Thursday in Edinburgh – What’s On Today

Gaelic Rhymetime! Gaelic songs and rhymes for children and babies. 10.30am, Leith Library, 28-30 Ferry Road. (Next meeting 30th October at Blackhall Library, 56 Hillhouse Rd.)

Live Music Now: Morag Brown and Lewis Powell-Reid. This traditional music duo have developed a rich and expanding repertoire of music from a number of folk traditions. On fiddle and bouzouki or accordion, they are at home performing both traditional Celtic music and music from Europe, the Balkans and Greece. 6pm, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1 Queen Street. Free and unticketed.

Joanna Nicholson and Matthew Whiteside: Nicholson and Whiteside perform new music for clarinet and electronics by living Scottish composers. The programme includes Tommy Fowler’s A White Fan Spreading Out Lasting Forever, Edward McGuire’s Prelude 9, William Sweeny’s Piobaireachd and Matthew Whiteside’s Three pieces for bass clarinet and electronics. 6pm, Royal Scottish Academy, The Mound. Free and unticketed. Part of GENERATION By Night

Artist Talk: Colin Gray. Coinciding with the exhibition Colin Gray: a Journey with his Parents through Love, Life and Death at North Edinburgh Arts Centre, Coin will give an illustrated talk about the development of his ‘intimate’ photography and the relationship between the staged and the documentary image. He will also discuss how he used photography as therapy for himself and his parents over a 34 year time span. 6.30-7.30pm, Stills, 23 Cockburn Street. Free tickets can be booked via eventbrite. (Photo by Stills.)

Stigma Free Arts Cafe: bring your lunch to an inspiring and safe cafe space and enjoy poets, musicians, dancers, speakers and visual artists. 12-2pm,  Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge. Free: all welcome. Part of Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival 2014.

Hans Vermeersch: violin recital featuring vocalist Payal Debroy. Fourteen songs by Rabindranath Tagore, translated by Arthur Geddes. 6pm, Glass Room, Merchiston Campus, Edinburgh Napier University, 10 Colinton Road. Free.

Silhouetting: popular drop-in family workshop, taking inspiration from the Where Do I End and You Begin exhibition. Using Mary Evans’ intricate cut-outs as your starting point, experiment with shapes to make your own piece of silhouette art. Suitable for the whole family working together. 1.30-3.30pm, City Art Centre, Market Street. Free, no booking required, meet in reception.

Debt, Tax and Justice: hear about the links between tax and debt justice, and how we can work to make these systems fairer. By changing economic systems we can challenge some of the vast inequalities that exist in the world. 7-9pm, Augustine United Church, 41 George IV Bridge. Organised by Jubilee Scotland and Christian Aid as part of Edinburgh World Justice Festival.

SMHAFF International Film Awards: The Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival’s annual open film submission gives filmmakers from all over the world a platform to challenge perceptions on mental health, share their ideas with new audiences and explore the realities of mental health through film, This year submissions came from Australia, Canada, Iran, Thailand, USA and Europe. The ceremony will honour the very best of these films: expect to be moved and inspired by excerpts from, and the stories behind, these films. 6-8pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Free but booking required: see Filmhouse website.

Craft Cafe Open Day: the Edinburgh Craft Cafe opens its doors to celebrate Luminate 2014. If you are 65+ and want to get involved in creative activity, come along to the studios to meet artists in residence and Craft Cafe members, and to try out an activity for yourself. 10am-4pm, St Raphael’s Care Home, 6 South Oswald Road, EH9 2HG.

LGBT Learning Disability Project: a social group for LGBT people with learning difficulties or disabilities; meet other people, have fun and discuss sexuality and gender identity. Monthly meetings on a Thursday afternoon: today Information about People First and Speak Out discussion about bullying. Contact George at george@lgbthealth.org.uk or on 0131 652 3281 to find out how to join the group, which meets at the Lifecare Centre, Cheyne Street. Please bring a carer or supporter if you need help to participate.

Pass on a Poem: a chance to explore poetry in a beautifully bookish though wonderfully informal setting. Read a favourite published poem aloud or just come along to listen to a diverse collection at this live poetry event. No previous experience of poetry or of reading live necessary! If you know what you want to read, send an email to the shop giving title and author and they’ll add you to the programme. 6.30pm, Golden Hare Books, 68 St Stephen Street, Stockbridge (note new address.)

Samba Drumming Workshop: 5.50-7.30pm, Forest Centre Plus, Argyle House, 38 Castle Terrace.

What Adult Education Means to Me workshop: speak to the artists exhibiting in the current What Adult Education Means to Me exhibition, and try out some of the techniques and approaches used in the creation of their work. Think about ways of expressing your own experiences and ideas about What Adult Education Means to Me. Everyone, including groups and organisations, welcome to join the workshops, which will be led by Outlook Project students and tutors. 3-4pm, St Brides Community Centre, Orwell Terrace. To book a place call 0131 337 6215. Free.

The Flint: original live music showcase. Martyn McKenzie, Shaz Jamieson, Lucas & Frida, and Patti Bloom, 7-10pm, Boda Bar, 229 Leith Walk.

Ecumenical Friends at St Cuthbert’s: Justin Taylor speaks on South Africa Past and Present. Everyone warmly welcome: tea and coffee provided, bring your own sandwiches. 12.30-2pm, St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road. £1.50. Organised by Edinburgh City Centre Churches Together.

An American in Paris: screening of the 1951 musical, starring Gene Kelly as a struggling American painter in Paris in George Gershwin’s 1928 symphonic poem to the city. 6-8pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Scottish National Gallery, The Mound. Free and unticketed.