rabbit and deer

Filmhouse Junior: screenings for a younger audience. Today: LIAF – For Ages 7+ (PG). A programme of 10 short films from the London International Animation Festival, specially chosen for children over 7 years. This international showcase includes Effie Pappa’s McLaren Award-winning My Stuffed Granny and the delightful Rabbit and Deer. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets cost £4 per person, big or small, and may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 6382 or online.

Gayfield gMaking Well: Pace: Walking By Design. A series of walks and exhibitions offering new routes linking Edinburgh’s green spaces and creative initiatives. Today the first of a series of Walks By Design in and around central Edinburgh; 60 minute strolls to explore the beauty and creativity of contemporary Edinburgh, creating a map and mapping creativity. 2pm, Gayfield Creative Spaces, 11 Gayfield Square. Free. Also at same time on Sundays 23rd and 30th August. The Pace Exhibition runs at Gayfield until 31st August 2015; for more information see Gayfield’s website here.

coda older but no wiser posterOlder But No Wiser: CODA’s 25th Birthday! Live music spread over three days to celebrate the specialist music shop’s anniversary; today performances by Karine Polwart, Kirsty Law, Chris Stout, Iain Morrison, Wendy Weatherby and Dean Owens, with a reading by Ian RankinCoda, 12 Bank Street. Please contact shop for times. All welcome!

Edinburgh Book Fringe: daily events – all of them free (donations appreciated) for two weeks at Word Power Books, Edinburgh’s independent radical bookshop. Today: theatre director and performer Morna Burdon performs Bonnie Fechters: Songs and Stories of Hope and Resistance, inspiring stories and songs about women’s activism and struggle, from the jute mills of Dundee to the world-wide witch killings and the Vietnam war. 1pm, Word Power Books, West Nicolson Street. All welcome! No booking required, but arrive promptly as space is limited.

Image: Roween Suess
Image: Roween Suess

Foam, Foil and Form Workshop: explore the materials and techniques used by the artist in these drop-in art workshops inspired by the sculptures of John Chamberlain. Experiment with colour and form by making miniature foam sculptures, sculpt with foil or create through collage – take your work home! For ages 4+; please note that children must be accompanied by an adult. 2-4pm, Real Life Science Studio, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. Free: no booking required.

st mary's organCelebrity Organ Recitals: Steven Grahl, Director of Music, Peterborough Cathedral. 4.45pm, St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place. Free: retiring collection.

linlithgow canal fun day posterLinlithgow Union Canal Society Fun Day: featuring the great Cardboard Boat Race! Plus short canal trips available all afternoon, a free ferry from one side of the canal basin to the other and lots of stalls – including the Art Club, charities, face-painting and Punch & Judy. There will be musical entertainment from Linlithgow Folk Festival Association and the International Rescue Corps will give a water safety demonstration. Light refreshments available in the tea room, plus barbecue and ice cream. 1pm, Linlithgow Canal Centre, Manse Road, Linlithgow.

clockwork orangePicturehouse Vintage Sundays: classic films back on the big screen. Today: A Clockwork Orange (18) Stanley Kubrick’s future-shook vision of Anthony Burgess’s novel, starring Malcolm McDowell. 1pm, Cameo, Home Street. Tickets may be purchased from the Box Office in person, by calling 0871 902 5723 or online.

festival of politics bannerFestival of Politics 2015: a three-day programme of exhibitions, debates and films, featuring respected figures from the worlds of media, politics, academia and the arts. Exhibitions on display throughout the weekend look at the Anti-Apartheid movement, cartoonists’ interpretations of the independence debate (The Auld Acquaintance), sounds created by different areas of the Parliament and its inhabitants (Democratic Resonance 2013-2015), plus Michael Peto Photography – Politics in Focus, and the 2015 World Press Photography Awards.  Free live music and performances in the Festival Cafe Bar (open today 10.30am-6.30pm), which will be serving drinks and Scottish delicacies. 10am-9.30pm, The Scottish Parliament, Holyrood. Ends 9.30pm, Sunday 16th August 2015. For more information, details of all debates and films, and to book tickets, see the festival’s website here: ticket prices vary – all exhibitions are free, and the World Press Awards and Michael Peto exhibitions will remain open until 22nd August 2015 (10am-5pm Monday to Saturday only).

hedwig and the angry inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch: Sing-along Screening (15) (In English and German with English subtitles). John Cameron Mitchell’s outrageous cult classic is the story of a struggling rock singer and her search for stardom and love. After reluctantly submitting to a sex change operation to marry an American GI and escape East Germany, Hedwig finds herself divorced and living in a Kansas trailer park.. but when she encounters young Tommy Gnosis, she falls hard again, only for Tommy to dump her, steal her songs and become a rock superstar. Through a series of flashbacks, animations and eminently singable tunes, Hedwig – backed by her pan-Slavic band, The Angry Inch – tells her tragic life story. 8.30pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be obtained from the Box Office in person, by calling 0131 228 6382 or online: prices vary.

Festival Pulpits (1)

St John’s Festival Pulpits: Scottish political leaders come to St John’s to explain what motivates them. The five main parties in Scotland will be represented, each one speaking after St John’s Festival Evensong on Sundays throughout August. Tonight’s speaker is Ruth Davidson MSP, Leader, Scottish Conservatives. 7pm (approx – after evensong service, which begins at 6pm), St John’s Episcopal Church, Princes Street. All welcome, free. Next Sunday’s speaker will be Sarah Boyack MSP, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Rural Affairs, Food and Environment, Scottish Labour Party.

amy hawthorn 2The Incredible Amy Hawthorn: funk/soul/jazz from the West Lothian singer/songwriter. 8pm, The Old Chain Pier, Trinity Crescent.

St Giles’ At Six: Jamie Lang (piano) plays music by Liszt, JS Bach, Mendelssohn, Debussy and Gershwin. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free; retiring collection.

jamie lang

+ posts