Category Archives: Free events and happenings

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 ! 

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)

Fringe By The Sea – North Berwick 4th-10th August

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We have been blessed with a great summer lately…long sunny days and warm summer evenings and I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays this way well into August to make festival season even better !

Fringe By The Sea in North Berwick is a great combination – you can have a lovely day out on the beach and see a show with the sand still between your toes !

There are a few bits and pieces for children during the festival that are worth checking out :

Mr Boom – Festival veteran Mr Boom will be back again to entertain children with his one-man band from the moon ! This promises to be an exciting mix of song, dance and audience participation !    August 5th at 3pm and August 6th at 11am.  Tickets from £6

The other childrens events are more your usual kids classes/workshops running special festival events :

Sparkle Arts : Sparkle arts offer children performing arts classes and will be bringing a fun mix of music, drama, dance and storytelling to the festival. Workshops are suitable for 2-5 year olds.    5th August 11am/1pm,  and 9th August 11am/1pm             Tickets from £6

Jo Jingles – ‘Summer at the seaside’ is the theme this year and they will be hoping for sunshine with this singing, music and movement class for babies and children. Suitable for 1-6yrs old.      7th August 11am/1pm.                Tickets from £6

Bookbugs – This is a great FREE event run by East Lothian’s library service – its a mixture of rhyme, story and song accompanied by a good selection of puppets and instruments to make it as interactive as possible!                   8th August 11am  FREE

Beautiful Botanics….

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The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a great place to get away from it all – especially during the busy festival season in Edinburgh. There’s plenty to do – feeding ducks, spotting squirrels and walking through the gorgeous gardens. Luckily there’s also a few childrens shows/events going on there too during festival season, so its a great excuse to make a day of it !

Calvinball – Lively, musical and slightly wild, this is an outdoor performance that draws on wee ones’ natural curiosities and the bigger ones’ wish to join in. There will be three performances daily at 11:00am, 12:00pm and 2:00pm. Please note this event takes place outdoors.                                                  From 4th – 17th August

Invisible People –   This sounds like a fun event for the family – ‘Pick up your pack of counters to exchange for one-to-one performances around the Garden of poems, scenes from plays, short stories, jokes, conjuring tricks and good advice’.                                 August 13th and 14th   11am – 4pm

A Sunday In The Park – Albert and Friends Instant Circus bring some fun, frolics and fabulous family circus from London’s premier Youth Circus. Bring a rug ! And its free     August 17th – 24th  1.00pm – 1.45pm daily.