Leith Festival

Leith Festival
Genre Theatre, comedy, dance, music, art, poetry, film, sport
Dates 2017 TBA
Location(s) Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland
Years active 1907–present
Website
Official website
Lamp post showing Leith coat of arms

The Leith Festival is an arts festival held in Leith, Scotland and takes place mainly in the EH6 and EH7 postcodes of Edinburgh which cover the old burgh of Leith.[1] It is a community based festival that takes place annually. It is run by the Leith Festival Association which is a Ltd Company and a recognised Scottish Charity.[2] It had been previously run by Leith Festival Club. There are two other festivals in the world with Leith in their title. Leith Hill Musical Festival in Dorking, England and Leith Summer Festival – Ontario Music Festival in Canada. Alongside Leith Festival run Edinburgh Short Film Festival, LeithLate and Leith Jazz and Blues Festival all of which have Facebook pages and webpages (see External Links below).

For travel and general information to and from the festival and festival venues check Edinburgh/Leith travel guide from Wikivoyage.

Background


The current version of the Leith Festival started in the late 1980s.[2] It takes place in June each year and includes Leith Festival Gala Day which started in 1907 as the Leith Gala. The Scotsman has reported that a precursor to the current day festival was established 100 years before the 2007 event. Leith Gala and Leith Pageant were started in order to raise money to pay for treatment at Leith Hospital before the days on the National Health Service. It continues with the role of fund raising with the parade and Gala day events, fun fair and stalls on Leith Links. There have been a number of festivals of various kinds held in Leith from The Edinburgh Festival to the 1951 Festival of Britain and other local festivals. In the late 1960s an Art festival was set up as a community Festival. Over time the Gala expanded to become a community arts event being run continuously in its present form since the late eighties. Since 2008 like many other festivals, such as the Belfast Festival at Queen's, it has suffered from the prevailing economic climate losing sponsorship and funding. Since 2011 funding has been secured from the city council.[2]

Timeline

1907 First Leith Gala takes place annually.

1932 Leith Theatre (also known as Leith Town Hall and The Citadel Theatre) opened – many bands play this venue including Thin Lizzy 4 October 1975

1936, 15 June The Scotsman reported "During the past fortnight entertainment of various kinds have been held on behalf of Leith Hospital and on Saturday these concluded with a number of outside concerts in the principal thoroughfares of Edinburgh and Leith." The Scotsman has reported the Festival under its various names since the beginning.

1947 Edinburgh Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which holds many events in Leith, starts

1952 – 1986 Leith Gazette is published – it carries many articles dealing with the festival and publishes an annual two-page photo spread entitled "Sunshine on Leith Festival"

1956 Leith Dockers Club opens

1961 – 1968 Leith Theatre used as venue by the Edinburgh International Festival

1972 Scottish International journal Vol 5, p34, reported that "Leith Festival was first dreamt of, it was as a community festival involving the people of Leith in providing their own entertainment and in helping themselves. It was a development of the squatters campaign in the slums at the foot of (Leith Walk)..."

1973 Festival program entitled "Programme of events for Britain's only free community festival."

1988 Leith Theatre closed, since 2004 Leith Theatre Trust has been set up to bring the theatre back into use

2004 Leith FM, later known as 98.8 Castle FM, starts as a two-week festival broadcast

2005 Irvine Welsh opens festival with first reading of new material at Leith Dockers Club

2010 Tom Allan wrote in The Guardian of 30 May 2010 that "This year's ten-day Leith Festival got off to a flying start over the weekend with Leith Gala Day. There was a Samba band and dancers, a giant sound system for Edinburgh reggae legends Messenger, and hundreds of stalls sporting everything."

2011 The festival was launched with a Wool Bomb attack. The BBC reported that "Trees have been wrapped in woolly jumpers as part of a guerrilla arts project to mark the start of the Leith Festival."[3]

2013 Festival

In the run up to the 2013 Festival a radio show will be broadcast on Mondays between 12 & 3pm on 98.8 Castle FM. It will be hosted by Leith Festival.

Highlights include:

Theatrical – Sinatra: The Final Curtain by Kingdom Theatre – Sanctuary by David McFarlane – "Junk Food Vampire & Rockstar Granny" by Citadel Arts Group

Dance – Another little bit of Cairo on Duke Street—The Leith Festival Hafla – Peace Please from Leith Circle – Drumming & Dance Workshops

Music – LeithFest @ 511 – The Meridian Ensemble – Bruncheon! Featuring The Sound of Muesli – Tempo – Smooth and Saxy – The Leith Theatre Sessions @ Thomas Morton Hall – Pink Dogs – Blues on the Cruz!!! – LCCB Festival Concert – Kailyard in Concert – Balkan Beats & Swing Grooves – The Clanjamfrie – Radical Voices – and there will be MUSIC AT THE CONSTITUTION BAR throughout June (Various groups and dates)

Film – Edinburgh Short Film Festival

Tours & Walking Tours – Trainspotting Tour – Witches, Quacks and Painted Dames; a walk on the wild side of Leith’s History – other walks etc. appear in the official website

Exhibitions/Competitions

Family Entertainment

2014 Festival


The Festival will run from 14 to 22 June (see official link below...)

The Festival opens with

Gala Day and Pageant Saturday 14 June Which starts from the bottom of Balfour Street, the Pageant will travel down Leith Walk heading to Leith Links Departure time 12noon

And closes with

Leith Festival Tattoo Saturday 22 June A now traditional closing ceremony takes place on the evening of Sunday 22 June Venue will be the piazza on the shore opposite the Mal Maison Hotel

Highlights include:

Theatrical

Lifeline by Lifeline Theatre Company at venue 101 on Fri 20th, Sat 21st, Sun 22 June

Aye or No – Citadel Arts Group at venue 102 on Fri 20th, Sat 21 June

Leith at War – Citadel Arts Group at venue 102 Thur 19th, Fri 20th, Sat 21 June

Fish is the Future – Active Inquiry – venue 308 Thur 19th, Fri 20th Sat 21 June

Thief – LRStageworks – venue Sat 14th –Sun 15 June

One of Our Ain – venue 101 Monday 16 June One woman show from award winning Sandra Brown (campaigner) tells her story of growing up in a Scottish community profoundly affected for over fifty years by the disappearance of a schoolgirl Moira Anderson

Comedy

Comedy at the Constitution – Venue 201 The Constitution Bar, Constitution St. Leith.

Mirth of Forth Comedy presents 9 different shows at The Constitution Bar. One person shows from Janey Godley, Stu Who, Raymond Mearns, Billy Kirkwood, Susie McCabe and Richard Pulsford. Vladimir McTavish and Keir McAllister present their stand up satirical and musical show on the referendum debate. Special shows on Saturday nights, during the festival, with a variety bill of 4 acts, compered by Graham Mackie and Susan Morrison.

Men With Coconuts – Venue 206

Dance

Another Little bit of Cairo on Duke Street – The Leith Festival Hafla Venue 108 Tue 17 June

Bellydance for Beginners: FREE taster class Venue 304 Wed 18 June

Music

Ride It Like A Shark Weekender by Frantic Chant Venue 308 13 - 14 June

Justified Sinners, 70’s/80′s Rock cover band plus original material Venue 206 Fri 13 June

Onzlo, original music act plus covers Venue 206 Fri 13 June

Bach to the Future by EdinBaroque a family recorder trio Venue 303 Sat 21 June

Palestine: A Song And A Dance of Freedom Venue 310 Tue 17 June

Bruncheon! Featuring The Sound of Muesli Venue 107 Sat 14 June

LCCB Festival Concert annual Leith Festival concert performed by Leith Community Concert band Venue 313 Thu 19 June

Film

Sat 14 June, Edinburgh Short Film Festival, Venue 206

Tours & Walking Tours

Trainspotting Tour – Witches, Quacks and Painted Dames; a walk on the wild side of Leith's History

Trinity House Free Guided Tour

Hibs Historical Tours

Seafield Cemetery and Crematorium Open day

Exhibitions/Competitions

Art By the Sea Exhibition of paintings, textiles, jewellery and ceramics from Coburghouse artists Venue 209 art@37 Summer Exhibition Venue 204

European Cities in Black and White: From Norway to Naples Venue 307

Scottish Mineral & Lapidary Club Venue 202

Exposed 14 Exhibition by Final Year students from Stevenson College (Edinburgh). Showcasing award winning work from both the HND and BA student photographers Venue 308

Exercisations: An exhibition of Fitness, Art and Poetry Venue 306

Family Entertainment

Venues and performers etc.

The Festival takes place in a number of venues in and around Leith. Each year a number of venues are drawn from a pool.

Venues

101 South Leith Parish Hall, Henderson Street

102 Leith Hub, 1-3 Leith Walk

103 Trinity House of Leith

106 & 107 Leith Links

108 The Parlour Bar, Duke Street

110 Leith Academy

201 The Constitution Bar

202 Scottish Mineral & Lapidary Club

206 The Granary, The Shore

209 Coburg House & Art Galleries, Coburg Street, Leith

300 Leith Library

304 Shapes Fitness Studios, Arthur street

306 Griffen Fitness, Balfour Street

307 Joseph Pearce, Elm Row

308 Out of the Blue – Drill Hall[4]

310 McDonald Road Library, Leith Walk, Edinburgh

Performers & Appearances


Bibliography

Programs are held by Edinburgh City Libraries 1988; 1990 to date and the National Library of Scotland 1971; 1973; 1990

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Leith Festival set to kick off". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 1 June 2007. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "City vows to save Leith Festival". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Woolly jumper tree art to start Leith Festival". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Drill Hall, Leith, Edinburgh : Information + Images". edinburgharchitecture. June 2010.
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