Filmhouse Junior: films for a younger audience. This week: Paddington (PG): a young Peruvian bear travels to the city in search of a home…when he meets the kindly Brown family, it looks as though his luck has changed – until this rarest of bears catches the eye of a museum taxidermist. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4 per person, big or small, and may be obtained online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688.
Modroc Mirrors with Margaret Findlay. Inspired  by the shore and woodland, make a beautiful crafted mirror with Modroc.  For families. 11am-3pm, Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South. £5 per person: places must be booked in advance via the Usher Hall Box Office, Lothian Road, in person, by calling 0131 228 1155 or online here. Please note that at least one paying adult must accompany each child: children must not be booked into workshops alone.
Happy Easter at Magdalene Community Centre: today The Juniors and The Seniors (activities to be arranged) 7-9pm, Magdalene Community Centre, 106b Magdalene Drive.
Spring Edible Gardening Festival: join the Edible Gardening Project as the team get started in the vegetable patch for another year. From growing chillies on the windowsill to creating a vegetable garden with habitat for pollinators, there will be information and hands-on activities for all the family. 1-4pm, Real Life Science Studio and Demonstration Garden, Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. No booking required.
Talking Trees Storytelling: let the Botanics’ volunteers grow your imagination with tall tales from around the world. For ages 5+. 2-2.45pm, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. No booking required.
Martin Scorsese Presents Masterpieces of Polish Cinema: a season of films curated by Scorsese, all screened in pristine digital restorations. Today: Knights of the Black Cross (Krzyzacy) (PG). (In Polish with subtitles). One of Poland’s biggest hits, this lavish widescreen epic was based on Henryk Sienkiewicz’s much-loved novel, The Teutonic Knights. Set at the turn of the 15th century, it depicts the tension between the Poles and Lithuanians and their Teutonic neighbours, culminating in a thrilling reconstruction of the 1410 Battle of Grunwald.  7.45pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be obtained online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688. This screening will be introduced by Dr Malgorzata Bugaj (University of Edinburgh and University of Stirling); the film will be shown again at 2pm on Saturday 9th May 2015.
Scotland’s Open Gardens: Redcroft. A walled garden surrounding an Arts & Crafts villa, providing an unexpected haven off a busy road. Daffodils, fritillaries and other early spring bulbs, blossom and rhododendrons. 2-5pm, Redcroft, 23 Murrayfield Road. Entry £4 of which 40% will go to Fresh Start (Edinburgh) and the net remaining to Scottish Gardens beneficiaries.
Edinburgh International Science Festival: Mini Maker Faire. Back for its third year at Summerhall, the Faire highlights the diversity of human creativity by bringing together makers from all sorts of unexpected areas under one big roof. Gadgets, hardware, software, knitwear and food – a chance for the whole family to come out and interact with robotic puppets, 3D printers, model boats, motorised skateboards, science experiments and even virtual Minecraft worlds. Discover the hidden creative gems that are worked away at constantly by enthusiasts, artists and geeks throughout Scotland and further afield. A special programme of in-depth workshops will bring an extra element to the weekend – learn the secrets of taxidermy, try your hand at welding, and get busy with some electronic kits. 10am-5pm, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall. Tickets cost £5 (under-3s free) and may be purchased online here or by calling the Festival Box Office on 0844 557 2686.
Bags of Art: cool and creative fun with artists Tessa Asquith-Lamb and Louise Fraser. For ages 4-12 years. 2-4pm, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free and unticketed: supported by the Friends of NGS.
Scotland’s Open Gardens: Winton House. Enjoy an informative tour of this historic house, and walk around the estate to work off a delicious lunch and home baking. Entry to garden £4, tours of house £5/£3, children under 10 free. 40% of the proceeds will go to Bethany Christian Trust and the net remaining to Scottish Gardens beneficiaries. 12 noon-4.30pm, Sir Francis Ogilvy Winton Trust, Winton House, Pencaitland.
Whisky Galore! (U) A special screening of the original 1949 classic in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, to introduce their new Gaelic adaptation of Whisky Galore/Uisge-Beatha Gu Leor. Adapted from Compton Mackenzie’s famous comic novel, Whisky Galore tells the story of the attempts of the fictional islanders of Todday to salvage and hold onto 50,000 cases of whisky from a shipwreck. 3.10pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be obtained online here or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688: prices vary. The screening will be followed by a discussion chaired by NTS Artistic Director, Laurie Sansom, in conversation with Hannah McGill, jounalist and former Artistic Director of EIFF, and a member of the new play’s cast. The new Gaelic stage version will be performed at St Columba’s Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 20th April (tickets available from The Hub). Discounts are available for purchasing tickets for the film and the play together.
Serenity Cafe Trivia Quiz: general knowledge and pop questions – with prizes! Come on your own or bring a team. 2-5pm, Serenity Cafe, 8 Jackson’s Entry, The Tun, 111 Holyrood Road. Entry £4, includes refreshments on arrival. The Serenity Cafe is Scotland’s first recovery cafe, run by people in recovery for people in recovery, and for public customers who want good value, good quality food in a relaxed space. All events are family-friendly and drink and drugs-free.
Hearing impaired tour – Ponte City: Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse. A free tour of the exhibition with portable loops. led by Tessa Asquith-Lamb. 11am-12 noon, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. To book a place please call 0131 624 6560. Ponte City continues at the Portrait Gallery until 26th April 2015.
Cameo Vintage Sundays: ‘classic films back on the big screen where they belong’. This week: Harold and Maude (15). A young man with a death wish and a 79-year-old high on life find love in Hal Ashby’s black comedy. 1pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased online here or by calling the Box Office on 0871 902 5723.
Latin American Social Movements: in Latin America some of the poorest people on the planet have taken back land and resources from the rich – Â the Zapatistas in Mexico and the Landless Movement in Brazil are but two examples. Clif Ross, co-editor of Until The Rulers Obey, will give a presentation and lead a discussion. 6-9pm, Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh, 17 West Montgomery Place. The Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh is a self-managed social resource centre. This event has been organised by Edinburgh Chiapas Solidarity Group.
St Giles At Six: Leader Ensemble. Brahms Sextet No 1, Op 18. 6pm, St Giles Cathedral, High Street. Free: retiring collection.
