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Well, it seems tradition that we highlight the free events and activities in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (you can see our 2008 list here). So here’s our recommendations for free stuff in this year’s festival – the links point to the official Edinburgh Fringe website, where you can read more about each suggestion. Some events are first-come, first-served while others require a reservation so be sure to book where it is required in order to avoid disappointment.
The 80s Movie Flashback. Find out what’s happened to your favourite 80s stars. Not ticketed, first-come first-served basis.
The Absolute Best of Absolute Beginners. What I love about comedy like this is that even if it’s cringeworthy it’s still a right laugh. Not ticketed, first-come first-served basis.
Absolutely Free Live Music. Not sure what the difference is between absolutely free and just free but love Whistlebinkies and the vibe here during the festival is great. Check it out. Not ticketed, first-come first-served basis (but this is a bar, not a venue, so just jump in with the crowd!)
The Accidental Dog Detective. A film noir puppet show. Not kid friendly. Not ticketed, first-come first-served basis.
On Sunday 21 June we visited the Glasgow Mela 2009 held in Kelvingrove Park. It’s an annual, free, multi cultural event. It was a warm, dry afternoon so there was a good turnout. I thought there was a great variety of performances and activites for everyone.
Were you at the Mela in Glasgow? What did you most enjoy?
The Giant Paperboat Launch, part of the 3 Harbours Arts Festival, took place at Cockenzie harbour in East Lothian on 4 June 2009. Several giant paperboats lined up ready for launching at 20.00 on the shoreline.
The giant paper boats assemble at Cockenzie harbour
The first launch attempt of the largest paperboat at the shoreline was thrawted by the incoming tide, as the boat clung resolutely to a spot inches away from the shore.
The first launch attempt of the largest paper boat
Undaunted the launching crew carried the vessel round the harbour to position themselves at the wall of the harbour mouth to get the paperboat into some deeper water by adopting the ‘drop launch” technique.
It was all great fun watching the Giant Paperboat Launch and a testament to all the effort , enthusiasm and hard work by the local community that goes into organising and running the annual 3 Harbours Arts Festival which runs until the 14th June, so there still time for you to join in some of the events. You can check out the events programme on the Festival site.
I was fortunate to attend the opening preview of the mixed media art exhibition at the Cockenzie power station on 4 June 2009. The exhibition is part of the annual 3 Harbours Arts Festival which is entitled “art in unsual places”. The Festival is held in the three East Lothian coastal towns of Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton, which lie around 12 miles east of Edinburgh.
I really enjoyed the art exhibition. I loved the glass art display along the window sill. You could see over the Forth Estuary towards Fife from the windows of the power station canteen. It certainly did fit the bill of “art in unusual places”.
The Werder Baumblütenfest, or Tree Blossom Festival, started on the 25th of April this year and will run through the fifth of May. About 35 km south west of Berlin, the official word is that the festival is a celebration of spring. But ask a local German, and they will remind you that the festival is second in size only to Oktoberfest.
The festival was described to me as a small village playing host to a wine tasting event. I expected an idyllic stereotypical German village, populated by posh sommeliers. I was wrong. Although, the town was quite idyllic, the crowd was not what might be associated with a wine tasting event. Instead, it was more of a drinking crowd.
And that’s really what this festival seems to focus on. Drinking. While Oktoberfest focuses on beer, Baumblütenfest focuses on homemade fruit wine. Everything from strawberry to rhubarb, with prizes being handed out for the best wines.
The streets of the city are lined with stands of locals selling their fruit wines. People everywhere wander around sampling the different fruit varieties, usually with their own bottle in hand. The more adventurous can be found on the various carnival rides near the water. A word of advice though, tackle all of the spinning rides before you’ve had too much of the wine. Trust me.
As you may know, Edinburgh is the City of Festivals. The calendar is literally bulging with various events most weekends during the year. There’s a slight lull in the late winter months, but as spring arrives (as it has here in Scotland), the festival calendar has sprang from the frozen ground and is getting its groove on. Here are a couple of events to make sure to check out next time you’re in Edinburgh.
Copyright Andrew Hayes
Edinburgh International Science Festival. The Edinburgh International Science Festival is hosted in several venues across the city, including such great sites like the City Art Centre. While it’s a great treat for children who get to experience loads of interactive exhibits and just really fun, cool stuff, adults will enjoy the learning environment too. This year you can get up close and personal with a robot – his name is ASIMO – and learn about the history of ghosts. (There are ghosts everyone in Scotland, from Edinburgh to Dundee.). To learn more, visit the website and check out the events list – prices are listed where applicable.
Made in Edinburgh. The Filmhouse Cinema is hosting a great session right now about Films Made in Edinburgh. Most folk are familiar with classics like Festival or Trainspotting but there are actually several movies set here in the city. For more information you can also visit the Inspiring Capital website.
Stay tuned for more exciting events from Scotland’s capital city.
Last weekend the new James Bond Movie Quantum of Solace opened in the UK and I for one was first in the queue. Not only to see Daniel Craig return as the ruthless but emotionally damaged 007, but to soak up the gorgeous locations that we have come to expect from a Bond movie.
After the obligatory opening car chase through the marble quarries of Carrera, where Michelangelo sourced the marble for his masterpieces, the action moves to Siena in Italy. Against the backdrop of the annual Palio horse race, Bond chases the villain through the underground passages and over the terracotta tiled roof-tops of the city.
Later the action moves to Bregenz in Austria where the Summer music festival is in full swing, and Puccini’s Tosca is being performed against the backdrop of a giant winking eye on the open air stage. Suffice it to say that Bond is more interested in identifying his adversaries in the audience than enjoying the music.
If you’d like to follow in the footsteps of James Bond here’s the information you need to get there, although sadly the camera crew will be long gone.
Siena
Siena is a walled medieval city, set among the vineyards and olive groves of Tuscany, not far from Florence. In the centre of the city is the semi-circle shaped Piazza del Campo, where every July and August, the Palio horse race takes place. The horses are raced bareback around the Piazza, each one running for the honour of a different Contrada or neighbourhood. Passions run high and anything goes – the first horse to complete the three laps, with or without their rider, is the winner. If you can’t make it for the Palio, there’s plenty to see in Siena for a long weekend. Art lovers will find many beautifully decorated churches to visit. But when you’re all frescoed out, you can climb the Campanile for a 360 degree view of the town, wander round the pedestrianised centre or watch the world go by from a café terrace overlooking the Piazza. Don’t forget to bring back some Panforte, the local cake made from dried fruit and nuts flavoured with spices and honey.
Bregenz Bregenz in Austria is set on the shores of picturesque Lake Constance (or Bodensee in German), close to the borders with Switzerland and Germany. There’s plenty to keep you keep you busy along the lake, whether it be beaches, cycle trails along the lakeside promenade or boat trips across the lake. Then climb the hill to wander the old cobbled streets of the Oberstadt or Upper Town or take the cable car to the top of the Pfänder mountain for a fantastic view over the town and countryside. The Music Festival takes place in July and August, with performances on a floating stage on the lake. Opera lovers should book now for the 2009 season of Aida, but you can also take a guided tour of the opera house and grounds during the festival season.
Getting there from the UK
You can fly with Ryanair from London Stanstead to Friedrichstafen (35 min by bus) or Zurich (1.5 hrs by train) with a number of airlines.
The 4th Berwick upon Tweed Film and Media Festival takes place between 28 – 30 November 2008. The Film Festival is an annual event which rotates between a Minifest (this year) and a full blown affair (2007). The theme of the 2008 Festival is the “State of Berwick” reflecting Berwick’s historical tug of war between England and Scotland through light, cinema and sound.
Changing Faces, Royal Tweed Bridge, Berwick Film Festival 2007
The Festival kicks off the with Opening Night Gala on Friday 28 November with “The Cabinet of Dr Calligari” accompanied by live original soundtrack, followed by a party at the Barrels Ale House featuring live music from local bands.
There will be a programme of films screened at The Maltings. It costs £4.00 per film (concessions and family tickets available) or you can buy a Big Ticket for entry to all screenings on the Saturday and Sunday for £16.
Running alongside the Film Festival, Northumberland Lights will be illuminating historic sites along the Elizabethan town walls such as the Magazine and the Dewar Lane Granary between 16.30 – 20:00.
Traffic, Berwick Film Festival 2007
There will also be local archive film screened at an icehouse and a Tongues of Fire performance at Berwick Barracks with tickets for both these events costing £3.
I’ll be stewarding at some of the events and attending the Opening Night Gala.
At the risk of becoming the geeky web girl of the blog, I wanted to point you towards another great free online tool: Eventful. I found this when getting to know TripIt, the travel organising site, and I have fallen in love. Eventful is simple, quick and gives you the information on current events that your two-year-old guidebook can’t.
Without signing up you can use the page by putting your location into the drop down window under the Eventful logo in the top left corner. Don’t put it in the search box on the right side. The search box searches for events, performers, venues or users but not destinations.
Events are categorised for easy searching, so if you aren’t a band buff finding the entries on gallery openings means you don’t have to scroll through the heavy metal. The database is built upon user content, partners and web searches. It isn’t exhaustive and tends to have a lot more information on the larger cities, as you’d expect.
Irish Dancers by ronnie44052
Signing up gives you some more options. I have found the ability to sign up for a destinations events, which then get sent out to me weekly, most useful so far. If you wish to spare your inbox, you can define preferred locations and they will appear in a short list under the location drop-down window. There is also the increasingly-more-required social media aspect to be found under the community tab.
A lot of what the website offers in terms of searching and sorting is more geared towards people staying in a single location. However the ability to quickly and easily get a list of what’s going on in a particular city -without having to work out what the local event magazine is and get a grip on the language- is fantastically useful for travelers.
Motovun is a small town located in the Istrian Peninsula. The town is situated on the top of a hill that looks over the beautiful Mirna River Valley. The town is very picturesque and it is becoming more known, as there is an international film festival held in the town in August, which continues to grow in popularity.
Motovun
Motovun has amazing architecture, as inside the city walls there are many well-preserved architectural works. The town is one of the best-preserved town fortifications and within the city walls there is a monumental Romanesque house, which formed the passageway of the interior municipal gates. The palace in Motovun was constructed in the 12th century and then additions were made in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Located on the outer square new gates were built in the beginning of the 16th century with a tower that has characteristics of the Renaissance. On the other end of the square you can see the Renaissance-baroque loggia. In the main square of Motovun there is the parish church of St. Stephen and right beside the church there is a 13th century medieval belfry rising to the sky. There are many fascinating works of art within the church itself.
One of the main attractions in Motovun is the town itself, as taking a stroll through the narrow streets will take you back to medieval times. The views from the town to the valley below are breathtaking. There are 3 more churches of particular interest, which are the Madonna of the Servites (Madonna od Servita) 1584., St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of the Gate (sveti Ivan Krstitelj i BDM od Vratiju) 1521, and St. Anthony of Padua (16th century, renovated in 1855). You can also check out the home of where legendary racecar driver Mario Andretti was born.
Outside Motovun Cafe & Restaurant
There are many small restaurants in the town and they are well known for their truffles. In the tiny town of Livade, which is right across from the bottom of the hill that Motovun is situated, there is a truffle fair every October. In Livade there is a truffle, wine and cheese shop, which has a replica of the biggest truffle in the world, found in the area, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
One of the highlights of Motovun is the film festival that is held every August. The festival highlights independent film from across the globe. The Festival is a very informal one, as in there is no protocol, no VIP lounges, and no places that are open to some and restricted for others. The festival is one week long party with a very laid back atmosphere. To learn more about the festival you can visit: http://www.motovunfilmfestival.com/.
Near Motovun is the Istarske Toplice, which is an oak forest (Motovuner forest) located around 10 km from Motovun and on the way towards the city of Buzet. The Forest encloses the most well known therapeutic bath in Istria (Istarske Toplice).
There are private accommodations in Motovun and one very nice hotel, which is the Hotel Kastel . Accommodation can be sparse during the film festival, but you can find places to stay in the surrounding cities of Buzet and Pazin.
Update 27/04/2009 by Karen Bryan
I stayed at Hotel Kastel for 2 nights, 22- 24 April 2009 during a bloggers press trip to Istria. I was in a room with a balcony overlooking the surrounding countryside and a large tree in the village square.
but there are actually several movies set here in the city. For more information you can also visit the 
