S
LISTINGS
llain or shine, our at-a-glance guide will see you through. Events are listed under outdoors or indoors columns, and then divided by city. Kids listings compiled by Gabe Stewart.
Outdoors tits 5 mm—
Activities and Fun
I Pick It, Pot It, Plant It Craigend Visitors Centre, Mugdock Country Park, Craigallian Road. near Milngavie. 956 6100. Sun 9 Oct. 2—3.30pm. Free. Grow your own trees and shrubs from seed.
I Sports Activities Barrhead Sports Centre, Main Street. Barrhead. 881 1900. Mon l7—Sat 22 Oct. 9am—4pm. A full programme of coaching on short tennis. golf, football and swimming plus multi- sports. fitness for kids. pool fun sessions and roller discos. On Fri 21 at 3pm there will be a chance to meet Shadow of TV’s Gladiators.
I The Great Outdoors Craigend Visitors Centre, Mugdock Country Park. Craigallian Road, near Milngavie, 956 6100. Wed 19 Oct. l—4.30pm. Free. Partly suitable for disabled. A chance for children try out a wide variety of outdoor pursuits.
EDINBURGH
Activities and Fun
I Edinburgh Zoo Corstorphine Road. 334 9171. Daily 9am-6pm. £5.10 (£2.70) £14 family (two adults, two children). Special October weekend activities:
Sat 8 and Sun 9 Oct A personal guided tour of the world’s largest penguin enclosure, and a chance to meet some pretty Pollies in the Parrot Garden.
Sat 15 and Sun 16 Oct Hang out with the monkeys and let the keepers tell you about our closest relatives.
Indoors
Activities and Fun
I Giant Holidays Action Factory Costa Del Dumbarton Road. Partick Burgh Halls. 357 5000. Mon 17—Fri 21 Oct.
Morning Workshops 11.15am—12.30pm. £1.8—l2 years.
Percussion workshop Mon 17 Oct. Bring drums. shakers etc, if you have them. Dance and movement workshop Tue 18 Oct. Wear loose, comfy clothes.
Drama workshop Wed 19 Oct. Wear loose. comfy clothes.
Mask Making workshop Thurs 20 Oct. Wear old clothes.
Under Fives Freebie Activities 1.45—2.45pm. 3—5 years.
Treasure Hunt Tue 18 and Thurs 20 Oct. Free as long as you dress up as a pirate. Seaside Competition Wed 19 Oct. An afternoon of games and prizes. Free entry as long as you bring your bucket and spade.
Afternoon Workshops. 1.30—3.30pm. £1.50. 8—12 years.
Fantasy F isticujfs Mon 17 Oct. Learn stage fighting. Wear loose. comfy clothes. Gruesome Grub Tue 18 Oct. Design (and then eat) a revolting platter in time for Halloween. Bring an apron and a container to take your incr-edible creation away.
Wind Sock Work Shop Wed 19 Oct. Wear old clothes.
Percussion making (and playing) workshop Thurs 20 Oct.
Day Tickets Mon l7—Fri 21 Oct. 9.45am—3.30pm. £3. 5—12 years. Spend your whole day on the Costa Del Dumbarton Road, and enjoy a show. before embarking on a special project involving a variety of workshops. Who knows what masterpiece you may take home with you? Price does not include lunch.
I Desert Storm Under 18s Club Barrhead Sports Centre, Main Street, Barrhead. 881 1900. £1. 12—18 years. With Desert Storm providing the sounds. this should be a night to remember.
I Beadathon live! Baillieston Library. 141 Main Street; Hillhead Library. 348 Byres Road; Whiteinch Library, 4 Victoria Park Drive South. all venues 305 2867. Sat 8 Oct. loam—noon. Free. Read your favourite book and raise money for kids' charities.
I Evening Times Tours 195 Albion Street. Pat Craig, 552 6255 ext 3135. Mon l7—Fri 21 Oct. 2.15—3.30pm. Free. 10+ years. This is your chance to see behind the scenes of a major newspaper. Advance booking advised.
I Going Underground Glasgow Underground. Amanda Smith, 333 3280. Thurs 20 Oct. 2.30—4.30pm. Free. 11—18 years. Come and watch them watching you. and see what goes on behind the scenes of Strathclyde Transport. Advance booking essential. Call on Fri 14 Oct. or Mon 17—Thurs 20 Oct. loam—noon or 2—4pm.
I liaIf-term Activities Haggs Castle Museum, 100 St Andrews Drive, 427 2725. Free.
Mini Beast Safari Sat 15 Oct. 2.15—3.30pm. 4—7 years. Close encounters of the creepy crawlie kind.
Mask Making Workshop Sun 16 Oct. 2.15—3.30pm; Thurs 20 Oct.
10. 15-11.30am and 2.15—3.30pm. 6—9 years.
Storytelling and Puppetry Mon 17 Oct. 10.15—11.30am and
2.15-3.30pm. 4—7 years. Listen to a scary story and make a witch puppet.
Born out of the Glasgow 1990 festivities, the Action Factory is the city’s festival for children and young people during the October school half- term, now commanding an audience of over 9,000.
The Action Factory is Phylis Steele’s baby. Previously with The Tramway, colleagues in the arts have only recently stopped asking her when she would be going ‘back’ into fiat-sire, as if she had ever left it. its reason she found such patronisin; xii-times offensive is because itch"- site is thoroughly committed to titans, it just happens that her audiences are very young. ‘My interest is to try and set some landmark for quality for kids’ theatre, especially pre-schooi and early primary school age.’
During the 1990 festivities Steele was involved in a committee responsible for young people’s events, and has already seen the long term benefits resulting from a strong relationship between youth and ‘art’. ‘There is an impact. There is a sense of getting them switched on.’ Getting
Kids getting a bun
them switched onto the arts can’t be bad, especially when topical media attention insists on connecting youth with criminality, not flowering creativity. A community investing in its kids by encouraging their creative and interpretative skills is inevitably defending itself against future deflnquency.
Presumably John Major is first in line waiting to fund such projects, fighting the good fight against yob culture. ‘But if you look at all the festivals in Glasgow,’ says Steele, ‘we don’t have the glamorous box office return,’ which, she says, reflects the general low regard for children in our society. Compare 75p children’s theatre tickets to the likes of Scottish Opera, and consider which is held in higher prestige. ‘There’s a lack of investment in young people in general,’ argues Steele. ‘iiot just in the arts, but in schools . . . everywhere, which is really to do with society’s attitude to young people.’ (Gabe Stewart)
Action Factory iiotline 357 5000.
Dressing Up Tue 18 Oct.
10.15am—l 1.45am and 2.15—3.45pm. 7—12 years.
I African Drums Workshops on tour 776 2571. £1. 7—11 years. Be as noisy as you want. and you won't be told off.
Wed 19 Oct 10.30am. Milton of Campsie Hall. School Lane; 2pm. Kirkintilloch Town Hall, Union Street.
Thurs 20 Oct 10.30am. Pivot Centre. Glenmanor Avenue, Moodiesbum; 2pm. Lenzie Public Hall. Kirkintilloch Road. I TAG Theatre Drama Workshops on tour 776 2571. £1. 8—12 years. Learn performance skills. games and movement front the professionals of the Citizens‘ Theatre.
Tue [8 Oct 10.30am, Bishopbriggs War Memorial Hall, Balmuildy Road; 2pm. Lenzie Public Hall, Kirkintilloch Road. Thurs 20 Oct 10.30am, Campsie Memorial Hall. Main Street. Lennoxtown; 2pm. Kirkintilloch Town Hall. Union Street.
I Classical Kids’ Concerts The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 2 Sauchiehall Street, 227 5511. Sun 9 Oct. 2pm. £6.50 (£3.50) Family (two adults and two children) £17. This is the first in a series of five one-hour concerts conveying the excitement of classical music to young audiences. featuring the Orchestra of Scottish Opera conducted by Christopher Bell and presented by Atarah Ben Tovim MBE. The programme includes The William Tell Overture, The Hall of the Mountain King,
Stars and Stripes, Eine K leine Nachtmusik, Fanfare for the Common Man. and America from West Side Story plus excerpts from Tchaikovsky‘s Fourth ' Symphony. It‘s not all just music though. there‘s also time for quizzes. competitions, prizes and . . . audience participation. A series ticket for all five concerts (Sun 13 Nov, Sun 4 Dec. Sat 11 Feb and Sat 11 Mar) costs £26 (£14). Family (two adults and two children) £68. I Junk Sculpture Centre for Developmental Arts, 18 Albion Street. 552 2822. Mon 17, Wed 19 and Fri 21 Oct. 10am—3pm. 14+ years. Each workshop begins with a brief look at modern 20th century sculpture, and ends with everyone involved turning everyday objects into fantastical scuptures. Junk is provided free of charge but bring your own if you want. The workshops will be filmed with time lapse cameras. Early booking recommended.
I Theatre Skills Workshops Scottish Youth Theatre, The Old Athenaeum. 179 Buchanan Street, 332 2333. Mon l7-Fri 21 Oct. lOam—noon (8-12 years); 2-4pm (13—18 years). £1 per session. Come and find out more about the theatre. Mon: drama games and improvisation; Tue: music and percussion; Wed: masks and make up; Thurs: dance and movement; Fri: stage fighting.
I Back to School Scotland Street School Museum. 225 Scotland Street (opposite Shields Road Underground Station), 429
74 The List 7—20 October 1994