Category Archives: Uncategorized

Pleasance Kidzone 2015

Posted on by
2

Each year the Pleasance has a fantastic kidzone – packed with fun craft activities, toys, picnic tables, buggy park and a few food stalls so importantly parents can also grab a well deserved cup of coffee !

Children can also enjoy storytelling sessions, face painting, music, author book signings and regular visits from all the Pleasance performers, so it is a gem of a place to spend some time with kids during the festival season.

The Pleasance’s 2015 children’s programme is almost double what is has been in previous years, with a whopping number of 26 shows for you to choose from – you can read all about them here.

Here are a few of my top picks :

  • Alfie White : Space Explorer – Brought this year by Tall Stories who came to Edinburgh last year with Emily brown and the thing which was extremely enchanting- this shows looks worth a peek. Alfie White is crazy about space. And his dad is training to be the first man on the moon. At least that’s what Alfie tells his schoolmates. In fact, Alfie’s dad has disappeared without trace… A cosmic tale of adventure and discovery for everyone aged 5+                                 
  • The Tiger Who Came To Tea – The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? …..Most parents and children will be familiar with this delightful tale which has spanned generations and this show packed with music and clumsy chaos looks exciting !  (Ages 2 +)               
  • Albee Vector The Sound Collector – This show was part of the free fringe last year and I mentioned it in my blog as being worth visiting but I never made it myself – judging by it’s return to the Pleasance venue this year, it’s well worth the trip ! An epic tale of love, adventure and a sound-hoover called Mustard. Find out how Albee and his love Andromeda survived kings, curses and cruelty on their quest for beautiful sound in the world. (Ages 4+)                                             Albee Vector the Sound Collector
  • Rosie’s Magic Horse – If an ice lolly stick can dream of being a horse, what magic might follow? A fantastic story based on the book by Russell Hoban. This looks very mystical and enchanting…..(Ages 3-8)                                             

Definitely looks like its worth visiting the kidzone again this year….

BBC at the Edinburgh Festival 2015 ….

Posted on by
Reply

Yipee ! Yes, its one of my all time favourite venues at the Edinburgh festival and it’s returning in all of its glory…the green green grass will be laid out soon and the pink and blue tents will be traveling over. It is a great place to hang out, with deck chairs, food stalls, a giant tv screen and lots of live music too … As ever, they have a wide range of events this year including some great free family events too …I imagine like previous years they will be doing family friendly weekends…keep an eye out on their facebook page for more regular information about events – they are very good at updating daily during the festival about what’s going on in the space.

Currently there are a few family events that look good and you can already apply for tickets in the ballot system (if you miss out, don’t be disheartened as there are tickets released on the day of events at the venue too…). They have just updated the tickets page and its much easier to see whats on and to apply – for the family events click here.

  • So far…the stargazing live event with Mark Thompson and his sidekick Captain Gravity looks exciting – Friday 7th August 5.30pm – children can learn about the mysteries of space whilst launching rockets and making comets.
  • As does Swashbuckle live on Saturday 8th August at 10.30 and 12.30….where Gem searches for her hidden jewels on a desert island and she’ll need the help of all the Swashbucklers in the audience if she’s to find them before the naughty pirate who is also digging for treasure.

It’s that wonderful time of year….

Posted on by
Reply

Oh my….what a busy busy year it’s been and then all my hopes of getting this blog going again with all the festival updates was delayed due to family holidays, weddings and worst of all a frozen neck which was very very sore (ouch)…thankfully all that is over now and I’m as excited as ever about all of the upcoming festival delights about to hit our city !!

I have already booked plenty of tickets for the book festival which you may know by now is one of my favourite places to be during August in Edinburgh…highlights this year include Cressida Cowell talking about the final installment of the How to train your dragon books – which my daughter and partner are currently devouring !, the Teddy Bear Sleepover, the ever fantastic Oliver Jeffers, the regular Bookbug sessions and on the 16th August the Book Festival is celebrating Miffy’s 60th birthday – and you may even get to meet her yourself !

Happy Birthday Miffy

I’ve slowly started leafing through the multitude of festival brochures and exploring whats on and what there is to do with the kids and I’ll be sure to update the blog as I go along, so please do keep checking back…..I’m also very very happy that the BBC tent is already getting itself into gear and I’ll post about what kids events they’ve mentioned so far shortly….there’s just not enough time in the day to do it all !!

Let’s hope the sun also decides to come visit in August too !

Happy 1st Birthday Edinburgh Children’s Library !

Posted on by
Reply

(Firstly I should apologise for such a long absence from this blog – my only reasonable excuse is life getting in the way – I hope you’ll forgive me as I let you know about some exiting things coming up in the next few days !)

The new Edinburgh Children’s Library has been open for a year now – I don’t know if you’re like me and you love this place. I adore the little round reading nooks, and the bookshelf tree and beanbags in the back room. I love that there is a whole room dedicated to arts and crafts so the kids can get creative on every visit.

So, to celebrate their first birthday they have arranged a few special activities :

  • Borrow a mystery book – from the 11th May, you might find a golden envelope and win a £10 book token.
  • Bookbug – on Friday 15th May, Bookbug will be coming along to the usual session and there will be a present for every child attending.
  • Birthday party – on Friday 15th May 2.30-4pm. Like all good parties we’ll have juice, cake and lots of party games. We’ll even have a lucky dip for some helium balloons.

I’m planning to visit for the birthday party tomorrow afternoon, so maybe see you there ??

Big Beach Busk 2014

Posted on by
Reply

So it looks like this weekend there are plenty of things to do ! Along with the Mela festival, this Saturday, 30th August- its also the Big Beach Busk down at Portobello promenade…

Its fairly simple really: A mile of promenade, a mile of buskers.  Come along and play or come down just to see the spectacle. You can be any kind of street entertainer you like from a one man band to an orchestra, a mime/robot, a choir, balloon modeller or magician, so expect to see some varied acts !!

And an exciting new addition for this year – is Rhymetimes. They  will be doing two sessions of rhymes for wee ones from 1pm to 1.30pm and 2pm to 2.30pm. It’s in Straiton Park (that’s Pirate Park) which is the little grassy play park right next to the boat club.