eleven-year-olds as political ‘bigwigs’ with the power to make real change, and offers audiences a child’s perspective on what is valuable in their world.
Election is part of Creative Encounters, a three-year project set up by Imaginate (who produce the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival), which explores what it means to put children’s rights at the heart of the creative process.
Bishop May Down, Artistic Director of Election said: “Initially, I was definitely surprised, in an amazing way, about how passionate, articulate and knowledgeable the young people involved are about political issues, and current world issues.
“I think they are at a really interesting age of being able to articulate their opinions and they are also just verging on being able to challenge other’s opinions.”
From autumn 2022 until summer 2025, young people from North Edinburgh have been working with artists and Imaginate staff to co-create new theatre and dance performances, giving a central role to children’s ideas, interests and voices.
Young people are involved as key decision makers from the beginning of the project and commission an artist to create a theatre or dance performance, and they are invited into the artists’ creative process to co-create performances.
Young people also take part in workshops on curation, content creation, photography journalism, speech writing, and decision making.
Here is a sneak preview of them in rehearsal on YouTube:
Election will be performed throughout the day at both North Edinburgh Community Festival (Sat 17 May @12-4pm) and the Children’s Festival Family Day (Sat 24 May @10am-5pm).
