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Edinburgh International Book Festival Opens Tomorrow 13th August

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Woohoo ! It feels like it’s been a loooooooooong wait, but the Edinburgh Book Festival opens tomorrow and I for one, am very very excited ! Bring on some lounging on deck chairs in the sunshine in Charlotte Square Gardens and some lazy browsing of the beautiful books inside the Children’s Bookshop !

For the opening weekend Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th August there will be some free Get Stuck into Science activities in the story box  11.00am – 4.30pm.

Sing-Along with Nick CopeIf you haven’t managed to see the fantastic Nick Cope yet, he is doing two shows at the Book Festival on the 17th August, at 10.30 and again at 2.00pm – it looks like both events still have tickets available – so grab them while you can !

 

On Friday 19th August there will be a Beatrix Potter birthday party in the story box with free drop in activities to mark the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter’s birth. Celebrate with all your favourite characters…

On Tuesday 23rd August, they will be celebrating Paddington Bear’s birthday – its 60 years since Michael Bond first came up with his idea for everyone’s favourite bear from Peru…

 

 

Edinburgh Art Festival 2016

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I feel like I’m a little late to the party with this post ! The Edinburgh Art Festival has been going since the 28th July and will continue until the 28th August and it’s got some great looking activities for kids !! These include :

This weekend on the 13th August, they have the Magical Garden workshop at the City Art Centre – Drop in session. Using the painting Garden at Night (Moth) by John Maxwell as a starting point, you will be able to create a collage of your favourite bugs. 4-5pm

 

The Dazzle Hub at Ocean Terminal (1st floor mall, towards Debenhams). Project Dazzle invites you and your mini artists to become dazzle designers with free dazzle-themed drop in arts activities and workshops for all ages. For the duration of the festival, the Dazzle Hub will become an exhibition space for the work produced by participants in Dazzle workshops, in the run up to and during the festival. The Dazzle Hub will be running free drop in activities from Friday to Sunday 10-5pm..

Surreal Adventures – At the Gallery of Modern Art the lawn in front of Modern One is home this summer to Surreal Adventures – a play area designed to be enjoyed by children and families – inspired by many of the motifs found in the work of Surrealist artists such as Rene Magritte.  At the centre of the enclosed park includes a slide based on Magritte’s painting The Magic Mirror, an undulating, distorted picnic area, a mysterious empty fireplace and cast concrete Chesterfield sofa, and enigmatically framed doorways. Daily until the 11th September – 10 – 4.30pm.

Wowsers trousers…

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I saw The Many Doors of Frank Feelbad this morning and it was AMAZING and totally heartbreaking too…moved me to tears and I’ve felt a little bit emotional all day after seeing it. Featuring the lovely Lucy Lose-alot and the lovable Gary and Barry, this superb piece is fully immersive as you are invited into the ‘lose-o-porium’ and become either a little locator or a larger one ! Featuring gorgeous puppetry, lots of interaction for the little ones, some singing and most importantly a lovely message about loss and what we do with our feelings of sadness and frustration. It is simply exquisite and so so beautiful….on until the 28th August (not 15/22).

First Week Highlights…

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I’m not even sure if this was technically the first week- I think it’s been more a preview week; but for me, having seen 13 shows so far, it definitely feels a lot longer than a few days ! The good news is the Book Festival has not even started yet and there is still another 3 weeks of the Fringe left – yipee !!  I’ve seen some fantastic shows so far and am looking forward to even more in the next few weeks, I’ve only popped in to the BBC tent briefly and look forward to exploring all their great children’s activities and I’m hoping for a few beautifully sunny days to enjoy an ice cream or two while I soak up the festival atmosphere…

For now, my highlights so far have been :

  • Nick Cope’s Family Songbook – A lovely melodic start to any festival day – featuring songs about dragons, pirates and poo ! A real gem of musical delights.
  • I Got Superpowers For My Birthday – An absolutely brilliant show, featuring spellbinding storytelling and located in the rather lovely Roundabout theatre venue…three young people gain superpowers on the eve of their thirteenth birthdays and have to fight ‘the darkness’. For ages 7+ -not to be missed !
  • Children Are Stinky – Very fun and silly acrobatic and clown show from a lovable Australian Duo – featuring hula hoops, chairs and a fantastic soundtrack, lots of fun for the whole family !
  • 360 Allstars – Featuring some spectacular BMX tricks, brilliant basketball, impressive breakdancing and live beat-boxing – this show has something for everyone ! A jam packed hour of talented performers showing off their skills !

Spectacular Summerhall…

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Summerhall just continues to get better and better, offering a wider range of shows and events over the festival, along with providing a delicious cafe and a lovely courtyard for hanging out in and sampling their very own Pickering’s Gin and Barney’s Beer…you could happily spend a day or two here exploring everything it has to offer…

Once again they have a great line up of family shows this festival, my top picks being :

I got Superpowers for my birthday – I saw this today and will write a review shortly, but it is FANTASTIC, absolutely spellbinding storytelling and I highly recommend it ! A mesmerising tale of three 13 years olds who wake on their birthday to discover they have superpowers and must save the world from the darkness….

 

Mikey and Addie – Mikey is a sunny boy. He lives alone with his mum. Mikey’s mum has a secret. It’s not well kept.  Everyone knows it. Everyone except Mikey. Addie is a good girl. She doesn’t tell lies. Her father makes sure of that. Addie tells the truth. It’s what you have to do. Isn’t it? It’s hard to tell when your life will change. The day you wake up normal but end up falling far from everything you’ve ever known. Spinning into nothingness. Today is that day.  For ages 9+

Squirrel Stole My Underpants – In this poignantly silly adventure tale for families, Sylvie is sent to the backyard to hang up the laundry. The moment her back is turned, a mischievous squirrel steals her favourite piece of clothing and runs off. When Sylvie gives chase, an entire world emerges from her laundry basket.

 

The Adventure of Puppets – Two engaging and skilfully silly actors bring to life an array of ordinary objects, conjuring a DIY universe full of raucous fun and inventive play. Here a mop becomes a puppy, a hammer can turn into a horse and a home-made ship flies high in the sky. It’s all about taking what’s near to hand and then letting your imagination go.

 

Us/Them – This looks like quite an intense story to base a performance on and so is recommended for older children ages 9+. In September 2004, during a school hostage drama in Beslan, the greatest of evils (terrorists) chose the greatest good (a group of children) as their victim. Us/Them is not a straightforward account of this terrible drama, but is about the entirely individual way children cope with extreme situations.