Kids
FREE Tales for Tots Mon 20 & Wed 22 Jun, 2pm. Anniesland College, 19 Hatfield Drive. westendfestival.co.uk. Gerry Durkin reads and sings stories. Ages 2–5. Part of the West End Festival.
Storytelling Tall Tales at the Tron Sat 4 Jun, 10am. £6 per adult + child (extra tickets £4). Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. Interactive storytelling session with movement, mime and props for ages 3–5. Family Storytime: Goldilocks and the Three Bears Sat 4 & Sun 5 Jun, 10.30am & 12.30pm. £5 (family ticket £15; under 2s free). Scottish Youth Theatre, Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, 552 3988. Interactive storytelling theatre for under-7s and their families. FREE Fishy Tales Tue 14 & Thu 16 Jun, 3.30pm. Hillhead Library, 348 Byres Road, 339 7223. Rhymes, stories and crafts for ages 3–8. Part of the West End Festival. FREE Dinosaur Stomp Tue 21 & Thu 23 Jun, 3.30pm. Hillhead Library, 348 Byres Road, 339 7223. Glasgow Libraries Young People’s Team presents dino- inspired creative fun. Ages 5–8. Part of the West End Festival.
Theatre, Comedy and Dance ✽✽ The Presents Thu 2–Sat 4 Jun; Thu 11.30am & 2pm, Fri & Sat
10am, 11.30am & 2pm. Babies £2, adults £4. Cottier Theatre, 93–95 Hyndland Street, 0800 411 8881. Intimate show for babies aged 6–18 months and their grown ups. Watch as a series of tantalising packages are opened up to reveal colours, sounds, toys and surprises in this engaging musical show from Reeling and Writhing. Circus Invisible Sat 4 Jun, 2pm. £5.95 (children £4.95). Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre, 8–10 Balcarres Avenue, Kelvindale, 339 6185. Puppet show with magical musical contraptions, projections, illusions and kinetics. Ages 4+. The Curious Tale of Oak Tree Grove Fri 10 Jun, 7.30pm; Sat 11 Jun, 2.30pm. £6. Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. Nature and humankind combine on one magical night. For ages 8 years and over. Family Storytime: How Jumbo Went to the Moon Sat 18 & Sun 19 Jun, 10.30am & 12.30pm. £5 (family ticket £15; under 2s free). Scottish Youth Theatre, The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, 552 3988. Interactive storytelling theatre for ages 0–7. Glasgow Kids Comedy Club Sun 5 Jun, 3pm. £4. The Stand, 333 Woodlands Road, 0844 335 8879. Live comedy for younger fans from James Dowdeswell and Matt Winning. Best for ages 8–12.
EDINBURGH Activities & Fun Kids Knit Tuesdays until 28 Jun, 4.45pm at Imagination Workshop, 136 Marchmont Road; Fridays until 1 Jul, 2.15pm & 4pm at 24 Hillview Terrace. Prices vary. 07943 367314. Beginner knitting classes for children. Booking essential. See preview. FREE Funky Still Lifes Sat 28 May, 10.30am–12.30pm or 1.30pm–3.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Use different techniques and textures to create still lifes. Booking essential. The Woodland at Night Sat 4 Jun, 10.30am–1pm. £4. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Ranger guided walk and collage-making with glow in the dark paint. FREE Sumptuous Decorative Gold Panels Sat 4 Jun, 10.30am–12.30pm or 1.30pm–3.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Make a decorative panel. FREE Recycled Weaving Sat 4 Jun, 10.30am–12.30pm or 1.30pm–3.30pm. Museum of Edinburgh, Huntly House 142 Canongate, 529 4143. Family workshop: learn about the Edinburgh linen trade and weave your own cloth. Who’s Been Eating My Porridge? Sun 5 Jun, 10.30am–12.30pm. £4. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Take a picnic, make bear crafts and hear stories in the woods.
94 THE LIST 26 May–23 Jun 2011
✽✽ Taylor’s Fun Fair on the Links Thu 9 & Fri 10 Jun, 6pm–9pm; Sat
11 Jun, noon–9pm; Sun 12 Jun, 1pm–9pm. Prices vary. Leith Links, Leith. leithfestival.com Rides and fun for children of all ages. Part of the Leith Festival.
✽✽ FREE Urban Adventure Fri 10 Jun, 1pm–4pm. Forthquarter Park,
behind Edinburgh’s Telford College, West Granton Road, 07825 386846. Outdoor activities for families including beat the goalie, bug hunts, drumming, library events and more.
✽✽ Wiggle and Giggle Drop-in Class Sat 11 & Sat 18 Jun, 9.30am & 10.15am. £3.50. Thomas Morton Hall, Ferry Road, Leith, 225 5525. Dance Base- led movement and fun for pre-schoolers and their parents. Part of the Leith Festival.
✽✽ FREE Craigie’s Open Farm Weekend Sat 11 & Sun 12 Jun,
10am–3pm. Craigie’s Farm Shop, South Queensferry, 319 1048. Meet the animals and the farmers and learn all about farming. Knitting for All are also on hand to help knit fluffy sheep.
✽✽ FREE Play2Learn Games 4 Gala Day Sat 11 Jun, 11am–4.30pm.
Leith Links, Leith, 07952 147577. Sporty games for parents and kids aged 4–15 on Gala Day. Part of the Leith Festival. Crazy Bird Houses Sun 12 Jun, 11am– 3pm. £6. Lauriston Castle, 2a Cramond Road South, 529 3963. Decorate bird houses for your garden using mosaic tiles. Ages 7+. FREE Make Your Mark Sun 12 Jun, noon–4pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 0300 123 6789. Part of the A Passion for Glass exhibition, this drop-in workshop allows you to have a go at engraving a piece to take home. Kids must be accompanied.
✽✽ Leith Community Centre Youth Events Mon 13–Fri 17 Jun,
times vary. Prices vary (50p–£1.50). Email: youngleithers@gmail.com. Activities laid on by Young Leithers at the Community Centre and other venues around Leith, including boxing, a multi- sports club, 5-a-side football tournament, break dance, hip hop and disco dance classes. Part of the Leith Festival.
✽✽ Bust a Move Drop-in Class Mon 13 Jun, 5.30pm. £4. Thomas
Morton Hall, Ferry Road, Leith, 225 5525. A chance for ages 14–18 to try out some street and hip hop moves. Part of the Leith Festival.
✽✽ FREE Party Church Tue 14 Jun, 5pm. South Leith Parish Church, 6
Henderson Street Leith, leithfestival.com. Activities for parents and children. Part of the Leith Festival.
✽✽ Play2Learn Fun Activities Thu 16 & Fri 17 Jun, 5pm–7pm. £2.
Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate, 07952 147577. Footie fun including skills practice, fun story board games and tournaments. Part of the Leith Festival. FREE Edinburgh Money Boxes Sat 18 Jun, 10.30am or 1.30pm. City Art Centre, 2 Market Street, 529 3993. Family workshop: Make an Edinburgh- themed money box.
✽✽ FREE Play2Learn Family Fun Sun 19 Jun, 1pm–5pm. Leith
Athletic Football Pitch, Leith Links, 07952 147577. Football based activities for families during the Leith Festival football match. Part of the Leith Festival.
Books FREE Blackwell Children’s Book Group Mon 13 Jun, 5.45pm. Blackwells, 53–59 South Bridge, 622 8222. This month’s book is a real classic: Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen. Ages 8–11. FREE Fathers’ Day Network Sat 18 Jun, 11am–4pm. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. A day of interactive storytelling, workshops on storytelling for your child and art works and poems celebrating parental bonds. Storytelling Saturday Stories Sat 28 May, 11.30am. £5 (£4; family ticket £15). Traverse
PROFILE CRAFT WORKSHOPS KIDS KNIT Various venues, Edinburgh
Knitting may have been distinctly uncool for their parents’ generation, but for today’s kids, it’s just fine to be caught with a ball of wool in your lap. A dedicated knitter since childhood, Kerry Kimber hit upon the idea of running knitting classes for young ones when her two sons started to show an interest.
‘They had none of the preconceptions a lot of other people have
about it being a granny’s activity,’ says Kimber. ‘So they didn’t see it as uncool, they just really enjoyed it and made some fabulous creations. I realised a lot of my friend’s children were interested in knitting, but most parents of my generation can’t knit because it wasn’t seen as cool in our day – so I could see there was a market for it.’
From there, Kids Knit was born, with Kimber running weekly classes
for ages 5-14 from her home in Corstorphine and at the Imagination Workshop in Marchmont. Children decide themselves what they’d like to make, with Kimber gently guiding them as they produce everything from hand puppets and sea creatures to phone holders and hats. Kimber will also be holding drop-in workshops at Leith Gala on 11 Jun and Craigie’s Farm on 12 Jun, where you can make sheep and bumble bee pom poms. A fine art tapestry graduate who then trained as a teacher, Kimber is
convinced that as well as providing a creative outlet for children, knitting ticks several other important boxes. ‘It’s very good for simple maths,’ she says, ‘and for understanding shapes and how they fit together. Then, as the projects get harder, they’ve got to think about division and multiplication. It’s also quite therapeutic and relaxing, and once they can knit without thinking too much about the stitches, it’s brilliant socially because they all sit and chat with each other while they’re knitting.’
To find out more about Kids Knit, or the relaxed adult classes Kimber
runs, visit knittingforall.co.uk (Kelly Apter)
Theatre, Cambridge Street, 228 1404. Storytelling from Andy Cannon. Ages 5+. Heure du conte: Lapin and the maracas Sat 11 Jun, 10am–noon. £5 per family. Institut Français d’Ecosse, 13 Randolph Crescent, 225 5366. Bilingual puppetry from Le Petit Monde. FREE Talking Trees Storytelling Sun 19 Jun, 2pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Arboretum Place, 248 2979. Outdoor storytelling suitable for all (ages 5+). OUTSIDE THE CITIES Activities & Fun Doune And Dunblane Fling Thu 26–Sun 29 May, times and prices vary. Various venues. dunblanefling.com Music and culture-themed family fun. FREE Medieval Engineering Family Day Sat 18 Jun, 11am–4pm. Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, 01475 741858. Learn about stonemasonry and the construction of Glasgow Cathedral. See
panel, page 93. Part of the Glasgow Science Festival.
Theatre & Music One Little Word Fri 27–Sun 29 May, 11am & 2pm. £6 (£5). macrobert, University of Stirling, 01786 466666. A story about play and friendship specially written for children aged 3+. Cloud Man Sat 28 May, 2.15pm. £6.50 (£5; family ticket £20). Falkirk Town Hall, West Bridge Street, Falkirk, 01324 506850. Sky-high storytelling. Ages 5+. Part of the Puppet Animation Festival. Clockwork Tue 31 May, 10.30am & 1.30pm. £tbc. Paisley Arts Centre, New Street, Paisley, 887 1010. Fantastical musical adventure for ages 8+, presented by Visible Fictions and Scottish Opera.
✽✽ The Presents Tue 7 Jun, 10.30am & 2pm. £6 per adult + child. Corn
Exchange, Main Street, Haddington, 0131 665 2240. See Glasgow, Cottier Theatre.