Event or Regular Activity: Online Events

From 24 February to 7 March, GFF will host 6 World premieres, 2 European premieres, 49 UK premieres online

World premieres include Anthony Baxter’s Eye of the Storm and an exploration of the life of punk rock’s least conventional front person Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché

UK premiere of Creation Stories written by Irvine Welsh and starring Ewen Bremner leads a programme filled with strong Scottish stories

We’re doing things a little differently this year. Glasgow Film Festival will be presented in an adapted online format in 2021, with screenings taking place on our online streaming platform Glasgow Film At Home. It’s a new system, so we recommend that you take some time to create a free account and familiarise yourself with the different ways that you can join us for GFF21.

All Glasgow Film Festival films are £9.99. You will need to create an account on the Glasgow Film At Home website, which is free.Click here for more information. Explore our bundle options for ways to save on festival tickets.

The inspiration for Big Bang Week, comes from the pristine skies of Galloway’s Dark Sky Park on the doorstep of Scotland’s Book Town. Freelance ranger Elizabeth Tindal explains.  The big bang was the start of the universe as we know it. It came from a single point and expanded outwards. Big Bang Week 2021 (3-6 March) is similarly expansive, starting at Wigtown and spreading outwards, via the internet, to interested parties across the planet. 

We are blessed that Wigtown is situated amid world class natural and cultural heritage. The UNESCO designated Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere surrounds us, and we are especially lucky that our Biosphere has a very special place at its heart, the Galloway Forest Dark Sky Park.

The Galloway Dark Sky Park was designated by the International Dark-Sky Association in 2009. It was the first Dark Sky Park in Britain and also Europe and the fourth on Earth, which makes it pretty special. It is a gold tier Dark Sky Park meaning that Wigtown is right beside one of the darkest places on Earth and boasts some pretty dark skies itself. From there you can see across our universe – just the right place to host a space themed week.

Streaming live on the Wigtown Festival website.  Tickets Free but must be booked. 

Can you imagine a different Scotland, a Scotland where women are commemorated in statues and streets and buildings – even in the hills and valleys?

Join Where Are The Women? author Sara Sheridan as she talks about her guidebook to that alternative nation, where the cave on Staffa is named after Malvina rather than Fingal, and Arthur’s Seat isn’t Arthur’s, it belongs to St Triduana. Where you arrive into Dundee at Slessor Station and the Victorian monument on Stirling’s Abbey Hill interprets national identity not as a male warrior but through the women who ran hospitals during the First World War. The West Highland Way ends at Fort Mary. The Old Lady of Hoy is a prominent Orkney landmark. And the plinths in central Glasgow proudly display statues of the suffragettes who fought until they won.

These imagined streets, buildings, statues and monuments are dedicated to real women, telling their often untold or unknown stories.

‘Where are the Women? provides a tantalising glimpse of an alternative universe where the female contribution is prized.’ The Herald

The livestream event will be available on Facebook and YouTube.

THIS IS A LIVE STREAMED ACOUSTIC EVENT

An evening celebrating the songs of the Skids and Big Country

Join Richard Jobson with Bruce and Jamie Watson as they take you on a musical journey celebrating some classic SKIDS songs. As well as the classics,the intrepid trio will also be delving into tracks from the 4th studio album “JOY”.

If this wasn’t enough, March also sees the 60th birthday of the inimatible Bruce Watson. What better way to acknowledge this milestone and his amazing musical journey , than to let you hear some exclusive acoustic versions of your Big Country favourites.

“In 1977, we were singing songs about what we saw as a world in crisis, today that message is more relevant than ever! The songs have a different power when played acoustically – a new energy – triumph, rage, camaraderie, and a positivity that has always been and will always be the motivation of the bands music and words.” – Richard Jobson

This livestreamed show is being broadcast to you from the very building that the SKIDS rehearsed in back in their formative years.

A range of stream exclusive merchandise will be available to ticketholders.

Your Link to the exclusive merchandise will be displayed on your order confirmation screen, and your confirmation email.

AND FINALLY………

Everyone who buys a ticket will have their name entered into a draw for the chance to record some backing vocals on the next Skids studio album and have their name in the credits.

The Annual SWC International Women’s Day celebrations, held in the Scottish Parliament, are always a highlight in our calendar. However, we’re doing things a little differently this time around…

This International Women’s Day we’re going digital. Whilst we can’t bring women together in our usual way, this gives us the opportunity to have more attendees than ever before!

This online interactive event will take place on International Women’s Day, Monday 8th March 2021, from 6pm – 8pm and will be chaired by Linda Fabiani MSP, Deputy Presiding Officer.

Attendees will hear from a range of contributors and key speakers who will discuss their experiences over the past year and their hopes for what a post-COVID Scotland will look like for women. This will be followed by an interactive question and answer session.

Stay tuned for announcements in the coming weeks as to our extra special speakers!

To commemorate the tireless and heroic efforts of our key workers over the past months, our chosen theme is “Celebrating Women in Scotland”. We want to highlight the amazing work done by women in all walks of life during this pandemic.

If you would like to ask a question on the evening to one of our amazing woman then please send us your questions in advance to info@scottishwomensconvention.org

Please note this event will be held using the Blue Jeans platform, and a link and joining instructions will be sent to everyone who signs up. If there is anything else we can do to make it easier for you to attend, for example by providing closed captioning, then please let us know by emailing info@scottishwomensconvention.org

Local historian Bruce Jamieson will give our annual lecture – a new illustrated talk on-line via Zoom on “Disaster at Darien” (The scheme, its failure and the impact on Scotland and Linlithgow).

You will be sent the Zoom joining instructions after registrations closes on 5 March.

Written and performed by pianist and storyteller Will Pickvance, First Piano on the Moon premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019 to an enthusiastic audience and critical response.

This show is now a LIVE online experience you can access from your own home via the video platform Zoom! Half-man half-piano, Will combines storytelling and musical madness in this rollercoaster show about Mozart, music and the mooooon!

This is the story of a boy who daydreams of playing in front of a big live audience. When his dream comes true he should be excited, but he worries that maybe the whole world will discover the truth – he can’t really play the piano, he can only mess around and make people laugh.

Mozart’s music is mingled and mangled in this rambunctious show which features an unlikely birthday invitation, a frantic chase through Salzburg, and the appearance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself. What can Will glean from the Master?

Age guidance: 7+

Approx running time: 50min plus a 10min post-show chat

£5 per device

Part 2 of the second series of our Beatson Banter series welcomes British retired track and field athlete Steve Cram CBE.

Cram set world records in 1500m, 2000m and the mile during a 19 day period in the summer of 1985 and was the first man to run 1500m under 3 minutes and 30 seconds and was nicknamed “The Jarrow Arrow”.

Alan Kilpatrick board member of Beatson Cancer Charity will host and introduce our guest speaker for the evening and provide the opportunity for you to ask any questions you have via the messaging platform throughout the evening.

As well as the Q&A session there will be the chance to enter our raffle with the winner being announced on the night. In addition there will be the chance to bid on a fantastic auction item on the evening too…highest bid wins!

Places are limited so book now for a fantastic night during lock down while supporting and raising vital funds for those patients and their families who really need your support during these trying times.

On purchase of the ticket you will receive confirmation via Eventbrite (check Junk Mail for this also).

An email will be sent to you on the Thursday from Charlene Low of Beatson Cancer Charity with the Zoom link for taking part in the event.

Please ensure that you are familiar with the Zoom platform in advance of the event. Tickets £10

A live, online performance set in a virtual midsummer forest

Theatre, music and groundbreaking technology combine in an extraordinary exploration into the future of live performance. Follow a sprite on a moonlit journey through the night until dawn. A dreamlike journey into a forest: a story of transformation. Inspired by Shakespeare’s iconic play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Puck invites you on a magical journey between dusk and dawn. With a cloud of fireflies lighting the way, you explore the forest and encounter four sprites, Moth, Peaseblossom, Cobweb and Mustardseed. But storm clouds gather on the horizon, threatening destruction.

Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Shakespeare Company, Manchester International Festival and several specialist immersive technology organisations and pioneers combine to present ‘Dream’, a spectacular virtual concert that takes place in a magical, midsummer forest. 

You can watch Dream on a smartphone, tablet or computer. There are two ways to watch: you can interact with the live performance through your device, or simply sit back and watch the live stream. 

Before you book, we need to run a device check to make sure both options will work for you. No personal information is collected, and no information is stored. Learn more

Please make sure you are using the device you will use to experience Dream. Performance runs for 50 minutes.

Featuring special guests Dr Maliha Khan, Marie Claire Kaberamanzi and Zaynab Abdi, to mark the paperback publication of We Are Displaced.

Tickets are free, but you must register to receive the link. There is also an option to purchase a copy of We Are Displaced (RRP £9.99) alongside registering, for either UK or international delivery.

The event will initially be broadcast on 16 March 2021 at 6.30pm UK time. It will be available to view up to a week after the event has ended and can be accessed worldwide.  If you live in a time zone that does not suit the initial broadcast time, you can watch it at any point after the initial showing for one week. If you have any questions please email faneonline@fane.co.uk

In I Am Malala, Nobel Peace Prize Winner and activist Malala Yousafzai told a story of bravery and survival that became a symbol of resistance around the world. Her new book, We Are Displaced, is her powerful and timely follow-up; part memoir, part communal storytelling, this is a work of oral history that serves as an astonishing reminder of the collective power of personal testimony.

Join Malala for this exclusive free event, as she celebrates the paperback publication of her powerful and emotional New York Times bestseller by introducing some of the faces behind the statistics and news stories we read or hear every day about the millions of people displaced worldwide.

Interwoven with her own experiences with displacement and her story of adjusting to a new life while longing for home, Malala will share moving and inspiring true accounts of the refugee experience from some of the incredible girls and women she has encountered who have lost their community, family and often the only world they have ever known. In conversation with two of the women featured in the book – Marie Claire Kaberamanzi and Zaynab Abdi – Malala reflects on their accounts of hope and resilience and reveals the harrowing realities of what it means to be a migrant in today’s world.

In a time of immigration crises, war and border conflicts, this poignant and at times harrowing event is a timely reminder from one of the world’s most prominent young activists that crucially puts a human face to what is all too often reduced to a catalogue of statistics

Astronauts Helen Sharman and Tim Peake join astrophysicist and The Sky At Night presenter Maggie Aderin-Pocock and UNOOSA’s Simonetta Di Pippo as they assess how human spaceflight has helped us appreciate our planet. 

From the incredible insights we’ve gained about Earth as we’ve learnt more about neighbouring planets, to the way in which international collaboration and advances in satellites and remote sensing are helping us track the effects of climate change more accurately than ever before.   

Speakers include:  

• Helen Sharman: The first British astronaut and the first woman to visit the Mir space station in 1991.  
• Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE: Astrophysicist, author, and BAFTA-nominated presenter of The Sky at Night.  
• Simonetta Di Pippo: Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and former Director of Human Spaceflight for the European Space Agency.  
• Tim Peake: The most recent Briton in space and first British astronaut to visit the International Space Station, spending six months there from 2015-2016.    
• Dr Kevin Fong (Chair): Doctor, science broadcaster and author.  

“If we are to preserve culture, we must continue to create it” Johan Huizinga

I am delighted to present our tenth HippFest… a year later than we originally planned but no less of a milestone!  Sincere thanks to all of you who have joined us over the years, who stuck by us last March when we had to cancel the Festival at the 11th hour; who supported as we experimented with creating online events; and who then offered encouragement as we navigated our way towards bringing HippFest to your home.  Thank-you… and welcome too, to all the people who will be joining us for the first time.  The opportunity to almost infinitely extend our seating capacity, and to make attendance as easy as turning up in your front room, are definitely two of the upsides of a virtual festival.  We hope this means that our audience will be bigger and more varied than ever. 

Fans of HippFest say that the Festival is more than a trip to the cinema, it is an experience – distinctive, eye-opening and enjoyable.  So whilst we will miss all being together under the star-studded ceiling of the Hippodrome we have tried to create a comparable cocktail of screenings with music, workshops, events and activities to sweep you up in the marvellous magic of early cinema.  If dressing up is your thing, go for it! If you like mingling with other festival-goers, dive in to our virtual festival hub!  However you do HippFest we’re glad you’re part of it and it wouldn’t be the same without you. 

Alison Strauss, Arts Development Officer (Film and Media) / HippFest Director Falkirk Community Trust

HippFest is organised by Falkirk Community Trust with key funding from Falkirk Council, supported by Film Hub Scotland part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI.

Our Festival Pass gives you unlimited access to all screenings and events in this year’s programme. The Pass is valid from 17-21 March inclusive plus all films and their intros will be available for 48 hours.

For just £20 enjoy five days of silent films from America, France, Germany, Russia, and the UK; post screening discussions, a Mary Pickford themed cook-along, talks, tours, a silent film quiz and so much more.

Concessions £5

Pay just £5 for your Festival Pass if you are under 18, unemployed in receipt of benefits, a full-time student, 65 and over, Young Scot cardholder or Falkirk Community Trust Go Card holders. Book using the concession code HIPPFEST5

Linlithgow Museum is happy to announce our fourth virtual talk:

Heritage of the Union Canal at Redding

We are delighted to welcome Danny Callaghan from the Linlithgow Union Canal Society (LUCS). The talk will be a journey on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Union Canal, focusing on a section of about 2 km starting near Polmont Railway Station and heading west. This small stretch of canal was a hub of industry and education including the Nobel Explosive works. And witnessed the Redding Pit Disaster, the worse pit disaster in Scotland.

Danny is an eighteen and a bit happily retired teenager! He has been a member of Linlithgow Union Canal Society for over 40 years and is currently the Curator of the only canal museum in Scotland. He lives in Reddingmuirhead in Falkirk only about 300 metres from the Union Canal, which is what sprung his interest in his local section of the Union Canal and its rich heritage.

If you would like more information about LUCS and the work they do, please visit their website at www.lucs.org.uk

Booking Information:

Tickets for the talk are £3, and all profits from the event will help keep Linlithgow Museum running in these difficult times.

After booking you will receive a confirmation email and the Zoom link to the talk will be sent out shortly beforehand. We look forward to you joining us.

Please note the event will be recorded and screenshots taken. If you do not wish to be recorded please turn off your camera when joining the talk.

Settle in and be transported to a new world of reimagined Scottish folktales, stories and myths this World Storytelling Day.

From the tale of Beira, the winter goddess who built mountains, to a mixed race and queer reimagining of Thomas the Rhymer, to a multicultural myth of the first fairies to arrive on the banks of the Clyde – we’re excited to share a set of unique stories that will enchant and inspire.

Hosted by award winning Scottish-Kenyan storyteller Mara Menzies (with a tale of her own to tell), we’ll be taking a 21st century look at some of Scotland’s oldest stories with guests:

• Kirsty Logan, LGBT Scottish novelist and poet
• Niall Moorjani, Scottish-Indian storyteller and writer
• Sunnah Khan, Scottish-Pakistani poet

This event will be livestreamed free via the Historic Environment Scotland Facebook page, Historic Scotland Facebook page and our Youtube channel.

The pre-recorded event, filmed in accordance with all Covid-19 regulations and guidance in place at the time of filming, will be available after the livestream via these channels.

Suitable for viewers aged 13+

Recorded at Oran Mor in Glasgow, this special online event sees Scottish singer-songwriter Barbara Dickson performing live versions of songs from her critically acclaimed new album “Time is Going Faster” alongside interview pieces with BBC Radio Scotland’s Nicola Meighan. After the postponement of Barbara’s 2021 UK tour, this unique event is a stop-gap for Barbara to connect with her fans before taking to the road again in 2022. Tickets £15 or £25 with CD/DVD

The Wild Webinar Series is brought to you by the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home Glasgow and Edinburgh team with contributions from partners, including support from ScotRail.

An evening seminar about eco-friendly gardening, with speakers from the RSPB, Propagate and Urban Roots.

About this Event

Has lockdown caused you to better appreciate the nature on your doorstep? Would you like to encourage more wildlife into your garden, making sure your efforts benefit both your own needs and those of the species around you that need your help? Then join us in this Green Gardening webinar!

Whether your garden space is large or small, lawn or concrete. Whether you live in the countryside, suburbs or in city flats – there are lots of simple steps you can take to bring wildlife to you. No matter whether you have a green thumb or are a complete gardening novice, come along to this session and together we’ll share experiences and explore lots of practical top tips that’ll make your garden a nature haven, for both you and wildlife to enjoy!

We’ll be joined by some fantastic speakers from brilliant community gardening projects around Glasgow, including Propagate and Urban Roots. Sharing their passion for nature and wildlife-friendly gardening, you will leave feeling informed and positively inspired to get stuck into some green gardening activities in your own gardens and communities. From planting pollinator-friendly plants, making the most of your window boxes and raised beds, reducing garden waste, avoiding harmful chemicals and creating homes for wildlife species, there will be plenty of fun and fulfilling activties for you to enjoy this Spring!

Perhaps you are parents looking for the next fun family activity to do in lockdown, community groups looking to enhance the biodiversity in your area, teachers looking for an environmental/outdoor lesson for the class, or individuals looking to experience blissful and mindful moments immersed in nature. Perhaps you’re someone else entirely! We would love to hear from you.

Please note: if you are under 16 you’ll need to ask your parents or guardians to log in with you, or a trusted adult that they recommend.

If you have any questions, please contact Elouise Cartner at Elouise.Cartner@rspb.org.uk

Matt Hume, Curator at Linlithgow Museum will explore West Lothian’s industrial past using a variety of images and maps.

Not just Shale! A variety of industries have flourished in West Lothian, attracted by natural resources and a central location. From tanning to quarrying, from steel founding to spinning, this talk will explore the impact of these industries on the area, its landscape and its people.

VASILY PETRENKO WITH JESS GILLAM

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and their Music Director Designate Vasily Petrenko return to the Royal Albert Hall stage this spring for the first of three concerts, all recorded at the Hall and brought directly to the comfort of your own home as a streamed performance.

Joining our Associate Orchestra for this opening concert is star saxophonist Jess Gillam: a passionate and dynamic performer who has achieved international recognition as a soloist, performing at events including the Last Night of the Proms and the BAFTAs.

A sensational programme awaits you – from Brazilian composer Villa-Lobos’ lively Fantasia filled with rhythmic vigour and flowing melodic lines to the thrilling RANT! written especially for Jess by her mentor, the legendary saxophonist John Harle. Framing these works will be two orchestral masterpieces that perfectly illustrate the exciting new partnership between the RPO and Vasily Petrenko.

WEBER Euryanthe Overture
VILLA–LOBOS Fantasia
HARLE, arr. Parkin RANT!
BRAHMS Symphony No.4

Vasily Petrenko Conductor
Jess Gillam Saxophone
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

The event will initially be broadcast on 28 March 2021. It will be available to view up to a week after the event has ended. If you have any questions please contact faneonline@fane.co.uk

Nicola Benedetti is one of the most sought-after violinists of her generation. Her ability to captivate audiences with her innate musicianship and spirited presence, coupled with her wide appeal as a high-profile advocate for classical music, has made her one of the most influential classical artists of today.

Nicola was already something of a veteran when in 2004 she was unanimously awarded the title of BBC Young Musician of the Year aged 16. She was just four years old when she first picked up a violin. Her natural affinity with the instrument coupled with the enticing potency of her Scottish-Italian heritage laid the foundations for early international success. Somehow or other she has managed to juggle that success (she was twice named ‘Artist of the Year’ at the Classical BRIT Awards) with a passion for music education. Not the dry academic variety but the kind which encourages ‘participation’ at all ages and all levels of accomplishment.

Benedetti is at once one of the sharpest and most searching musical minds in the business and a hugely charismatic communicator and in this exclusive streamed event she’ll be talking inclusivity, fearlessness, and the black magic of interpretation while sharing some choice musical recordings with the writer and presenter Edward Seckerson

The Wild Webinar Series is brought to you by the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home Glasgow and Edinburgh team with contributions from partners, including support from ScotRail.

Do you care about protecting nature? Would you like to meet with like-minded people and groups, to share ideas and inspiration on how to do this as an individual and wider community? Then this is the webinar for you!

Join us for this online Networking for Nature session, where we invite all community-based groups, projects and organisations that are interested in nature conservation, particularly across the greater Glasgow area, to come together under one virtual roof. Groups will have the opportunity to talk about their interests and aspirations, opening up opportunities for partnership working and the sharing of expertise to add value to our collective work for nature.

As well as building contacts, we will carry out some workshop activities to determine what main barriers exist in taking positive actions for nature in our communities, how these might be overcome and to highlight collective goals that exist across the nature network. For any other topics you would like to discuss, please let us know when you register to attend.

This nature networking meeting is fully inclusive; everybody with an interest in giving nature a home in their community is welcome and we would love to hear from you.

Please note: if you are under 16 you’ll need to ask your parents or guardians to log in with you, or a trusted adult that they recommend.

If you have any questions, please contact Elouise Cartner at Elouise.Cartner@rspb.org.uk

Classics from Glasvegas and songs from their up-and-coming new album, Godspeed, will be raising funds for the following Scottish charity heroes –

Canongate Youth
Have the beautiful vision for all children and young people to be safe, heard, nurtured and given opportunities to realise their potential. Unfortunately, this isn’t the norm for a lot of children and young people who have various challenges and barriers in their lives. Canongate give these children the chance to reach their potential.

Streetwork
Support people that are homeless or find themselves at risk of becoming homeless. One of the many things we love about Streetwork is their Street outreach programme. Streetwork literally go to the streets daily to find homeless people and offer those most in need, help.

Tiny Changes
Focus on children and young people, in the firm belief that it’s the right of every child to have good mental health and the opportunity to lead happy and fulfilled lives as adults. Tiny Changes are supporting worthwhile projects and from money raised, they are asking people to tell their stories as they have told theirs. They are pushing the boundaries to raise awareness of what needs to be done to make things better.

Be Kind Live are a not-for-profit events company (meant to be live events but the pandemic had other thoughts) arranging gigs and concerts in the music and comedy world with all profits being distributed to our incredible charity partners. We focus on raising funds for smaller charities that tend not to benefit from large amounts of public money.
Be Kind Live offer a great night out…or in during these times of COVID. A time and place to let your hair down and do something amazing by giving back to the community around us!

Tickets are £10 – Bargain!

Watch your ticket money make a massive difference to these three incredible causes!