Fireworks!

The Edinburgh Festival goes out each year with literally many, very large bangs, in its annual Festival Fireworks Concert on Sunday 6 September at 9pm.

Beneath Edinburgh Castle, the world-renowed Scottish Chamber Orchestra will play while a fireworks team based in the castle provides synchronised visual accompaniment.

You need a ticket to hear the SCO playing at the Ross Band Stand in Princes Street Gardens, but the majority of spectators tune into local radio to hear the live broadcast and watch the pyrotechnians paint the sky in explosive colour.

Vantage points can be found around the city, from Princes Street to Calton Hill. Inverleith Park's free Family Viewing Area is also popular, not just for its great views of the castle, but also the fact that there is a live video link and top notch sound system to capture the Concert in the Gardens that accompanies the fireworks display. It's not as exciting as being up close, under the castle, but you can avoid the uptown crush of Princes Street. Get there earlyish - proceedings start at 7pm - to bag a good spot.

Festival of Politics

Not all the festivals taking place in Edinburgh in August deal with theatre, street performance, cinema, art or dance... Festival of Politics has just started, a truly original festival where you can even ask that burning question or issue you would like to raise with Members of the Scottish Parliament.

Now in its fifth year, the Festival of Politics has proven itself an invaluable tool in encouraging people to engage with the Scottish Parliament – so much so that the initiative is now being adopted by other Parliaments around the world. The Scottish Parliament has, during the last ten years, striven to be open and accessible to all.

You can find more information at http://www.festivalofpolitics.org.uk/

Edinburgh Mela Festival 2009

The Edinburgh Mela was founded in 1995 by members of the city's minority ethnic communities. The first festival was held in Meadowbank Stadium and quickly grew to attract 20,000 people each year. It was the first Mela in Scotland and has gained a strong reputation in the UK.

In 2000 the festival moved to Pilrig Park and in recent years has drawn large numbers of people over the weekend.

This year's Mela Festival takes place from the 7th - 9th August at Pilrig Park.

Welcome to the 15th Edinburgh Mela Festival. In this year of Homecoming we are celebrating Scotland's place in the world as a vibrant, culturally diverse nation. A land that has, over many years, welcomed generations of immigrant communities who have chosen to make Scotland their home. We're thinking of this as our year of Home-be-coming. We've decided to place a particular focus on artists who draw on a range of heritages to make innovative and contemporary work that reaches across artistic and cultural boundaries.

Come to our party, and share in the celebration - we think we have all the right ingredients!

You can find more information visiting http://www.edinburgh-mela.co.uk/

NIck Pynn

Nick Pynn is back!!!

And we are in for a treat, as he will presenting some of his new material, The Colours of the Night.

The Colours of the Night is a collection of new compositions by Nick Pynn, featuring orchestral musicians who have performed their parts individually, above Bom-Bane's cafe in Brighton. Many of them have never met. Several of the pieces from the album are recreated in this year's Fringe by Nick layering up, with the help of technology...

The Colours of the Night will be officially released on the Roundhill label and distributed by Cadiz Music. But you can buy a copy here after the show!

Shows will take place on Aug 7th-9th, 11th-15th, 18th-23rd and 25th-30th (£8.50)
Previews Aug 5th and 6th (£6.50)

You can buy your tickets directly at the fringe office or alternatively at the school

Edinburgh Jazz Festival

For ten days the sounds of the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival resonate through the city of Edinburgh - in parks, churches, clubs, bars and concert halls. The best international musicians rub shoulders with top Scottish talent - unique collaborations, world premieres, Scottish debuts, outstanding musicianship all contribute to the exciting Festival atmosphere.

Major concert halls host the best players in the world: Roy Hargrove, Joe Temperley, Chick Corea, David Murray, Wynton Marsalis have all performed. The Festival has a strong track record with mainstream jazz: Dick Hyman, Jeremy Monteiro, Scott Hamliton, Ken Peplowski, John Allred are all festival favourites.

Scottish jazz musicians celebrate the best of Scottish jazz during the Festival and feature in orchestras, leading their own bands, in international collaborations, often presenting new projects. The Blues is a key component and the Festival has presented some of the biggest names in the business from BB King and Buddy Guy to Scottish musicians like Maggie Bell and Tam White.

The UK's largest jazz event, Jazz on A Summer's Day sets its stall out in Princes Street Gardens under the shadow of Edinburgh Castle and showcases top Festival performers - all for Free. While the Mardi Gras brings the spirit of New Orleans to the Grassmarket.

The Jazz Festival runs from the 31st of July to the 9th of August. Don't you dare miss it! You can find more information at http://www.edinburghjazzfestival.co.uk/

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (commonly known as The Fringe) started in 1947 when 8 theatre groups turned up uninvited to the first Edinburgh International Festival (EIF). Over the years, more perfomers came to Edinburgh to perform on the outskirts of the EIF and by 1958 the Festival Fringe Society was formed to provide information, a central box office and a published programme of all the Fringe shows. Central to the society's constitution was the policy that there should be no artistic vetting from the society. Which still holds true to this very day.
The Fringe caters for the biggest names in showbiz to the performers in the street and covers all sorts of art forms such as theatre, comedy, children's shows, dance, physical theatre, musicals, operas, all genres of music, exhibitions, and events. In 2008, hundreds of groups participated in putting on 2,088 different shows with a total of 31,320 performances in 247 venues.

The Fringe is the largest of a number of festivals that come together in Scotland's capital every year, in and around August.

The Fringe is an open arts festival, which means that anyone can perform without any constraints from the Festival Fringe Society. The Festival Fringe Society (commonly known as the Fringe Office) does not produce any of the shows, does not invite anybody to perform, does not run any venues and pays no fees to performers. They do, however, help performers every step of the way.

So, here's one more reason to come to Edinburgh!! Come and join the thousands of visitors that visit the city willing to participate in one of the most important events of the world. It runs from the 7th to the 31st of August. Don't miss it!!

Edinburgh International Film Festival

The EIFF is back!! Moving from August to June last year proved to be a complete success. If you are a movie-buff you can avoid all the August rush with its multiple festivals and the thousands of tourists. The EIFF is one of the most famous film festivals in the world. Come and be the first to watch some of the most amazing new talents or have the privilege to see an old classic on the big screen. The Film Festival runs a series of interviews with important names in the film industry, come and see them in person! We can guarantee it's one of the most amazing experiences in the world. Just listen to your idols and ask them whichever question you always wanted to ask them! Some highlights this year include such classic figures as Roger Corman, famous for adapting some of Poe's stories, and some new geniuses as Darren Aronofsky, director of Pi, Requiem for a Dream or The Wrestler. You'll regret it if you miss them! The EIFF runs from the 17th to the 28th of June and is yet another excellent excuse to come to Edinburgh!