Highlights | AROUND TOWN
LEITH FESTIVAL RIP IT UP
GLASGOW 2018
MERCHANT CITY EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
Various venues, Edinburgh, Sat 9–Sat 17 Jun, leithfestival.com The vibrant community of Leith shows off its festival skills with a fun-packed programme of events including exhibitions, concerts, walks, talks and films. Notable dates are the festival Gala Day (Sat 9 Jun) and the Leith Festival Tattoo (Sun 17 Jun). National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Fri 22 Jun–Sun 25 Nov, nms. ac.uk National Museums Scotland and BBC Scotland are coming together to tell the story of Scottish pop music in a major collaborative project that explores the musical culture of a nation over more than half a century.
EUROPEAN FESTIVAL
FRINGE
CHAMPIONSHIPS Various venues, Glasgow, Thu 2–Sun 12 Aug, glasgow2018.com This multi-sport event sees European athletes compete in athletics, aquatics, cycling, golf, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon. Events also take place at venues around Scotland
Various venues, Glasgow, Thu 2–Sun 12 Aug, merchantcityfestival.com A diverse arts festival in Glasgow’s swanky part of town. Previous years have seen comedy, theatre and art events cramming themselves into the area, while street performers add to the festival atmosphere. Various venues, Edinburgh, Fri 3–Mon 27 Aug, edfringe.com The largest arts festival in the world and the greatest show on earth. Every year thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages all over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste.
H I T L I S T
AROUND TOWN HIGHLIGHTS
Events are listed by city, then date. Submit listings for your event at list.co.uk/add
GLASGOW
WEST END FESTIVAL Various venues, Thu 31 May–Sat 30 Taking over the West End of Glasgow each year, the festival treats the ears to a great musical line-up, tantalises all the senses with a carnival and delves into the creative depths of local studios and exhibitions with the Hidden Lane open days.
GLASGOW SCIENCE FESTIVAL Various venues, Sat 7–Thu 17 Jun, glasgowsciencefestival.org.uk A packed programme of workshops, shows, films, discussion, exhibitions and art collaborations allows budding scientists to sit back and learn something new or don safety goggles and take part in an experiment.
BRICKLIVE SEC, Thu 19–Sun 22 Jul, bricklive. co.uk The UK’s biggest LEGO fan convention comes to Glasgow for a celebration of all things LEGO featuring displays from fan builders, themed areas and millions of LEGO bricks to play with.
GLASGOW COMIC CON Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 30 Jun, glasgowcomiccon.com Glasgow Comic Con is an annual event which focuses on showcasing sequential art, and hosting a wide range of established and up-and- coming creators from across the globe.
EDINBURGH JUNIPER FESTIVAL
Summerhall, Fri 1–Sun 3 Jun, summerhall.co.uk With a variety of top producers to try before you buy as well as gin talks, cocktails, food stalls and handmade fashions and crafts on sale, the Juniper Festival is a celebration of all things gin.
FOODIES FESTIVAL Inverleith Park, Fri 3–Sun 5 Aug, foodiesfestival.com Michelin starred and award-winning chefs cook up a storm at this year’s festival dedicated to epicureans, as well as offerings from local producers, and workshops for food
MEADOWS FESTIVAL lovers young and old.
Meadows, Sat 2–Sun 3 Jun, meadowsfestival.co.uk Edinburgh’s festival season kicks off with the Meadows Festival, which offers a local band line-up, dance groups, a dog show, an outdoor market and workshops amidst lots of family-friendly activities.
ANNUALE Embassy, Fri 15 Jun–Sun 1 Jul, annuale.org Annuale is a festival celebrating independent grassroots creative projects within the visual arts, especially local Edinburgh based projects. It is curated by the Embassy gallery.
TURING FEST EICC, Wed 1–Thu 2 Aug, turingfest. com Amidst the cornucopia of arts events in Edinburgh in August, this festival focuses on technology and can be relied upon for appearances by big names from the digital community. 2018’s themes are Product, Strategy & Growth (1 Aug) and Engineering, Marketing & Culture (2 Aug).
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
Various venues, Fri 3–Mon 27 Aug, eif.co.uk The Edinburgh International Festival is an unparalleled celebration of the performing arts and an annual meeting point for peoples of all nations. Committed to virtuosity and originality, the International Festival presents some of the finest performers and ensembles from the arts world for three weeks in August.
JUST FESTIVAL St John’s Episcopal Church, Fri 3–Sun 26 Aug, just-festival.org Just Festival offers a programme to help people explore their spirituality by engaging with others and promoting peace with live music, talks, dance shows and exhibitions. The 2018 theme is ‘OutsideIn’.
THE MONSTER Royal Highland Centre, Thu 9–Sun 12 Aug, themonsteruk.com Adult bouncy castle featuring a 300-metre obstacle course. Street food, cocktails and live entertainment are also on offer.
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION FESTIVAL
Various venues, Wed 22–Fri 24 Aug, thetvfestival.com An essential fixture for
Juniper Festival
everyone in the television industry wanting inspiration, networking, learning and fun. Run by and for the television industry, it is attended by over 2000 delegates. OUT OF TOWN
WRITE HERE WRITE NOW Paisley Town Hall, Fri 27 Jul, write18. com An exciting new Young Writers Festival for people aged 8–21 based in the Renfrewshire area. It encourages young people to enter and develop their writing skills, focusing on plays, songwriting and poetry.
MUGSTOCK FESTIVAL Mugdock Country Park, Milngavie, Fri 27–Mon 30 Jul, mugstock.org Boutique festival organised on a not-for- profit basis, featuring music, food, drink, theatre, art, cabaret and ‘sciencey stuff.’ The line-up for 2018 includes Friday headliner Colonel Mustard & The Dijon 5.
GREAT SCOTTISH SWIM Loch Lomond, Sat Aug 25, greatrun. org/great-swim/ Thousands of people take to the water and swim in Loch Lomond, raising money for charities in the process. The event aims to make swimming races in open water as accessible and popular as charity runs and marathons have become, with a choice of different distances.
1 Jun–31 Aug 2018 THE LIST 73