AROUND TOWN list.co.uk/aroundtown
HITLIST THE BEST FILMS, FESTS & FOOD
✽ 2.8 Hours Later: Asylum Wear yourself out running away from the
infected as part of this huge cross-city zombie chase game. Edinburgh City Centre, Fri 20 & Sat 21 Sep.
✽ The Cat’s Meow A night of glamour and
dancing inspired by The Great Gatsby. Unlike Jay Gatsby’s own extravagant parties, this one’s for charity. Berkeley Suite, 237 North Street, Glasgow, Sat 5 Oct.
✽ Oktoberfest Beer and bratwurst, coming at you all the
way from Bavaria. See preview, left. Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Wed 9–Sun 13 Oct & Glasgow Green, Thu 17–Sun 27 Oct.
✽ Rocky Horror Party Night Let’s do the Time Warp again. With
cocktails! The English Speaking Union, 23 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh, Fri 4 Oct.
✽ Beethoven: An Introduction Musicologist John Deathridge eases you
into an expert’s understanding of the great composer and three of his most famous works. City Halls, Candleriggs, Glasgow, Thu 26 Sep.
✽ Toy and Comic Mart Stock up on comics, meet the artists and do some
live gaming. Counting House, West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, Sat 28 Sep.
✽ An Evening with Ray Mears
Learn how to survive anywhere using only your wits and a good, sharp knife. See 5 Reasons, p40. King’s Theatre, Edinburgh,
Sun 29 Sep.
OKTOBERFEST/COCKTOBER FEST CKTOBER FEST Two very different ways to mark the tenth month
N o longer is Oktoberfest something you have to head for Germany to experience. This year, Scotland has gone especially Oktoberfest-mad. The biggest event, simply called Oktoberfest, starts off with a hop- soaked five days in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh (Wed 9–Sun 13 Oct, edinburgh- oktoberfest.co.uk), with so much beer, food and music that, ja mein lieber, it’s just like being in Munich.
Entry is free on the Wednesday, so start convincing your boss now that it’s worth taking the afternoon off. Every night is a Schlager party, excellent for reliving Eurovision hits from the 90s while you eye up the lederhosen and giant beer glasses in full faux-German campery. Sunday is a family day, complete with bratwurst-centred lunch. On Thursday 17 October the party moves to Glasgow Green for eight more days of revelry (glasgow-oktoberfest.co.uk). The tunes are courtesy of Bayern Stürmer and the Obenheimer Express Band, flown in from
38 THE LIST 19 Sep–17 Oct 2013
southern Germany and promising to have you dancing on the tables to hits like ‘Zikke Zakke’ and ‘Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit’ (no, me neither).
Slightly more subdued is OktoberWEST (WEST Brewery, Glasgow, every Fri), an extravaganza of food, music and, obviously, beer that runs weekly throughout the month, offering plenty of Bavarian jollity. The brewery still produces all of its lagers and wheat beers in accordance with the German Purity Law of 1516, so you can count on the drinks for authenticity.
And if you love the idea of Oktoberfest but, in practice, you’re more into ripped abs and martinis, then as luck would have it, Cocktober Fest has you in mind. The Cocktail Queen hosts a touring ladies’ night throughout October, visiting Edinburgh, Livingston, Blackburn and Airdrie with drag queens, ‘buff butlers’ and cocktails. See for details. (Charlotte Runcie) thecocktailqueen.co.uk