Spectacle of Light
Head along to Dalkeith Country Park to witness their new festive light experience. A visual extravaganza which takes you on a journey through woodland and gardens: take a trip through the Sky Maze or marvel at the kaleidoscope of illuminated parasols and trees playing host to giant mirror balls. The lights aren’t the only thing to keep you entertained throughout the evening, try out some of the food and drink from one of the winter cabins or head to the Restoration Yard store for Christmas shopping.
December 13-15 from 4-6.30pm
Tickets start from £9.90
Via King’s Gate, Dalkeith, EH22 1ST
Royal Literary Club
The Royal Literary Club are hosting their Literary Lunch next weekend. This lunch, which includes champagne on arrival and a three-course lunch, will hear talks from three guests. Herald columnist Rosemary Goring, whose latest book looks at the experiences of women in Scotland throughout history which, for so many years, had been hidden or forgotten. Roseanne Watt, a poet, filmmaker and musician hailing from Shetland whose debut collection contains poems built from the sight and sound of the land and the sea. The final speaker is Trevor Royle, a broadcaster and author who specialises in the history of war and empire.
December 10 from 12pm
Tickets are £50
The Royal Scots Club, 29-31 Abercromby Place, Edinburgh, EH3 6QE
A Christmas Fairy Trail
New for this year, an immersive theatrical experience makes its way to the Archerfield Walled Garden. Set along a 1.5km trail, immerse yourself in the world of fairies and forest folk with illusions, lighting and lasers around every corner. Some of the finest dancers and circus performers, as well as flying fairies, will be showing off their skills. There are light installations, interactive opticals and new visual elements added into the mix. This immersive light and theatrical extravaganza is one not to miss.
December 11-15 from 4-7pm
Tickets from £15
Archerfield Walled Garden, Archerfield Estate, Dirleton, East Lothian, EH39 5HQ
Glasgow Phoenix Choir: A Christmas Celebration
The choir will be performing their annual Christmas concert in the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, featuring special guests Whitburn Band, Inverclyde Voices and Inverclyde Schools’ Senior and Junior Choirs. This performance will be new conductor Cameron Murdoch’s first Royal Concert Hall performance with the choir. The choir’s recordings are regularly played on local and national radio stations, and they perform more than 20 concerts per year.
December 13 at 7.30pm
Tickets start at £11
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3NY
Inverness Choral Society
On Saturday, the Inverness Choral Society will be performing their annual Carolthon – a six-hour long marathon of continuous carol singing. This year, the choir have partnered with charity Befrienders Highland, which has more than 25 years' experience of providing support to members of the Highland community with mental health issues, memory loss or who are unpaid adult carers. Head along to hear Christmas carol favourites or for a break from all that tiresome Christmas shopping.
December 14 from 10.30am-4.30pm
Free
11 Eastgate, Inverness IV2 3PP
Junior Conservatoire Choral Showcase
Under the guidance of conductor Andrew Nunn, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s junior choir are hosting their choral showcase this weekend. The show features students aged 8-18 from across all five of the junior Conservatoire choirs and they will be performing in the Grand Hall of Glasgow City Halls. The programme includes a variety of festive songs to suit all tastes.
December 8 at 4.30pm
Tickets from £11.55
87-101 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1NQ
Bearsden Choir Concert
Join the Bearsden Choir at St John’s Renfield Church for their Christmas concert. Featuring music from Gabriel Faure, a French organist, composer, pianist and teacher. He composed Requiem in D minor in 1887, which is one of his more famous works, first performed in 1888, and performed here by the Bearsden Choir. The second work, Gloria, comes from Antonio Vivaldi, a priest, music teacher and virtuoso violinist. It was composed in Venice around 1715 for the choir of the Ospedale della Pieta.
December 12 at 7.30pm
Tickets from £10
St John’s Renfield Church, Beaconsfield Road, Glasgow, G12 0NB
Exhibition of Alexander Millar Paintings
Princes Square in Glasgow is home to only the third Alexander Millar gallery, with the other two in New York and Newcastle. The gallery will showcase a collection of originals, drawing and limited-edition prints from a variety of his portfolios. Collectors and fans will also have the opportunity to purchase rare and no longer available paintings by Millar and prints from his archive collection. Growing up in the Ayrshire village of Springside, a lot of his work references his Scottish roots. He will be stopping by in Glasgow regularly, so head along for a look at his work and the chance to meet the artist himself.
December 9 – 15 from 10am-7pm
Free
48 Buchanan Street, Glasgow City Centre, G1 3JN
The Lion King
Director Julie Taymor brings together the stage version of Disney’s spectacular movie – the Lion King. A cast of more than 40 actors brings to life the story using masks, puppets and striking costumes to tell the tale of young Simba’s epic adventures. The team of designers for the show have drawn on diverse cultural influences to recreate the rich colours and vast expanses of the African desert in this version of one of Disney’s most successful films.
December 9 – 15 from 2.30pm and 7.30pm
Tickets from £20
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18-22 Greenside Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3AA
Elf – A Christmas Spectacular
Everyone’s favourite Christmas film is transformed into a huge Christmas spectacular this December, as the Will Ferrell hit film Elf takes the stage. The show stars singer and Coronation Street actress Kym Marsh as well as EastEnders’ Shaun Williamson. The production takes place across three stages, so you’re always close to the action, and features a giant 30 foot-tall Christmas tree which the audience helps to decorate. So that you don’t miss any of the action, there’s huge TV screens relaying the action.
December 14-15
Tickets from £37.50
The SSE Hydro, SEC, Glasgow, G3 8YW
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