Edinburgh International Science Festival

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I’ve been a little absent from the blog of late, but what a fab festival to make my return to !!

We LOVE the Edinburgh International Science Festival and it’s a sure fire way to make the Easter holidays more fun, interactive and possibly messy !!

The programme for this year is jam packed with the usual events, showcases, theatre and lots more – definitely worth checking out…

 

Image result for melody and sam record breakersMelody and Sam : Record Breakers – This show, on from Thursday 11th April to Saturday 13th looks fab ! Sam and Melody want to break a world record. They train every day. They want to be the best, the fastest, the strongest, the largest, the longest – anything so long as they get their names in the big record book. Their official record attempt is just around the corner….

Other recommendations would be :

City Art Centre Day Pass – Every year the City Art Centre is transformed into four floors of interactive science fun ! You can book a day pass and with it get access to three age appropriate workshops for the kids. There are plenty of drop in activities too, and is always more than enough to keep you occupied for a full day. Highly recommended for ages 3+…..daily from 6th April – Saturday 20th April

The Experimentarium – Returning this year, with weird, wonderful and cutting edge science ! Step into the laboratory of hands-on activities and interactive fun for all ages. At the Pleasance, 9th – 10th April – drop-in.

The Robotarium – Interact with robots from the Edinburgh Centre for Robotics! From an assembly line robot that wants to learn how to work with you, to cute football playing bots, learn how robots understand and imitate human beings, and the important reasons why. Presented by The University of Edinburgh.  Thursday 11th – Monday 15th April   Museum – Free

100 Things To Know About Space -Join the Usborne Fact Force as they take you on a fascinating journey to outer space, followed by a big space quiz at the end. Did you know the snow on Mars is square? That there’s a cloud in outer space that tastes like raspberries? Do you know how to escape a black hole? Or why astronauts learn wilderness survival skills? Come along to find out! Wednesday 17th April – Museum – tickets available.

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Roxy Christmas Film Club

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Edinburgh is truly the place to be for Christmas, we’ve got the markets, Santa land, silent disco light displays, fantastic theatre performances and this year……the Christmas film club..

If you’re in search of somewhere to cosy up, grab a mulled wine and enjoy some Christmas classics or a few fun family sing-alongs then look no further ! The Roxy Christmas Film Club has it all covered for you..from the 18th- 23rd December,  Assembly Roxy becomes a brand new pop-up cinema in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town for one week only. They’ll be serving up mulled wine, mince pies and a line up of the greatest Christmas films of all time, in the atmospheric Central space.

The programme features :

White Christmas – 18th December 14.30

Edward Scissorhands – 18th December 19.00

Elf – 19th December 10.30

Frozen Sing-along – 19th – 22nd various

The Greatest Showman Sing-Along – 19th December 19.00

Beauty and The Beast Sing-Along – 20th December 10.30

The Nightmare Before Christmas – 20th December 14.30

It’s A Wonderful Life – 20th December 19.00

Scrooged – 21st December 14.30

Love Actually – 21st December 19.00

The Muppet Christmas Carol – 22nd December 10.30

Home Alone – 22nd December 14.30

Mamma Mia ! Sing-along – 22nd December 19.00

The Polar Express – 23rd December 10.30

 

Something for everyone – we’re particularly excited for the Greatest Showman sing-along….have fun !!

Wendy and Peter Pan – an awesomely fantastic adventure…

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A Doc Marten wearing fairy, swashbuckling pirate fights, twinkling night stars, a trio of girl power and just a sprinkling of fairy dust make this show an unmissable Christmas treat !…

Ella Hickson weaves pure magic into this adaptation – leading us away to Neverland in search of Tom, another lost boy and Wendy’s third brother who has died. Wendy takes centre stage in this jam packed production, questioning gender roles, showing us girls can be pirates and incredibly inspiring leaders too. We joyfully see her team up with the most fabulous Tink and Tiger Lily to form a formidable trio, much to the joy of the cheering audience. (L-R) Bonnie Baddoo, Isobel McArthur and Sally Reid. Photo credit Mihaela Bodlovic.jpg

Fast paced and action filled, Neverland brings us a jolly roger pirate ship, underground playgrounds and plenty of friends. Captain Hook, artfully brought to life, ensures the crowd have a villain to boo and hiss at, and Tink is not like any fairy we’ve ever seen before – her punk rock looks and Scottish slang are quite a feisty combo !

Beneath all this though, the production has a heart, and a very large one at that – friendships are explored, resilience is built and a night sky reveals answers for Wendy and her capability to be happy after such an immense loss. Finally finding her brother means she can truly fly…..

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Photo credit : Mihaela Bodlovic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Festive treats…

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Edinburgh’s Christmas has officially opened, the big wheel is spinning and the lights are twinkling in the trees all along Princes Street. We are also about to be served a huge portion of fantastic Christmas shows to choose from, ranging once again from panto to ballet with a little of everything inbetween…

  • Cinderella 1819 Fa Web. Cinderella – Scottish Ballet bring us this magical production featuring dance lessons from a grasshopper and a dress spun by magic. Give in to light, love and transformation in this classic tale. We meet Cinderella at the saddest of times, then see her taken for granted by her wicked stepmother and two nasty stepsisters. But there’s no time for despair: Cinderella’s fairy godmother is casting spells of dressmaker spiders, magical roses and a very special glass slipper. Will love conquer loneliness, and light chase away the dark? Be part of the spectacle, and rediscover this classic tale.                   Festival T heatre 8 – 30 December

 

  • You Choose –  We love Nonsense Room Productions – they’ve brought us the much loved Hairy Maclary shows and last year’s brilliant Shark In The Park. This year we’re getting ‘You Choose’ – A different story in every show!   -based on the brilliant book by Pippa Goodhart and Nick Sharratt  this is a brand new interactive musical show for all the family. But in this show – YOU CHOOSE what happens! Using the picture book as inspiration and through a series of games and challenges each show will come up with a unique story, with different characters every time!  (Suitable for ages 2-7)    Festival Square Spiegeltent  30th November – 5th January

 

  • Wendy and Peter Pan – We absolutely love the Lyceum Christmas shows – Arabian Nights was an amazing storytelling spectacle and this year Wendy and Peter Pan looks set to be the same. Follow the fearless Wendy as she flies with Peter to Neverland – a world of dastardly pirates, feisty fairies and raucous lost boys. This adaptation has all the magic and wonder of the original, as Wendy and Peter fly together above the rooftops and follow ‘the second star on the right and straight on till morning’ to Neverland. There they find all is not well in the kingdom of the Lost Boys, as the villainous Captain Hook wreaks havoc, can Wendy and Peter band together with fearsome fairy Tiger-Lilly and the irrepressible Tinkerbell to win the day? Full of fairy-dust, adventure and all your favourite characters this magical story is everything a Christmas treat should be.    Lyceum Theatre 1st December – 5th January

 

  • Black Beauty – We’ve missed this previously – and if you’ve done the same, then watch out at this is on for two nights only ! Fresh from an acclaimed run in New York City, audience favourite Black Beauty returns home for two performances only. From the cosy horsebox they call home, the McCuddy Brothers take the bit firmly between their teeth and tell the classic tale of Black Beauty as you’ve never seen it before. Saddle up, jump on and gallop headlong into a story where loneliness gives way to hope, friends become heroes, and courage saves the day. Blending storytelling, music and puppetry, this vibrant re-telling of Black Beauty offers fun and adventure for fans of the book, classic TV show and those brand new to the tale.   Traverse Theatre 29th-30th November 

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  • Beauty and The Beast – Expect the usual singing, dancing, plenty of puns and a huge dollop of audience participation. The beloved Pantomime returns to the King’s and it’s the tale of Beauty and The Beast which is set to amuse us this year!   King’s Theatre 1st December – 20th January

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…

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Well….that’s just my humble opinion at least. Whilst I do LOVE the fringe and festival in August and all the food, smells, sights, circus and fun around every corner – there is something so exciting about this season, with the dark cosy nights, the twinkling lights and the hint of magic in the air…

This weekend is light night and the official start to Edinburgh’s Christmas which is once again bursting at the seams with a host of fun activities and events this year. Light night is Sunday 18th November from 3pm and is a free event for all to enjoy, which encapsulates the true spirit of the festive season: family and the community. Choirs from across Scotland will perform in front of an expected audience of around 20,000 people, as  George Street is lit up with fireworks. The Christmas Tree on the Mound, a gift to the City of Edinburgh Council from Hordaland County Council in Norway, will be lit as part of the Light Night switch-on.

Other free events to look out for over the festival are :

24 Doors of Advent – From 1st – 24th December go and discover an exciting new place each day of advent, as this real-life advent calendar takes you through a different door, throughout December as Edinburgh opens its doors to showcase the unique buildings in the city. A full list of what buildings are featured this year can be found here .

 

Winter Windows – The Winter Windows form a magical pathway from West Parliament Square – outside St Giles to Newhaven. Each stained-glass window is designed by a budding young artist from Edinburgh’s schools to the theme of Kindness. This year’s Winter Windows is working in conjunction with St Giles Cathedral.

And of course the Christmas market will be here again, tempting us with the smells of mulled wine and delicious foods…..Santa land is currently settling back into Princes Street gardens to entertain the kids, ice rinks are being smoothed into place and something very special is brewing on George Street….