St Andrew’s Day will see a packed programme of events celebrating Scottish Ceilidh Culture in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket.
The St Andrew’s Day revelries, which are part of Scotland’s Winter Festivals, will feature a tune writing workshop with Adam Sutherland for families, a kids ceilidh workshop and traditional Scottish storytelling from David Francis & Calum Lykan. Appearing on the main stage will be a celtic supergroup – 2014 Radio 2 Folk Award Nominees Breabach will be joined in a unique collaboration by a stellar selection of Scottish artists including Dougie MacLean, Louis Abbott and Blazin’ Fiddles in a celebration of the national Bard – Robert Burns.
To add to this line-up of great Scottish talent on Scotland’s National Day, families can enjoy music from The Deadly Winters, the Adam Sutherland Band, Caroline Gilmour and Rura, participate in a kids ceilidh at the end of the afternoon, or end the evening with an energetic ceilidh to the music of the Cask Strength Ceilidh Band.
An unusual addition to the line-up will be a Silent Ceilidh which will run in the Dome tent at the West End of the Grassmarket from 6.00pm. Dancers will all wear headsets offering two channels to listen to – one to join in a ceilidh dance such as Strip the Willow or the Gay Gordons with assistance of a caller, while the second channel will play Scottish pop music for those of a more individual disposition.
The programme runs from 1.30pm to 10.00pm in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket and all events are free of charge.
The Grassmarket Market will be trading throughout the day from 10.00am to 6.00pm offering a range of quality foodstuffs from locally sourced vegetables, fish and meat to hot food with a distinctly international influence.
Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said: “Scotland’s winter festivals bring people together to celebrate the very best of our culture, creativity and hospitality. Not only do they make a significant contribution to our economy, but they bring warmth, excitement and sparkle to our cold, dark winter nights, and demonstrate our ability to celebrate our rich culture year-round.
“The packed programme of free events around St Andrew’s Day in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket is the perfect way for the city to kick off the celebrations. From traditional music and dance to storytelling, it will be a taster of some of the exciting things to come over the next few months.”
Pete Irvine, Director of Unique Events, said “This extraordinary celebration of Scottish ceilidh culture brings together some of our greatest traditional musicians to entertain the crowds on Scotland’s National Day. It’s the first time that we have celebrated St Andrew’s Day in this way in Edinburgh and it’s a great addition to Scotland’s Winter Festivals.”
Charlie Wood, Director of Underbelly, said “We are delighted that the St Andrew’s Day celebrations are part of our, and Unique’s, inaugural Edinburgh’s Christmas programme offering the finest seasonal entertainment for the family.”
“Hosting the St Andrew’s Day celebrations is a fantastic opportunity for our local businesses as well as the Greater Grassmarket Business Improvement District (BID) and we are delighted that we were able to help bring this event to the Grassmarket”, says Greater Grassmarket Project Manager Georgia Artus.
Scotland’s Winter Festivals programme, which begins on St Andrew’s Day on 30 November and includes Christmas and Hogmanay, concludes on Burns Night on 25 January. Funded by the Scottish Government, Scotland’s Winter Festivals showcase the distinctive cultural events taking place across the country in the next few months. For full details of the Scotland’s Winter Festivals programme please visit: www.scotland.org/winter
MAIN STAGE
2.00pm The Deadly Winters
3.00pm Adam Sutherland Band
4.05pm Kids Ceilidh with the Cask Strength Ceilidh Band
5.15pm Caroline Gilmour
6.00pm Rura
7.10pm Breabach
7.40pm Breabach with Guests Dougie MacLean, Blazin’ Fiddles & Louis Abbott
9.00pm Cask Strength Ceilidh Band
10.00pm Finish
DOME TENT
1.30pm Adam Sutherland Tune Writing workshop for families
2.40pm Kids Ceilidh Workshop with Cask Strength Ceilidh Band
3.50pm Scottish Storytelling with David Francis & Calum Lykan
6.00pm Silent Ceilidh
9.50pm Finish
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
When is this taking place? I can not see the dates of the event anywhere…
It was on St Andrew’s Day which is 30 November.
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