Author Archives: Edinburghfestivalsforkids

Supreme Summerhall…

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Summerhall is a fantastic venue….the cafe is great, its an interesting building to explore and the courtyard is a lovely place to sit in the sun and there is always an exhibition or two to discover on a visit. Not only all this but they have a great little room where they have ‘Animal Antics‘ – a place where you can play with your child, do arts and crafts and generally have lots of fun. Sadly this space is closed from July 3rd but they have an alternative and very exciting sounding room instead for the festival :

Jolly Jungle –JollyJungle_Logo Summerhall’s Fringe Play Space – this is for 0-6 year olds and looks ace…a perfect space to play with the children and find some peace and quiet inbetween all the shows ! Featuring toys, soft play, arts and crafts and a story corner for little-ies.

August 5th – 24th  Tuesday – Sunday (closed Mondays and also closed Friday 8th and Staurday 9th too).   Costs £2 per child for 1 hour of play / 6months £1  Open 11am – 4.30pm

On top of all this, they are hosting some great sounding children’s shows too ! Here are my top picks :

Duck, Death and the Tulip – A duck strikes up an unlikely friendship with death…using mime, magic and puppets to deal with a dfiifcult subject.

August 5th – 24th (not 11th/18th)   10.00

Kid Box – Kid explores the relationship between mother and kid through lighting and sound design and Box breaks the barrier of dream and reality – ‘ A powerful double bill of dance transforms poetry into body language.’

August 5th – 24th (not 11th/18th)    13.00

The Worm – An Underground Adventure – Join Wilma and William, two nature lovers, on a journey underground as they discover a family of friendly, musical worms and their colourful miniature world.  The Worm is a fun filled musical tale guaranteed to make everyone giggle, wiggle and love the squirmy wonders beneath our feet.

August 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th and 16th, 17th           10.30

 

 

 

Farm Fest 2014 !!!!!!!!!!!

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I just discovered this great event yesterday – I LOVE Gorgie Farm and we’re so lucky having a city farm here and especially one thats free to visit….

Along with hosting some free fringe events, I’m very happy to hear they are celebrating their lovely wee farm and having a Farm Fest on Saturday 9th August from 11am – 4pm.

It will be a day of fun at the farm – including fairground games, music, arts and crafts, trails, facepainting and much more…if you’re lucky you may even be able to squeeze in a quick ‘hello’ to all the animals too !

BBC tent opening day…

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BBC at the Edinburgh FestivalsThe much loved BBC area is opening today – Friday 1st August and they’ve just released a timetable for the day which looks great and features lots of family friendly things to do , including….

11am – 12noon    Authors Live: Draw along with Nick Sharratt
Sharpen your pencils and join award-winning author and illustrator Nick Sharratt for a fun packed draw-along. Nick will share how you can draw characters such as Tracy Beaker and Daisy for yourself. Aimed at 6 – 11 year olds

2pm – 3pm    Dinosaur Zoo -“Meat and greet” roaming puppets from the hit west end show Dinosaur Zoo

2pm – 4pm    Commonwealth Games – Gymnastics / Big Screen & Garden / Drop-In
Watch the BBC’s Commonwealth Games coverage on the Big Screen in our Garden

3.30pm – 4.30pm    BBC Family Fun with Iain Stirling
An afternoon of fun from across the Edinburgh Festivals, suitable for all the family! Featuring some of the biggest names in family entertainment, including silly sing-alongs with Dean Friedman, Bec and Tom’s Awesome Laundry and a visit from Dinosaur Zoo

………..I saw Dinosaur Zoo yesterday with the kids and they loved it – so if you have a chance to check them out at 2pm I would highly recommned it ! 

WooHoo !!!!!! Dr Brown and his singing tiger are coming back !!!

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I am delighted that Dr Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown and His Singing Tiger are returning to the festival this year. If you have not seen this show, please, please don’t miss it – it’s fantastic (and was the winner of Best Presentation for Children: Adelaide Fringe and winner of Director’s Choice Award for Best Show: Melbourne Comedy Festival – so its not just me that thinks so !). Even better, – for this year there is going to be new material and a new show so plenty to keep even the biggest fans happy.

The show is great, full of lots of audience participation and the singing tiger is brilliant, and totally captivating for younger children…I wrote a review of his show back in 2012 which you can read here….I am certain the new show will be just as enjoyable.

BUT, they are only doing five performances, so don’t miss out, its on at Assembly George Square Gardens from August 6th – 10th, at 11.30am.

FREE festival featuring some fantastic children’s shows !!

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The free festival is now in its 11th year and appears to be going from strength to strength…with over 360 shows in 22 venues around the city we are again spoilt for choice! What’s even better though is that there are loads of children’s shows featuring at the free festival which is perfect for those of us trying not to spend a small fortune during festival season.

I’ve picked out a few shows I think look particularly fun….

The Worlds Worst Birthday Party – Marvellous Maddy is having the worst birthday party ever and she needs your help ! Be prepared for lots of dancing, giggles and pranks…..      31st July – 10th August, 12-17th, 20-25th August       12.45               The Free Sisters (Cowgate) – The Yurt Locker

The Very Scariesome Tooth Fairy – A tale told in rhyme – a story of missing teeth, dishonest dentists and dodgy dealings in the fairy underworld.              31st July – 12th August    The Free Sisters (Cowgate) – Maggies Front Room

The Little Leaf – A story about a curious little girl who stumbles upon a lonely little leaf hiding in her attic. Together they set off on a great journey.        August 14th – 24th  The Free Sisters (Cowgate) – The Staff Room

Ceilidhkids at the Fringe – If you and the kids like a bit of dancing, or its raining and you want them to get a bit of a run around – this looks good. Very simple child friendly dances to traditional Scottish music. And this year they are doing a few events at Gorgie farm which would make a great and very busy day out !

Gorgie Farm on 2nd, 8th, 11th, 23rd August at 2pm

Counting House August 1-12th, 14-19th, 21-24th at 11am and August 1-12th, 16/17th, 23/24th at 10.00am too.

Huggers – The popular cabaret show returns this year and it too is visiting GorgieShow Image Farm during the weekends of the festival….this show brings a variety of fringe performers together for some child friendly entertainment – it does recommend booking (free) tickets early for this one.

August 1-23rd – Free Sisters (Cowgate) – Maggies Chamber

August 9th, 16th, 23rd – Gorgie Farm

There are other free festivals too, such as PBH’s Free Fringe featuring children’s shows (I don’t know how anyone finds the time to fit all these shows in !)….two that stand out in this one are :

Princess Taz and The Fearsome Forest – In this puppet show join clowns Elf and Harry retelling the life and adventures of the legendary Princess Taz aqnd her pet Rapdragon.  August 2-16th (not 15th)  Cafe Camino

Albee Vector the sound collector – This show has a great name ! – its a show bursting with all sorts of sounds. Help Albee to make noises and collect them into jars….  August 2nd – 23rd (not 11th)   Hispaniola (Drummond Street)