A DAY BY DAY GUIDE TO EDINBURGH IN AUGUST
There are many things to see and do in Edinburgh, but it is good to have an idea of what is out there to choose from. This month will naturally be different from others in recent memory, and we offer you our day by day guide to what is on and what you can do. Some events or shows take place on more than one date so do read through to the end of our list – and you should always check online before booking.
1 August The Edinburgh Kilo is on today from 10.00am at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny St where the café is open daily. The idea is that you choose from the retro fashion on offer and pay by the kilo. Bring your own bag. £2 admission. shopkilo.co.uk
2 August Edinburgh Zoo After Hours Adult Only Nights at Corstorphine Road. Food and drink kiosks available and acoustic music on the main lawn.Timed entry from 6.00pm. edinburghzoo.org.uk
3 August Archie Brennan Tapestry Goes Pop! Pop artist, weaver, bodybuilder and former Mr Scotland, Archie Brennan changed the course of modern weaving and is considered one of the greatest unrecognised pop artists of the twentieth century. Unrecognised because he chose to work in tapestry.Exhibition at Dovecot Studios 10 Infirmary Street EH1 1LT from 10am to 5pm. Tickets £9.50. dovecotstudios.com
4 August North Edinburgh Arts is running summer sessions for all ages. This one is for young people aged 11+. Every Wednesday a variety of artists hosts a session for young people exploring different art making techniques. northedinburgharts.co.uk
5 August River Dipping with Water of Leith Conservation Trust at 2.00pm for children between 7 and 11. Drop off event. Email learning@waterofleith.org.uk
6 August Time for a visit to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art where the Ray Harryhausen – Titan of Cinema exhibition continues until 20 February 2022. Film special effects superstar Ray Harryhausen elevated stop motion animation to an art with films such as Jason and the Argonauts. His innovative and inspiring films, from the 1950s onwards, changed the face of modern movie making forever. For the first time, highlights chosen from the whole of Ray’s collection will be showcased, which will be the largest and widest-ranging exhibition of his work ever seen, with newly restored and previously unseen material from his incredible archive. nationalgalleries.org
7 August Free event with RSPB Scotland at Lauriston Castle from 10am to 4pm. A chance to hear about your local feathered friends and to get a chance to do a quick art activity. Double up with a picnic and family day in the gardens. Free, drop-in, no need to book2 Cramond Road South EH4 6AD Tel 0131 529 3993
8 August Scotland’s Gardens Scheme invite you to 5 Greenbank Crescent EH10 5TE. Arrange your visit by email to sandycorlett@hotmail.co.uk South-facing, newly designed, sloping terraced garden with views over Braidburn Valley Park to the Pentlands. Colourful chaos of herbaceous plants, shrubs, roses and small trees. Hard features include a gazebo, pergola, greenhouse and water feature. Lothian Buses 5, 11 and 16. scotlandsgardens.org
9 August A Grand Night For Singing is an Edinburgh International Festival event at Edinburgh Academy Junior School. The glitz and glamour of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals such as Carousel and The King and I, will entertain you for 90 minutes. Conceived and created by Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Walter Bobbie, A Grand Night for Singing took Broadway by storm at its opening in 1993. This new staging is conceived by Kim Criswell, one of today’s pre-eminent musical theatre singer/actors. She stars in the production, one of a handpicked cast of brilliant musical theatre performers that also includes lyric soprano Danielle de Niese. eif.co.uk
10 August A voyage around the Scottish islands Join the National Library of Scotland’s Map Curator, Chris Fleet, for a fully illustrated excursion through Scotland’s islands.
The circumnavigation of Scotland will use selected maps to provide insights into the distinctive history of particular islands. During the voyage we will also look at who made these maps and how they did it. 2.00-3.00pm Free. Book ‘The Scottish islands’ on Eventbrite
10 August 2021 A voyage around the Scottish islands
Join the National Library of Scotland’s Map Curator, Chris Fleet, for a fully illustrated excursion through Scotland’s islands.
The circumnavigation of Scotland will use selected maps to provide insights into the distinctive history of particular islands. During the voyage we will also look at who made these maps and how they did it.
Tuesday 10 August
2.00-3.00pm Free. Book ‘The Scottish islands’ via Eventbrite
11 August Fringe by the Sea in North Berwick takes place from 6-15 August 2021. There are too many things to know about – 150 events in all – and of course some sessions are already sold out. On 11 August Brian Taylor speaks to Richard Demarco CBE in a lunchtime blether. Everything here from guided walks, comedy, music, spoken word and yoga. fringebythesea.com Easy to get there by train from Edinburgh Waverley or by East Coast Buses. Also on 15 August STORM will pay a visit to the seaside. First unveiled in Glasgow STORM is something to behold. Standing 10 metres tall the puppet walks to a soundscape created by Portobello resident, Mairi Campbell.
12 August Curious is a programme of events run by the Royal Society of Edinburgh bringing Scotland’s leading thinkers and practitioners together with the public for an informal conversation. Join in the Tea and Talk events at 3pm every day on Zoom reminiscent of the coffee house discussions during the Scottish Enlightenment. Book early as numbers are limited.
13 August Two options at 3.00 and 4.00pm) Leith Comedy Festival Lassies of Leith. Join Invisible Cities’ award-winning tour guide, Paul, as he returns to tell you all about the women of Leith throughout history, from Mary of Guise to the former owner of the Port o’Leith, Mary Moriarty.
This joyful walking tour is packed with historical curiosities and uproarious anecdotes that will make you gasp with amazement and roar with laughter. Dates between 7 – 29 August. www.leithcomedyfest.com
14 August Edinburgh Climate Festival 2021 at Leith Links East from noon to 7.00pm. The event is free and family-friendly and will be an opportunity to celebrate and inspire climate action. There will be upcycling workshops, henna painting, seed planting workshops. Free bike repairs, e-bike trials, swap shop for clothes and books, yoga classes and music. Search for Edinburgh Climate Festival on Facebook.
15 August Fruitmarket Gallery on Market Street is free. You have to book on Eventbrite for a slot when you can arrive at the gallery to see the opening exhibition, a retrospective by artist Karla Black with two new works included for the newly reopened and extended gallery. But you can go in any time to the café or to fill your water bottle at their newly commissioned £15,000 water fountain. This was created by artist, Tania Kovats and is intended for visitors to fill their own water bottles. fruitmarket.co.uk
16 August The Laughing Horse’s Free Festival Fringe has a full programme of free events between 6 and 30 August with some events which are Pay What You Want and others where fringe goers can actually turn up in person. But you must have a ticket as this is the only way that their venues can run events safely. For your outing today we think the best of the best is, well… the best . The Best of Fringe Stand up takes place at 32 Below (32 West Nicolson Street) freefestival.co.uk
17 August Edinburgh International Book Festival 14-30 August. Today Sara Sheridan appears at the Book Festival in person talking about On the Scent of Untold Riches. There cannot be many novelists in the world who have a sideline in perfume production, but Sara Sheridan is one of them. The Edinburgh-based author runs a company named Reek whose scents celebrate ‘powerful, unapologetic women’ and their often-overlooked stories. This passion for the evocative qualities of perfume has been of particular use in researching The Fair Botanists, a thrilling new historical novel that Sheridan launches today. edbookfest.co.uk
18 August The Edinburgh International Film Festival goes back to its original time slot. The fun begins today until 25 August., but sadly too late for our copy deadline so you will have to look up the edfilmfest.org.uk website to find out what is taking place where and when. There are also opportunities to enjoy the festival through Filmhouse at Home.
19 August From today for a week Film Fest in the City will return to St Andrew Square in partnership with Essential Edinburgh. Outdoor screenings of films.
20 August Stobo Castle Ladies Day at Musselburgh Racecourse. The place to be seen this month wearing your best gear. musselburgh-racecourse.co.uk
21 August Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival is on 20-21 August at Edinburgh Corn Exchange. The 30 world class breweries will pour hundreds of beers along with some pop up food stalls and music. Ticket includes all the beer and a free tasting glass. Tickets for over 18s only. edinburghcraftbeerfestival.co.uk
22 August Monkey Barrel Comedy returns during the Fringe in August at 9-11 Blair Street EH1 1QR. Tonight will be the final show by Nish Kumar which is a work in progress show ahead of his 2022 tour. He said: “It has been a period of upheaval and uncertainty with Covid and the political situation. You will be amazed by my capacity to somehow take all of these things personally.” Tickets £6 Lots more shows and big names to choose from. monkeybarrelcomedy.com
23 August What appear to be hundreds of events at Summerhall during the Festival are available to watch online at their website summerhall.co.uk Covering all creative offerings like theatre, dance, a little music and physical theatre there is also a range of happenings at the Secret Courtyard. One of those takes place tomorrow 24 August and is an opportunity to meet Martin Creed who is a Turner-Prize winning artist-performer-composer who has such a big influence in the city with the remodelling of the Scotsman Steps and the Everything is Going to be Alright installation at the Modern Art Gallery. We are told there may be piano juggling.
24 August Damian Albarn, former Blur frontman has a brand new show which will be presented in the pavilion at Edinburgh Park. Accompanied by a band and string quartet this rare solo appearance will feature music from his new work The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows as well as other music from his back catalogue. eif.co.uk
25 August From 22-25 August the Queen of Cool, Chrissie Hynde & Co will appear at Queen’s Hall singing Bob Dylan and other songs. These will be four stripped back shows featuring songs from Hynde’s latest album, recorded almost entirely by text message. Special guests for all four shows will be The Rails, Kami Thompson (daughter of Richard and Linda) and James Walbourne (guitarist with The Pretenders) previous winners of Best New Artist at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.Tickets £34.50 thequeenshall.net
26 August Kokoroko will appear as part of the Edinburgh International Festival at Edinburgh Park. Tickets £21-26. Bringing feelgood Afrobeat music from London, this mellow eight-piece collective takes its name from the Nigerian Urhobo dialect, meaning ‘be strong’. Their music celebrates a long running tradition of West African legends such as Fela Kuti, Tony Allen and Ebo Taylor, while giving it a 21st-century update with warm jazz and soul arrangements. eif.co.uk
27 August The Bluebells at The Old Dr Bells Baths at 7.00pm. The Bluebells were a Scottish pop group in the 1980s. Peddling a kind of jangly guitar pop not dissimilar to their Scottish contemporaries Aztec Camera and Orange Juice, they had three hit singles in the UK, all written by guitarist and founder member Bobby Bluebell (aka Robert Hodgens) – “I’m Falling” with Ken McCluskey , “Cath”, and their biggest success “Young At Heart”. The latter was co-written with Siobhan Fahey (with whom Hodgens was romantically linked for a while) and made it to No.8 in the UK singles chart on its original release in 1984. Tickets skiddle.com
28 August The Normal at Talbot Rice Gallery EH8 9YL is part of Edinburgh Art Festival. This exhibition reflects life during the pandemic exploring the asymmetrical effect of it on society due to socio-economic and racial inequality. The artworks express hope, grief, survival, violence and solidarity and the need for reorienting to planetary health after the Covid-19 wake up call. www.trg.ed.ac.uk
29 August Jupiter Rising is on this weekend from 28-31 August. Held at Jupiter Artland it is another hangover from last year. It is a camping festival with music for all ages to revel in art, music and nature. There are some luxury add ons such as Wild Dining and a Gateway Bathing Session in the Joanna Vasconcelos designed heated swimming pool, itself a work of art. jupiterartland.org
30 August Meet at Main Visitor Car Park at Hopetoun House for an August wander. August is a popular month to get out and explore. Enjoy this Ranger-led walk taking in interesting corners of Hopetoun. Walk around the historic landscape of Hopetoun House and onto the Estate, including Abercorn Church. Bring a snack/lunch. Not suitable for children under 12. Cost: Grounds entry fee £5.50 adult, £3.50 child BOOKING ESSENTIAL. hopetoun.co.uk
31 August Book a tour of Edinburgh with a guide from Invisible Cities. These can be either in person or virtually. More information here about the charity which has turned people who previously experienced homelessness into tour guides. invisible-cities.com
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
