Edinburgh Play Day Wednesday 27th July

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Edinburghfestivalsforkids

This fantastic, hands on event is a sure sign the festival is on its way and is a great afternoon out with the kids. Taking place on Wednesday 27th July from 12.30-4.30pm in the Grassmarket- Playday is a street play event not to be missed….

Like previous years, this playday will feature activities suitable for ages 0-8, including:

Giant sand pit
Water play
Mud kitchen
Magic potions
Junk drumming
Cardboard construction
Baby play

And this year the PlayTalkRead bus will be at the Grassmarket too.

Fingers crossed the sun also decides to show up !!

Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 15th-24th July

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Edinburghfestivalsforkids

Image result for edinburgh jazz festival 2016

Festival time is fast approaching and to kick things off in style, we’ve got the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival in a couple of weeks time, running from the 15th-24th July..

This provides two very fun events for kids and families, namely the Mardi Gras and then of course, the festival Carnival…

Mardi Gras will be on the Saturday 16th July and will be in the Grassmarket, for the whole afternoon, The Grassmarket becomes home to multiple stages, non-stop entertainment and a host of bands. This year’s musical line up includes: Criterion Brass Band, St. Aidan’s Swing Band, James Brown Is Annie, Rosie Nimmo and Stuart Allardyce, Jambouree, Charlotte Marshall & The 45s. 1-4pm

Carnival! image Carnival is on Sunday 17th July , kicking off at 2.30pm from the Mound, Princess Street:

2.30pm – Parade from The Mound to the West End of Princess Street

2.30-5pm – Performances in Princess Street, Princess Street Gardens,

There will be over 700 Carnival Performers with music, dance, costumes, circus acrobats and puppetry from all over the world!

If you have never been before, its a really fun and colourful afternoon -come and see giant puppets, exotic sounds, bright costumes and street performances and join the fun!

Edinburgh International Book Festival 13-29th August

Posted on June 14, 2016 by Edinburghfestivalsforkids

If you have read this blog before you will know I’m a huge fan of the Edinburgh book festival, so I was most delighted when the rather lovely and jam packed book festival programme fell onto my doorstep a few days ago…

It looks like another great year and the children’s events look as fantastic as always….

Some highlights from the programme include:

Julia Donaldson & Friends Julia Donaldson and friends – Julia Donaldson is just super duper fantastic, if you love her books, then you will love any of her shows. She brings her family and friends, she sings and engages all ages in her interactive retelling of some of her favourite tales…On three dates- Sat 13th, Sun 14th and Sun 28th August

On Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th August, the opening weekend, there will be free drop-in activities in the story box all around the theme of ‘get stuck into science‘ which looks fun….

Jacqueline Wilson – talking about her latest tale Rent a Bridesmaid (14th August)

Picturing Harry Potter – Illustrator Jim Kay brings his breathtaking full-colour edition of this well loved wizarding story. (Monday 15th)

Guinness World Records – This looks fun – taking a look at some wacky feats from over the years.( Tuesday 16th)

Sing-Along with Nick Cope – If you’ve not seen him before, please don’t miss out (he’s also got a family show at the fringe too) – fantastic, acoustic folk songs for kids…(Wednesday 17th August)

Tea, Cake and Colouring-in– looks lovely, with the colouring book of Scotland (Wednesday 17th August)

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…

You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum!

For fans of Mr Gum, Andy Stanton will be at the book festival on Friday 19th August with his first book of the series – You’re a Bad Man, Mr Gum

Nick Sharratt – will be at the festival on Saturday 20th with some nonsense poetry….

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…

Chris Riddell – Meet the Children’s laureate – Chris’ illustrations are exceptional, this is ure to be a great event and interactive too…(Sunday 28th August)

Pirate Adventures with Jonny Duddle – yet another pirate adventure with Matilda, Jim Ladand the Jolley-Rogers…(Sunday 28th August)

And that list hardly touches it to be honest, every year the programme gets better and better and all of the activities in the story box look great too…its a fantastic venue to take the kids to, even if you are not going for an event, the children’s bookshop is immense and you can spend a very long time browsing all of the wonderful books on offer, you can enjoy lunch in the gardens on the deckchairs and take part in the daily free activities in the story box.

Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 21st June at 8.30am – grab them while you can !!

Edinburgh International Magic Festival 1st – 8th July 2016

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Edinburghfestivalsforkids

Edinburgh International Magic Festival

Seekers of wonder and amazement are invited to ‘lose themselves in magic’ this summer as the Edinburgh International Magic Festival celebrates its 7th magical year as the UK’s biggest festival of magic running from the 1st – 8th July.

Edinburgh is set to sparkle with an enchanting programme of world-class magic events, unforgettable performances, and jaw-dropping stunts from some of the greatest illusionists, mindreaders and accomplished magicians from around the world.

And even better is that there are some great events for kids, including a fantastic sounding magic school and a matinee performance of the Magicfest Gala show…

MagicFair: 1st – 3rd July | Summerhall
This year’s MagicFest launches with a brand new three day MagicFair at Summerhall – a multi-room experience enticing visitors to lose themselves with a full spectrum of magic performances and watch up to 10 live shows all with one ticket across morning (10am-2pm), afternoon (2-6pm) and lates (7.30-11.30pm) sessions.Family oriented morning sessions offer free entry to under 7s, who can enjoy Magic School workshops, wand-crafting, treasure hunts and six different live shows.Between shows, festivalgoers can explore the Ribbon Maze, Magic & Circus Shop, Sam the Scam Banco Booth and enjoy spontaneous close-up magic, comedy, illusions and sleight of hand with food, drink and music in the open-air courtyard.
Magic School & Workshops: 4th – 7th July | Quaker Meeting House | £80/18 Ages 7-10 The most mysterious summer school in the world!This 4-day course or 2.5 hour workshop will bring-out the inherent magic talents of budding young wizards, under the supervision of Head Master Gary James. Magic School students will learn, create and perform their own magic tricks, with each day focussing on a different area of magic and performance, from levitation to vanishing card tricks, with a graduation ceremony and magic show for family on the final day.
Magic and Variety Gala Show: 8th July | Festival Theatre | From £14 | Age 5+
Due to incredible popularity, a matinee performance has been added to this year’s MagicFest Gala, which brings the festival to a splendiferous finale.Believers and sceptics will be blown away by this two and a half hour variety of breath-taking performances from world champion illusionists, mindreaders, masters of the impossible and confounding magicians from Scotland and around the world. Highlights include South Korean Digital Time Traveller Hun Lee; Alchemist Young Min Kim, who deconstructs matter with the touch of his hand; Scotland’s mindreading equivalent to Sherlock Holmes and sell-out act Colin Cloud; Spanish magic world champion Hector Mancha; and mind-dizzying hula hoop artist Miss Polly Hoops.

Plenty of things to keep the wee ones entertained and to spark their magical imaginations !

It’s starting to look alot like Christmas…

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Edinburghfestivalsforkids

So, now that Halloween is well and truly done and dusted, we can all embrace the the upcoming festivities and celebrations surrounding Christmas! As usual Edinburgh is putting on a wide array of events, shows, celebrations and markets !

The main hub of events are organised by ‘Edinburgh’s Christmas‘ which is kicking everything off this weekend, on the 20th November.

Sunday the 22nd November looks great with the annual free ‘Light Night‘ taking place on George Street between 1.30-5pm. Expect fireworks, Susan Boyle and 50 school and community groups each performing an act, a dance, a song or a piece of music to celebrate all things Christmas on one of the stages.

Other free events include the ’24 doors of Advent’ – each day from 1 – 24 December, a building around Edinburgh that’s usually closed to the public will open its doors, including Gilmerton Cove, The Victorian School Room and The Real Mary King’s Close.

Edinburgh’s Christmas also includes the usual Christmas market, ice rinks, Christmas wheel, Santa Grotto, Christmas tree maze, Santa train and other rides and attractions.

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