1 Springfest
Lomond Shores, Balloch, Sat-Sun
This two-day feast of seasonal food and drink returns to the banks of Loch Lomond for a second year. With stalls from more than 70 suppliers lined up, the focus is on locally-sourced meat, poultry, fish and produce - but be sure to leave room for the huge range of on-the-go snacks, cakes and confectionary also on sale. Elsewhere, there’s entertainment spanning everything from children’s science shows to live music, plus the option to sign up for craft beer workshops, wild food walks and bushcraft sessions, as well as live recipe demonstrations and cooking masterclasses. www.lochlomondspringfest.co.uk
2 Edinburgh’s Toughest
Holyrood Park, Edinburgh, Sat
There are easier ways to make it to the top of Arthur’s Seat and back, but few will be as gruelling or as memorable as this fitness challenge, dubbed Edinburgh’s toughest uphill run. Starting and finishing at St Margaret’s Loch, the event follows the road up to Dunsapie Loch before heading cross-country for the final 731 feet up to the summit. Run, walk, or crawl the 4.21km route if you must, but be quick - there are only 300 entries (£16-£25), and registration ends tomorrow. www.ed-toughest.com
3 Granite
Marischal College Quadrangle, Aberdeen, Thu-Sat
This outdoor theatre extravaganza marks the grand finale of a winter multi-media arts project celebrating the past, present and future of Aberdeen. Devised by the National Theatre of Scotland and featuring an orchestra, aerialists, video projection and a cast including River City’s Joyce Falconer and Aberdeen panto stalwart Alan McHugh, each of three performances are being staged live in the quadrangle of Marischal College. A limited number of tickets are available to buy at His Majesty’s Theatre or The Music Hall from 9.30am on the day of each show for £5-£10. http://graniteaberdeen.com
4 Spring Break Activities
Glasgow Museums, daily
Each of Glasgow’s city council-run museums - which include the Riverside, Burrell Collection, and GoMA - offer a wealth of drop-in options for families to explore over the holidays. One of the most eagerly anticipated of these arrives this weekend with the unveiling of Pole To Pole, phase 1 of Kelvingrove Museum’s West Court re-display. Incorporating such new additions as a Serengeti animals display, an iconic albatross, and some real lemurs of Madagascar, as well as old favourites including Sir Roger the Elephant, entry is free. See full details on the museum holiday schedule at www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums
5 That’s Fife Comedy Festival
Across Fife, from Fri
Arriving hot on heels of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival comes another month of laughs in the Kingdom of Fife. As well as turns from household names such as Tom Stade, Ardal O’Hanlon, and Fred MacAulay, this year’s programme has everything from anarchic cookery and magic to classic comedy films. The opening weekend, meanwhile, has Scottish comedy legend Dorothy Paul, screenings of Dads Army and Whisky Galore and a live Gilded Balloon stand-up show with some of the circuit’s brightest stars. Tickets are on sale priced £5 to £20. www.onfife.com/fifecomedy
6 Nip Festival
Inverness, until Sat
Formerly known as Inverness Whisky Festival and sponsored by local distillery Tomatin, this annual week of tasting events and tours celebrating Scotland’s national drink culminates on Saturday with an afternoon of whisky and gin tasting at Bogbain Farm, just south of the city. Showcasing the wares of companies from all over the country plus masterclasses and live music, Saturday’s £40 festival ticket uncorks an opportunity to sample 10 different drams. Subject to availability, tickets are on sale until tomorrow. Over 18s only, of course. www.nipscotland.com
7 Affordable Vintage Fair
Edinburgh and St Andrew’s, Sat-Sun
A retro retailing double header this weekend, with the return of one of the UK’s largest vintage fashion marketplace events. Taking place in Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms on Saturday and the Students Association building in St Andrews for the first time on Sunday, each fair promises a plentiful supply of stylish and thrifty garments at bargain prices, along with an abundance of accessories, menswear, homewares and collectables, plus 1940s-style teas, and an ultra-low entry price of £2 (children free). www.judysvintagefair.co.uk
8 Aberdeen Holi Mela
Ashdale Hall, Aberdeen, Sun
Billed as one of the biggest Colour and Music festivals in Scotland, this annual day of multicultural celebration marking the arrival of spring is organised by the Indian Association of North East Scotland. Featuring a variety of food stalls, Bollywood DJs, and games, Sunday’s event will be capped by an all-important free-for-all featuring bags of brightly coloured dye powder being thrown at all and sundry. Open from noon, a limited number of tickets are available on the door for £5. http://ianes.org/th_event/aberdeen-festival-of-colours-2016-holi/
9 OM Yoga Show
SECC, Glasgow, Sat-Sun
A first ever visit to Scotland for this London-based yoga-themed lifestyle show, bringing inner peace and bodily relaxation to the masses over two days of open classes and specialist workshops with teachers from around the world. Along with attractions such as an inflatable hot yoga pod, a lecture area, and a dedicated children’s yoga studio, there will be more than 80 exhibitors showcasing range of yoga accessories, clothing, jewellery, super foods and retreats. Running from 10am on both days, tickets are £9 on the door (£7.50 concessions, accompanied under 16s free). www.omyogashow.com/glasgow
10 Sci Mart
Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat
Part of the Gastrofest strand of this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival programme, this special event is billed as a farmers’ market with a scientific twist. With food producers, researchers and chefs taking over the whole of the Summerhall arts hub for a day packed with of cooking demonstrations, short talks, and interactive stalls, Sci Mart aims to reveal the fascinating science behind favourite foodstuffs such as chilies and cheese. Under way from 11am, entry is £3.50, with under 12s free. www.sciencefestival.co.uk
Don’t Miss: Sen Den
Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, Sunday
GET out in the fresh air for an afternoon of family-friendly woodland fun at Glasgow’s largest park. Supervised by the Park Ranger Service, activities include fire lighting, den building and whittling. Admission is free and extra help is available for children with additional support needs, but be sure to book in advance on 0141 276 0927.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article