Filmhouse Junior: Antboy (Denmark 2013 – English language version) Cert PG. Re-energising the superhero genre for a younger audience – who needs Spiderman when Antboy is in town? ‘a rollicking good fun caper movie’. 11am, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. £3.50 per person, big or small! Tickets can be booked online or by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688. Part of the Discovery Film Festival’s touring programme.
The Big Interfaith Quiz: get your thinking caps on and test your knowledge of different world religions – one of the favourites of Scottish Interfaith Week returns! 7-9pm, The Mosque Kitchen, 31 Nicolson Square. A free buffet will be provided. Please contact Sakina on 0131 629 9058 or sakina@eifa.org.uk. Free entry: donations welcome.
Celebrate St Andrew’s Day in Edinburgh! A series of free events for all the family: live music, dancing and storytelling, historical tours of the area, free skate sessions on the ice rink, curling club demonstrations, Murrayfield Skating School performance, a St Andrew’s Day-inspired show from Pyroceltica, Robert Fish Band ceilidh, face-painting, fancy dress, children’s haggis hunt, The Scottish Market – and lots more. 10am-10pm (individual times vary), St Andrew’s Square. All events are free but some are ticketed: pre-book at edinburghschristmas.com to avoid disappointment. Part of Scotland’s Winter Festivals: read The Edinburgh Reporter’s article about the St Andrew’s Day launch here.
Santa Cruises with Re-Union Canal Boats! A fun, unique and memorable trip along the Union Canal and a special visit from Santa himself. Games, songs, craft activities, seasonal refreshments and a gift from Santa for every child. Begins at Re-Union Canal Centre, 1 Union Path. £10 per person, babies under 12 months go free (but must be included in booking). Booking & prompt arrival essential: see website: trips will run three times a day every weekend until Christmas, with an additional three trips on December 22nd.
Advent Music and Reflection: Mary, The Rose. Music by Michael Praetorius, Hugo Distler and Andrew Carvel, sung by the choir of St Andrew’s and Sr George’s West, with a reflection for the season of Advent. 1.30-2pm, St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street. Free entry: all welcome.
Shot At Dawn: free drop-in tours of Chloe Dewe Mathews’ current exhibition. 2-2.30pm today and every Sunday, Stills Gallery, 23 Cockburn Street. No booking required, just turn up!
Enchanted Edwardian Christmas: a craft workshop for families with the Lauriston team. Enjoy Lauriston’s very special Edwardian Christmas experience, evoking the memories and atmosphere of a past era and take home some charming crafts. Christmas snacks included! 10am-1pm, Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South. £7 per person: booking must be made via the Usher Hall Box Office, in person, by phone or via the Usher Hall website.
St Andrew’s Porty Ceilidh featuring Fun Fiddlers and The Belle Star Band. 3.30-5.30pm, The Wash House, Adelphi Grove, Portobello. £6 adult, £4 child, under-5s free: tickets on the door or in advance from Wild Flower Shop, 90 Portobello High Street.
Artists’ Books Spotlight: Jean Johnstone at the Royal Botanic Garden. Scottish artist Jean Johnstone invites you slowly to unwrap her artists’ books to experience the fine words of leading contemporary poets. Each small book contains one poem only, complemented by delicate images from the natural world, on Lokta, Tsasho and Resho papers. 11.30am or 2.30pm, Patrick Geddes Room, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place. Tickets £5/£4 available via eventbrite. A Book Week Scotland event in partnership with RBGE: for more information contact the Scottish Poetry Library at reception@spl.org.uk.
Morningside Makers Market: over 40 talented makers will be exhibiting their work. Jewellery, woodwork, cards, toys, soaps, bags, glasswork, photography, candles, decorations and more.11am-4pm, Columcille Centre, Newbattle Terrace.
Alpha Art Christmas Exhibition: a mixed exhibition of gallery favourites and new artists, plus a new collection of jewellery and gifts. 11am-5pm Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 12 noon-4pm Sundays, Alpha Art Gallery, 52 Hamilton Place. Today until 23rd December 2014.
Eco Kidz Pop Up Stall: a fantastic selection of recycled gifts. Eco Kidz is a Creative Social Enterprise project for children aged 8-12, set up by North Edinburgh Arts and funded by the Big Lottery Young Start Fund: it aims to develop young people’s art, design and business skills by helping them to create their own brand of handmade market-ready products using recycled materials and upcycling techniques. Today’s pop up stall will offer jewellery, notebooks, pincushions, vases, brooches, key rings, magnets, Christmas cards and more. 1.30-4pm, Ice Retail, St James’s Centre, Princes Street. (Next pop up stall 6th December, North Edinburgh Arts Cafe, 15a Pennywell Court.) For more information click here.
Shore Poets BE THE FIRST TO LIKE THIS Quiet Slam: Shore Poets host their first ever slam, teaming up with Book Week Scotland, the Vagabond Voices and their brand new anthology BE THE FIRST TO LIKE THIS. Six of the slam slots will be taken by poets who appear in the anthology; the other four slots will be open to absolutely anyone, with names being drawn from a hat. This is a ‘quiet slam’ that welcomes slam virgins, self-identified ‘page poets’ and anyone who’s always liked the idea of a slam but is worried about how noisy they look! Prizes for the winners! 7.15pm, Henderson’s @ St John’s, 3 Lothian Road. Tickets £5/£3 on the door. More information from publicity@shorepoets.org.uk.
Whale Arts Christmas Craft Fair: arts, crafts, gifts, accessories, designware – and a chance for children to have their photo taken with Santa! 1.30-4.30pm, Whale Arts, 30 Westburn Grove.
Winter Guided Walk: join a garden guide for a leisurely afternoon walk around the Garden. Discover stunning seasonal highlights and learn about the history of the Garden and its plants. For ages 14+. 2pm, Royal Botanic Garden (meet at John Hope Gateway reception), Inverleith Row. £5 per person, no booking required.
Garvald Christmas Market: handcrafted goods for sale, cafe with soup and cakes. 11am-2pm, Mayfield House, McSense Business Park, 32 Sycamore Road, Dalkeith.
University of Edinburgh St Andrew’s Day Celebration: a celebration of Scotland’s music and song traditions, including a special tribute to the late Dr Jean Redpath MBE. 7.30-9pm, McEwan Hall, Teviot Square. All welcome: free tickets can be booked via eventbrite, and must be printed out and brought to the event.
Finnish Christmas Carols and Bazaar: 11am-2pm, German Church, 1 Chalmers Crescent.
Meet Your Maker: Jewellery. Join six makers in celebration of Scottish craft as they showcase the design, process and techniques behind their work. 10am-4pm, Learning Centre, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free: drop in and chat to the makers – but please note that some makers will be unavailable at certain times; see website for details.
Scottish Jewellers in Conversation: Stephen Bottomley, Programme Director of Jewellery and Silversmithing at Edinburgh College of Art, hosts a wide-ranging discussion with three contemporary jewellers, Melanie Muir, Grainne Morton and Gilly Langton. 2-3pm, Seminar Room, Learning Centre, Level 4, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free tickets can be booked here.
Advent Sunday Service: 6.30pm, St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Palmerston Place. All welcome.
Edinburgh Palette Winter Open Studios: the artists, makers and craftspeople of St Margaret’s open their studios to the public in this weekend-long event. Family-friendly workshops, a craft fair, a cafe and one-off performances will take place across the building’s eight storeys. 10am-5pm, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. For full programme click here or see event Facebook page.
The Makers’ Fair: as part of St Margaret’s Open Studios event, a cluster of St Margaret’s artists will offer paintings, cards, prints, ceramics, soaps, candles and textiles in this special two day fair. 10am-5pm, Gallery 2, St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road.
Lapin Wants To See Santa! Lapin has decided to invite Santa for hot chocolate – but will he have time to accept Lapin’s invitation? Join Lapin and his friends in a festive adventure! An interactive Le Petit Monde puppet show performed in English with short French sentences from the puppets. All ticket holders will get a free place at the French Puppet Making Workshop, in which lolly sticks, crayons and material will be used to make your very own festive puppet – whilst speaking French! For children aged 3-5 and their families. 1.30-2.05pm (show), 2.45-3.30pm (workshop) St Margaret’s House, 151 London Road. Tickets cost £5 and are available from Brown Paper Tickets. Part of St Margaret’s House Open Studios Weekend.
Danish Film Club at The Outhouse: Flame and Citron (2008). Copenhagen 1944: Denmark is occupied by Nazi Germany. Flame and Citron are two resistance fighters charged with liquidating Danish informers: when Flame is asked to execute his girlfriend Ketty, an enigmatic Stockholm courier, he questions his orders, wondering who Ketty really is. Based on true events. Subtitled in English. For ages 18+. 7pm, First Floor, The Outhouse, 12a Broughton Street Lane. Free and unticketed. Facilitated by the Danish Film Institute, the Danish Cultural Institute and The Outhouse.
Nativity Blessing and Carol Service: All are welcome to join Exile Gospel Choir, St Mary’s Leith Primary School Choir and Edinburgh Deaf Choir to celebrate the start of Christmas in the city. 3pm, St Andrew’s Square.
Edinburgh Greek Film Festival continues today with A.C.A.B. – All Cats Are Brilliant?/Sygharitiria stous aisiodoxous? – ‘one of the funniest, most accurate and heartbreaking scenes of Greek family life’, Cert 15. Film shown in Greek with English subtitles. 8.20pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. For prices and tickets contact the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or book online.
St Giles’ At Six: The Southside Choir. Christmas is coming – Edinburgh’s Southside Choir present a light and varied programme to put you in the mood for the festive season. 6pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free: retiring collection.
