Saturday in Edinburgh – What’s On Today

Strange Town Presents Max to the Future by Alan Primrose. Max thinks of a novel way to avoid homework problems… Suitable for all the family. 3pm, Netherbow Theatre,, Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 High Street. Tickets cost £8/£5 and may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 556 9579 or online here (transaction fee applies to phone and online bookings). Also at 2pm on Saturday 13th June 2015. Strange Town is a theatre company that aims to enable young people aged 5-25 years to fulfil their creative potential whilst producing work of the highest quality that is daring, exciting and entertaining. The company is based at Out of the Blue, Dalmeny Street. The performers in Max to the Future are all aged 8-10 years.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day! They will be doing it in Gottingen, Chicago and Caracas – so bring your wool and needles to Sighthill or Ratho and join in! Tea, cakes and lots of knitting – bring your friends! Help will be on hand if you’re a beginner or need a refresher course. 11am-12 noon, Sighthill Library, Sighthill Road and 2-4pm, Ratho Library (in front of the building, or indoors if wet), School Wynd.

Edinburgh Festival of Cycling continues today! Rides, films, talks, drama, books, photos, workshops and lots more. Today’s events include the Capital Trail (a self-supported mountain bike time trial), the annual Edinburgh to St Andrew’s Cycle Ride, a Bike Curious Family Workshop, an Adult Commuter Course, a Cycle Speedway ‘Come and Try’ Family Day and a Women’s Cycle Forum. For more information please see the festival’s website here or its Facebook page here, or pick up a programme from many venues across the city and beyond, including libraries, leisure centres and many shops. Ends 21st June 2015.

Leith Festival 2015: Trinity House – Maritime Leith. Visit Trinity House and take a self-led tour of Leith’s maritime history, using the latest technologies to uncover the local stories behind the collections. Meet the conservators to learn about the work they carry out on the vast painting collections, and watch digital recordings of Leithers talking about their memories. 10am-4pm, Trinity House, 99 Kirkgate. Free. Also at same times on Saturday 20th June. On Thursday 18th June there will be object handling sessions (11am-2pm) and tours of Trinity House led by Junior Guides Tours (11am-1.30pm). For more information please contact adam.gorysz@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or call 0131 554 3289.

Scottish Waterways Trust Wildflower Survey: volunteer as a ‘citizen scientist’ and help discover more about the plants growing on Edinburgh’s canalside – develop your plant ID skills, make friends and have fun. Led by Anna Canning of Floramedica. 10.30am-1pm, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, 24 Lanark Road. No experience needed, and new faces are very welcome – all you need is a love of plants, enthusiasm and curiosity. Free. For more information contact Anna on 07790 885969 or anna.canning@blueyonder.co.uk.

Leith Festival Gala Day and Pageant: children’s activities, market stalls, fun fair, dancing. Gala Day Pageant arrives at approx 12.45pm. 10.30am-4.30pm, Leith Links. Leith Festival continues throughout the week with a huge programme of events for all ages, including a tea dance, art shows, a dancing display, free keep fit sessions, ‘speed crafting’, a charity walk, comedy, films, music of all kinds, theatre, magic, poetry, tours (including the famous Trainspotting one – and a chance to see behind the scenes at Easter Road), Teddy Bears’ picnic and an Open Day at the new Tardis in Lochend Park! Concludes on Sunday 21st June with the Leith Festival Tattoo. To see the full programme visit the Festival’s website here.

Pastels and Painting Pebbles: a drop-in art workshop. See the current Inverleith House exhibition, Nicolas Party’s Boys and Pastel then come and explore the materials used by the artist in an informal drop-in workshop for ages 8-12. Have a go at painting a pebble like a fruit, and make pastel portraits of yourself or a friend. 2-4pm, Lower Ground Floor, Inverleith House, Royal Botanical Garden, Inverleith Row. Free.

Bruncheon! Featuring the Sound of Muesli: local musical talent creates a chilled-out atmosphere; the Drill Hall Arts Cafe serves delicious home-made food, from kippers to cakes with lots in between. This month’s acts will be Jemima Thewes (‘traditional folk and self-penned songs with a floaty and haunting quality’) and Tim Lane, with a pre-set from Diana de Cabarrus aka Candythief. 11.30am-3pm (live music from around 12 noon), Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Free entry.

Leith Festival 2015: Art By The Water: an exhibition by a selection of Coburg House artists and makers – paintings, jewellery, signwriting and textiles. 11am-6pm, Coburg House Studios, 15 Coburg Street. Ends 21st June 2015.

Lines and Dots for Tots with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Children aged 2 to 4 years are invited to meet Lily Line and Dotty Dot and their amazing musical friends. Find out what happens when you take a line for a walk – dance about, sing and make marks to music, inspired by the work of American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. 10.30am or 11.45am, meet in the exhibition Artist Rooms: Roy Lichtenstein at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free but booking is essential and may be made by calling the Information Desk on 0131 624 6560. Please note that a maximum of two adults may accompany each child.

Leith Festival 2015: Delicartessen Summer Exhibition. New works by local artists Jacqui Higgs, Ronnie Buchan, Yvonne Hutchison and John Dunbar, including colourful Scottish harbour scenes and stunning cityscapes of Leith. 11am-1am today, then 11am-12 midnight Sunday-Thursday, 11am-1am Fridays and Saturdays, Joseph Pearce’s, Elm Row. Ends 31st July 2015. For more information please contact Vanessa@delicartessen.co.uk.

New Edinburgh Orchestra: Mendelssohn Overture ‘Ruy Blas’, Schumann Symphony No 3 ‘Rhenish’ and Brahms Piano Concerto No 1 in D Minor. Piano soloist: Helena Buckmayer; Conductor: Tim Paxton. 7.30pm, Inverleith St Serf’s Church, 280 Ferry Road. Tickets cost £10/£7 (children £1) and may be obtained from members of the orchestra or the Queen’s Hall Box Office, in person, by calling 0131 668 2019 or online here. Also on the door, sta.

Gallery of Modern Art Highlight Tours – June 2015: monthly tours of the gallery’s permanent collection, focusing on key works. 2-2.45pm or 3-3.45pm, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art ONE, Belford Road. Free and unticketed. Please note that temporary access is through the cafe at the rear of the building.

Leith Festival 2015: Seafield Cemetery and Crematorium Open Day. Guided tours of this listed building; find out what happens during and after a service, and see changing fashions in burial memorials, from Victorian headstones to modern mausolea and burial chambers. All welcome; refreshments provided, free parking. 10am-3pm, Seafield Cemetery and Crematorium, Seafield Place. Free. For more information please email seafield@edinburghcrematorium.com.

Filmhouse Over the Rainbow: a new monthly screening strand for new and classic LGBTQIA films and events. This weekend’s film is Something Must Break/Nanting maste ga sonder (18) (in Swedish with English subtitles). Taking its title from a Joy Division B-side, this collaboration between Ester Marin Bergsmark and Eli Leven (both of whom identify as trans*) presents ‘a powerful story of love and longing against a backdrop of shifting gender identity and stylistically daring eroticism’. 3.45pm, Filmhouse, Lothian Road. Tickets may be purchased in person, by calling the Box Office on 0131 228 2688 or online here: prices vary. Also showing at 8.40pm on Sunday 14th June 2015.

Leith Festival 2015: Scottish Mineral & Lapidary Club – Open Studio and Demonstration. The Club’s object is to encourage an interest in natural minerals and in the crafts and craftsmanship related to them – members are keen enthusiasts and very willing to assist both newcomers and old hands. 11am-4pm, Scottish Mineral and Lapidary Club, 20 Maritime Street. Also every day until the end of the Festival – times vary, please see Festival website for details or contact enquiries@lapidary.org.uk or 0131 554 0004.

Moana: The Rising of the Seas. Taster performances from the Oceania Dance Theatre and Pasifika Voices Choir as they share their love of the nature and culture of the Pacific through music, dance and poetry. Several islands in Oceania are already threatened with submersion under water, with the islanders having to consider what the demise of their homelands will mean to them as a people, a culture and even a nation. This elaborate and ambitious Oceanian music-dance-drama is a collaborative creation born out of a desire to use the performing arts of the Pacific to bring attention to this most pressing issue for many Pacific Island nations. 2pm, 2.30pm or 3pm (15 minute sessions), Grand Gallery, Level One, National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street. Free, drop-in.

Gilbert & Sullivan Society Concert. 7.30pm, Cramond Kirk, Cramond Glebe Road. Tickets cost £10 (under 18s admitted free) and are available from the Kirk Office 9am-12 noon Monday to Friday.

Scotland’s Open Gardens: Rocheid Garden. A young but rapidly maturing garden with an impressive diversity of plants, shrubs, trees (native, exotic and rare). Natural pond, woodland, mature trees, award-winning compost shed with a roof creating waves of ornamental grasses. Refreshments available (subject to weather). 2-6pm, Rocheid House, 20 Inverleith Terrace. £4.50 per person, of which 40% goes to Alzheimer Scotland and the net remainder to SG beneficiaries.

Edinburgh Concert Band Summer Sparkler: a sparkly summer evening of live music in support of Waverley Care, with special guests InChorus. 7.30pm, Greyfriar’s Kirk, Greyfriars Place. Tickets cost £10/£8 and may be purchased by emailing info@edinburghconcertband.org.uk.