Latest news with #Imaginate
Glasgow Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Full list of Glasgow roads set to close for festival
Taking place during Fair Fortnight, from July 18 to July 20, the festival promises a wide range of activities and attractions for all ages, transforming the area into a vibrant hub of culture and entertainment. Visitors can enjoy exploring market stalls, tasting offerings from speciality food vendors, and taking part in family fun days hosted at Merchant Square. READ MORE: Huge TRNSMT act visits Gorbals pub and chats to staff The streets will be brought to life by Surge Festival's street theatre, offering surprising and interactive performances that are sure to delight festivalgoers. This year's programme includes a mass ceilidh carnival on Friday, held in celebration of Glasgow 850, as well as live performances from local music artists throughout the weekend. Family-friendly activities are being curated in collaboration with Imaginate, taking place within Merchant Square. Meanwhile, the Social Hub Stage will feature music programmed by Surge, in partnership with 432 Presents. Food lovers can look forward to delicious street food provided by Dockyard Social, while the Ceilidh Carnival is set to capture the spirit of Glasgow through dance and celebration. READ MORE: TRNSMT act takes unwell on main stage due to scorching heat The festival market will offer a variety of artisan stalls to browse, adding to the atmosphere of discovery. For those seeking a more tranquil experience, the Ambient Arcade and a Quiet Space will be available at Impact Arts on the Boardwalk, offering a peaceful retreat amid the festivities. To ensure the safety of attendees and road users, eight roads in and around the Merchant City area will be closed for the duration of the festival. Access will be restricted to all vehicles except emergency service vehicles responding to an emergency and vehicles with prior permission from Glasgow City Council's events team. READ MORE: Kevin Bridges poses with huge TRNSMT act Full details of affected roads and times are here: Prohibition of vehicle movements From 6am on July 18 until 11.59pm on July 20. Brunswick Street for its full length Bell Street between Candleriggs and Walls Street Candleriggs for its full length Garth Street for its full length - local access to resident parking Wilson Street between Glassford Street and Candleriggs Hutcheson Street for its full length Prohibition on waiting and loading or unloading From 3pm on July 17 until 11.59pm on July 20 Hutcheson Street for its full length Brunswick Street for its full length Bell Street between Candleriggs and Walls Street Candleriggs for its full length Garth Street for its full length Wilson Street between Glassford Street and Candleriggs Suspension of bus lane From 4am on July 18 until 11.59pm on July 20
Edinburgh Reporter
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh International Children's Festival begins on Saturday
The Edinburgh International Childrens's Festival begins on Saturday with a full day at the National Museum of Scotland packed with circus, dance, storytelling and theatre. The festival runs for a week and the full programme for the opening day is here. The whole day is free to attend and events take place throughout the day making it ideal for a drop in visit. This year's theme is to celebrate timely topics such as celebrating difference, the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), the search for identity all laced with humour and good fun to connect with children regardless of their circumstances. access needs or location. Opening this year's festival on Saturday 24 May is the Festival's Family Day – a full day of popular, free, pop-up performances and artist interventions at the National Museum of Scotland, which has been programmed in partnership with festivals across the country including Light the Blue festival in Aberdeen, Merchant City Festival in Glasgow and the Paisley Book Festival. Wig Waltz Minnie Crook and Dan Brown at the North Edinburgh Community Festival Highlights from the Family Day include a second showing of Election, a humorous take on politics and power, created with young people as part of Imaginate's Creative Encounters project, Wig Waltz by Dan Brown and Minnie Crook featuring over-the-top wigs and period costumes, and 1, 2, 3 Resilient Mushrooms! telling the story of three tiny but mighty mushrooms through physical storytelling, ceilidh dancing and Scottish traditional music. Other pop-up shows include a spectacular aerial duet by All or Nothing Dance Theatre on a giant swing; a treasure hunt; and the world's biggest (and cutest!) cat. Festival Director Noel Jordan, who will stand down at the end of the year, said: 'This year's programme features exciting Scottish theatre makers, including Greg Sinclair and his new show Tongue Twister, which humorously celebrates the beauty and musicality of language through tongue twisters and gorgeous costumes, as well as Sadiq Ali and Vee Smith whose first show for young audiences explores the power of friendship and how it can transform us from misfits into fantastical creatures ready to pursue our dreams. 'The Festival includes a number of intensely physical works that explore storytelling through acrobatics, and expands our ideas of the possibilities of what the human body can do. Ultimately, I want this festival to be about the power of creativity, celebration and fun; not as a form of escapism from all the problems we face, but as an expression of joy. Because without joy – in our bodies, and in the power of our imaginations – we will never be able to overcome those problems. And we hope that this year's Festival truly captures that spirit, and celebrates it.' The Festival Family Day will take place between 10am and 5pm at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 24 May. Free to attend, performances and events will take place throughout the day for children and their families to drop-in and enjoy. The Festival Family Day will take place between 10am and 5pm at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 24 May. Free to attend, performances and events will take place throughout the day for children and their families to drop-in and enjoy. For tickets for the Festival and further information visit / . Tickets can be booked online or by calling 0131 226 0019. L-R Front row Sage (9), Junior (9) and Madison (9) and back row Junior (10) and James (9). School children from Forthview Primary celebrated the launch of this year's Edinburgh International Children's Festival programme by recreating the cover of the Festival programme and 'launching' their own paper boats in the pond outside The Scottish Parliament. Like this: Like Related
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Scotsman
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh International Children's Festival: 'a celebration of joy'
After years of curtailed ambition, the Children's Festival looks set to return to its former glory, says Joyce McMillan Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... When Noel Jordan arrived from Sydney in 2015, to take on the role of Festival Director at the Edinburgh International Children's Festival, he had no idea what a rollercoaster his decade in charge would turn out to be. At first, all was plain sailing, as he put together festival programmes showcasing both a brilliant array of international work, and an ever-increasing number of shows from Scotland burgeoning children's theatre scene which – after 25 years of investment via the festival's year-round parent organisation, Imaginate – was beginning to win fans and admirers worldwide. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl | Tommy Ga-Ken Wan In March 2020, though, as the first wave of Covid lockdowns swept across Europe, the EICF became one of the first Scottish arts organisation to have to cancel its May festival completely. There followed two years of tentative reconstruction, as the festival staged an ingenious 2021 'outdoor and online' programme, followed by a 2022 programme built around half a dozen Scottish shows and other work from neighbouring countries. And it's only now, half a decade on, that the festival is once again beginning to look like the exuberant showcase for international and Scottish work that it was when it was first launched in a tented village in Inverleith Park, back in 1989. For Jordan, it seems like the right moment to step down, as he prepares to return to Australia; but not without delivering an enthusiastic drum-roll for this year's event, which opens on 24 May with its usual Family Day at the National Museum of Scotland, followed over the next week by a programme of 13 shows, including three new works made in Scotland, and five presented as part of a Spotlight on Flanders season, showcasing work from a culture that produces some of Europe's most adventurous theatre for young audiences. Tongue Twister | Contributed 'One thing I'm particularly pleased about,' says Jordan, 'is that we're starting to move on towards a new generation of children theatre-makers in Scotland – although the established companies are still there, and often play a key role in fostering new talent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Our opening night performance, for example, is The Unlikely Friendship Of Feather Boy And Tentacle Girl, a fabulous circus-inspired show by Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali about how the power of friendship can transform us from loners and misfits into strong characters ready to pursue our dreams. 'Greg Sinclair's Tongue Twister, by contrast, comes from one of Scotland's best-known makers of theatre for young people; but it represents a new departure for him, and it will be staged at the newly reopened North Edinburgh Arts Centre, which is great to see.' Jordan is also excited to see the festival expanding this year into a venue it has never visited previously, as Belgian company Be Flat come to Portobello Town Hall with their intriguing acrobatic show Double You, a spectacular circus performance that explores 'fear of missing out'. And at the Traverse, he's delighted to present the legendary Belgian company Kopergietery in The Pale Baron, an exceptionally timely show for older children about two musicians trying to pursue their art during a regime that tries to eliminate everything that seems too free, too different or too rebellious. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We also have shows this year from France and Germany, and from the wonderful Oily Cart company from England, working with the Australian company Polyglot,' says Jordan. 'And the programme includes some intensely physical work that really explores the idea of storytelling through acrobatics, and expands our ideas of what the human body can do. Because above all, I want this festival to be about the power of creativity, celebration and fun; not as a form of escapism from all the problems we face, but as an expression of joy. Because without joy – in our bodies, and in the power of our imaginations – we will never be able to overcome those problems; and we hope that this year's Festival truly captures that spirit, and celebrates it.'
