What's On Scotland 28 Jul-4 Aug: EAF
We might well be on the precipice of Fringe, but losing our shit about it would be a disservice to the feast of events taking place over the coming week, including Edinburgh Art Festival, the food festival, Bard in the Botanics and Kid Canaveral at NEHH.
Each week The Skinny team hand pick a selection of events from the Scottish cultural calendar to provide you with this guide to the most exciting goings on in the week ahead. From gigs, plays and exhibitions to spoken word and pop up cake shops, we give you the insider's guide to things to do in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee every Thursday morning.
1. Edinburgh Art Festival
Venues across Edinburgh, 28 Jul-28 Aug
We've got festivals coming out of our ears in this blessed country, haven't we? EAF, the UK’s largest annual visual art festival returns this month, settling into venues across Edinburgh between 28 Jul-28 Aug. Top of your to do: Ciara Phillips’ Dazzle Ship. It’s designed with the lesser known histories of women in the WW1 in mind, it’s 239 ft long and it’s fucking fantastic. If you've been there / done that (it's was unveiled in June, after all), check out our top picks of the week here.
2. Kid Canaveral Album Launch
Summerhall, Edinburgh. 30 Jul, 8pm
In case you hadn't heard, Kid Canaveral are following up their SAY Award-nominated album Now That You Are A Dancer with yet another bundle of beauteous beats, and they're launching it this week. Their new'un, Faulty Inner Dialogue features that familiar indie-pop glow, festooned with a bit of electronica. Have a sneaky listen to the video for single First We Take Dumbarton here.
Advertisement | Merchant City Festival
Merchant City, Glasgow. 30 Jul-7 Aug, free
Merchant City Festival returns, with design, fashion, music, circus, comedy, family events, food and drink festivities and markets. Highlights include Surge, a festival within a festival created by Conflux; the world premiere of Janice Claxton’s rooftop dance piece Of Riders and Running Horses; performances from the Scottish Youth Orchestra and Scottish Ballet and a design theme celebrating Scotland’s Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.
Hemingway Design’s Vintage Festival is also back, featuring Oh! You Pretty Things!, a Bowie & Roxy Music club night, a Charleston Brunch, a tea dance, a car boot sale, vintage DJs from an open-top bus and a pooch parade.
3. Fuzzkill Presents: Abjects + Halfrican
Broadcast, Glasgow. Jul 29, 7pm
Continuing their mission of delivering exactly what they say on their bright pink tin, Glasgow label Fuzzkill chucks on another night of warm'n'fuzzy garage at Broadcast this Friday. London trio of heroes Abjects will be heading the eve along with Halfrican, and support will be served up in the shape of Fruit Tones and Sweaty Palms – an ace night for sure. Abjects and Halfrican will continue their joint tour onto Leith Depot on 30 Jul and Conroy's Basement on 31 Jul.
4. Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival
Various venues across Edinburgh, 4-28 Aug, times vary
Edinburgh Digital Entertainment Festival also hits the city this month, bringing screenings of international theatre, opera, exhibitions and ballet (including Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake!), to the big screen in Assembly Rooms’ Music Hall. There’ll also be a virtual reality cinema, a games studio and all manner of workshops and talks. The future is here, pals.
5. Horse Meat Disco
The Berkeley Suite, Glasgow. 30 Jul, 11pm
Horse Meat Disco aims to recreate the experience of dancing at a club during the peak of disco. The gang, who started out as a queer club night run by a foursome of DJs are now on their fourth compilation for retro-minded label Strut. They'll be playing all night in a triumphant return to The Berkeley Suite; pre-sales have ended, but fix up, look sharp and get one on the door at 11pm.
6. Bard in the Botanics: Macbeth
Botanic Gardens, Glasgow. 27-30 Jul, 7.45pm
University of Dundee Botanic Garden, Dundee. 2-3 Aug, 7.30pm
Bit of fresh air and Shakespeare, anyone? Bard in the Botanics' Vaulting Ambition season is now in full swing, and having just wrapped up runs of Twelfth Night and Coriolanus they're moving onto something a little more Scottish. And by that, we mean Macbeth. See the beguiling production in Glasgow until Saturday, or catch it up north next week. Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
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7. Edinburgh Food Festival
George Square Gardens, Edinburgh. 27-31 Jul, times vary
What did we say about those festivals, ey? They're all over the place. You're not gonna want to miss this one, though, George Square's set to be packed from corner to corner with foodie stalls, stands and events in the week ahead of what our Food and Drink editor has dubbed 'Artsmageddon'. Check out the programme here. Image: Kim Thompson
8. YDance: Project Y
Tramway, Glasgow. 3 Aug, 7.30pm
Another West-side recommendation comes in the shape of dance company Project Y's annual tour, in which they'll present a series of four new works choreographed by YDance Artistic Director Anna Kenrick and guest choreographers Liv Lorent & Gavin Coward. The performers are 16-21 year-olds who've just completed a four-week intensive training course, meaning your evening's entertainment comes with a glimpse into the future of Scotland's dancing talent.
9. Edinburgh Flea Market
Out Of The Blue Drill Hall, Edinburgh. 30 Jul, 10am-3pm
Oh go on, head down to Out Of The Blue for a wee rifle. The Flea Market's back in Leith this week, sorting out 45 stalls worth of vintage clothing, retro decor, art, books, vinyl, musical instruments, antiques and collectables for your absent-minded perusal. It's free entry and super-duper way to spend your Saturday, if you ask us.
10. Clown Cabaret Scratch Night
Tron, Glasgow. 30 Jul, 7.30pm
Clowns! Bet you’ve forgotten how much you like clowns (unless you’re coulrophobic, in which case, apologies). Plutôt La Vie Theatre Company and CloWnStePPinG bring their collaborative Clown Cabaret Scratch Night to Tron, with a roster of talented merry-makers including Andrew Simpson, Ronan McMahon, Lucy McGreal, Bec Phipps, Ruxy Cantir, Saras Feijoo and Melanie Jordan.
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