Grassmarket Community Project Celebration and Open Evening. Come and see work from the Project’s classes and groups including the Greyfriars’ Tartan Group and the Grassmarket Furniture Project, original art and photography – plus live music, drama and a boogie! Canapes, coffee and tea will be served at 6pm, tours of this amazing building will be on offer, and the evening will end with a celebration from 8 to 9pm. 6-9pm, Grassmarket Community Project, 86 Candlemaker Row. Everyone is welcome; if you would like to attend please email sarah@grassmarket.org or call 0131 225 3626 to assist the organisers with catering numbers. Read about The Edinburgh Reporter’s afternoon at the Project here.
Quiz: Record Breaking Animals – guess the fastest! For ages 5-12 years. 3-4pm, Muirhouse Library, Pennywell Court. All welcome.
Lunchtime Concert: Piano Speak with Will Pickvance. 12.15pm, St Giles’ Cathedral, High Street. Free.
Radio Workshop: a workshop for small groups of children aged approximately 10 years, organised in partnership with Edinburgh International Science Festival. 3pm, Blackhall Library, 56 Hillhouse Road. Booking is essential as numbers are limited: ask in the library or call 0131 529 5595. Please note that bookings cannot be made by email.
Royal Opening of the Kelpies: HRH Princess Anne officially opens the world’s largest pair of equine sculptures and the new canal extension over which they stand guard! HRH The Princess Royal will lead a flotilla of about forty boats along the Forth & Clyde Canal to the sculptures, before meeting some of the groups and individuals involved in the project. Sculptor Andy Scott and Clydesdale horses Duke (one of the models for the Kelpies) and Dan will be in attendance. 11am-2pm, The Helix, Falkirk. All welcome!
Future-proofing Your Global Media Career: a training toolkit for 21st century freelance journalists and filmmakers. A special three-day lecture series by expert journalists and filmmakers from around the world. This event will provide essential practical skills: how to stand out from the crowd, how to produce great work – and how to make money – with lectures covering a broad range of subjects, from how to succeed as a 21st century documentary filmmaker to how to become a ‘journopreneur’ and how reporters can expand their skills across different platforms and sell their work across the globe. There will also be practical sessions discussing the latest innovations in mobile journalism. The speakers include some of the biggest names in the industry: full details can be found on the university’s website here. 9.30am-5.30pm today, Thursday 9th July and Friday 10th July, Lindsay Stewart Lecture Theatre, Edinburgh Napier University Craiglockhart Campus, 219 Colinton Road. All lectures are free and open to the public, but booking is required and may be made via eventbrite here (you can book for all three days or just one or two).
Summer Fun in the Courtyard: free family activities for children of all ages. Today Frances Cooper will run a fun singing workshop – everyone welcome! 11.30am-1pm, Courtyard, St Andrew’s & St George’s West Church, 13 George Street.
Chorophyll Printing Workshop: did you know you can print a photograph on a plant? A one hour demonstration covering the basics of chorophyll printing – how and why it works, which plants are best to use, how to make a print and how to preserve the image. 12.30-1.30pm, John Hope Gateway, Royal Botanic Garden of Edinburgh, Inverleith Row. There is no charge but a donation is invited to cover costs. Registration is required and may be made here.
Fastest Finger Knitter! It’s easy to learn and make something fun. For ages 5-12 years. 3.30-4.30pm, Granton Library, Wardieburn Terrace. All welcome.
Wiff Waff Wednesday: a monthly ping pong night for all ages with music, and great food and drink available to purchase from the Drill Hall Arts Cafe. 6-10.30pm, Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street. Free, no booking required, all welcome! ‘Friendship first, competition second’.
Sunflower Superstars: design and create a funky plant pot, then plant a sunflower – will yours grow to be a record breaker? For children aged 5-12 years: children under 8 must be supervised by someone over 12. 2-3pm, Drumbrae Library Hub, 81 Drumbrae Drive. All welcome!
Fender Presents The American Standard Tour: a celebration of the sounds, heritage and evolution of the world’s greatest electric guitars and basses. Experience at first hand the ideas that became icons (like the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision and Jazz Bass), through demonstrations, live performances, Q & As with the team and the opportunity to try out a range of Fender USA handcrafted instruments. Plus a guest performance by one of Fender’s affiliated artists and the Fender All-Star Band. For over 18s only. 7pm, The Voodoo Rooms, West Register Street. Free but tickets are required and may be booked here.
Otters: Return to the River. Multi-award winning wildlife photographer Laurie Campbell celebrates the return of the otter to our rivers and freshwater wetlands, after a drastic decline in the last century. Campbell has documented an intimate portrait of the lives of otters through the changing seasons for more than two decades. 2pm, National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge. Free but booking is required; call 0131 623 3734 or book online here.
Pink and Orange: an exhibition of new paintings by Mark Connolly. Opens tonight at 6pm (with refreshments), then during normal opening hours, Victoria Bar, 265 Leith Walk.
