Paisley Beer Festival

Paisley Town Hall, until Saturday

This annual celebration of real ale, independent breweries and traditional pubs is the biggest of its kind in Scotland, and returns to Paisley's Town Hall until Saturday. Organised by the Renfrewshire branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), the event's line-up includes 160 real ales from around Scotland, a foreign beer bar stocked with bottles from across Europe, and a Lincolnshire-sourced English beer bar. Open from noon, entry is £6, with a £2 discount for Camra members. www.paisleybeerfestival.org.uk

Dead By Dawn

Filmhouse, Edinburgh, today until Sunday

The 21st edition of this annual international horror film festival starts tonight, bringing together a selection of the best new spine-chillers from Japan, Australia, France and the US, plus classics from the past - including the original Friday The 13th and a double from the legendary "Hitchcock of schlock", William Castle. While tickets for single screenings are available, the connoisseur's option is the access-everything £75 festival pass. For scare-loving insomniacs, there's also Spawn of Dawn - a marathon screening of five features and accompanying shorts from midnight on Saturday (£25). www.deadbydawn.co.uk

BUPA Great Edinburgh Run

Holyrood Park, Sunday

Speaking of feats of endurance, there should still be spaces available for one of the capital's biggest running events on Sunday. Clocking in at 10 miles rather than the more usual 10km distance, the new route starts and finishes in Holyrood Park, and takes in Meadowbank Stadium, the Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh Castle, with plenty of live music and entertainment along the way. Register online for £25, then pick up an entry pack from the info point in Holyrood Park, or sign up in person on Saturday. www.greatrun.org

Buzzcut Festival

Pearce Institute, Glasgow, today until Sunday

Something different in Govan, where the Pearce Institute is the setting for this grassroots arts festival, which returns for a third year. Unticketed and free, the idea is that you can turn up, wander around, take in a performance or two, before retiring to the site's pop-up cafe, which will be manned by bods from city centre vegan eatery Stereo. The bill includes about 50 performances, events, happenings and installations, spanning the spectrum from challenging and experimental to fun and accessible. The full programme is available from glasgowbuzzcut.wordpress.com

World Curling Championships

Dumfries Ice Bowl, from today

An alternative sporting double-do, with the simultaneous staging of the World Mixed Doubles and World Senior Curling Championships. After Team GB's successes at the Sochi Winter Olympics, the profile of the sport has rarely been higher, so this is a great chance to see what the fuss is all about in the flesh. Although the seniors event was staged in Glasgow in 2005, it's the first time the mixed event has been hosted in Scotland; both competitions run until Wednesday, with tickets available from £5.95. www.worldcurling.org

Celtic Food & Drink Festival

Scottish Crannog Centre, Kenmore, Sunday

Bring the Iron Age past to life with a full spread of forgotten staples including spit-roasted meats, clay-baked fish, foraged greens and heritage recipe brews. The event takes place at the Crannog Centre, an experimental museum built around the reconstruction of a 2500-year-old loch-dwelling, 18 of which lie preserved in Loch Tay today. As well as checking out exhibition and site tours, visitors can also hire log canoes by the hour. Entry costs are £6-£8, with a small supplementary charge for the Food Festival. www.crannog.co.uk

Dear Scotland

National Portrait Gallery, from April 24

This new National Theatre of Scotland-devised project explores the National Portrait Gallery collection with live performances of monologues by 20 Scottish writers, directly inspired by artworks on display. Among the playwrights, novelists and broadcasters contributing are Rob Drummond, Liz Lochhead, Hardeep Singh Kolhi, and AL Kennedy. The run lasts until a week on Saturday, and each night of the run has tours leaving at 10-minute intervals between 7.30 and 9pm. Tickets £10-£15, but be warned: they're already a touch on the scarce side. www.nationaltheatrescotland.com

Northern Streams

Grassmarket Centre, Edinburgh, Friday and Saturday

This mini music and culture festival celebrates the links between traditional music from Scandinavia and the British Isles. Taking place in the capital's new Grassmarket Centre for the first time, the format broadly encompasses workshops in singing, dancing and traditional instruments by day, and concerts from musicians and performers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Shetland and Northern England by night. Individual events cost from £5, and there's also a weekend ticket available for £27 (concession £21), giving access to two concerts and three workshops. www.northernstreams.org

Meet The Adventurers: Andy Brown

Riverside Museum, Glasgow, tomorrow

A chance to hear from Andy Brown, who cycled across Australia, Africa and South America in 364 days - part of a series of talks accompanying the Riverside Museum's new Adventurers display. On show until next year, the display focuses on the stories of five contemporary Scottish explorers. As well as the bike used by Brown, the display features bikes, maps, and equipment used by Ewan MacGregor, Mark Beaumont, Karen Darke, and Kate Rawles. Entry is free, with Saturday's talk under way at 2pm. www.glasgowlife.org.uk

European Festival of Brass

Perth, from Saturday

The best brass bands across Europe descend on Perth for the start of a week-long international event incorporating the European Brass Band Championships, the European Youth Brass Band Contest, and the 6th European Soloist Competition. Venues include Perth Concert Hall and Scone Palace, and many individual events are free. The opening weekend also has a number of pop-up concerts scheduled around Scotland: on Saturday, look out for the Jedforest Instrumental Band at various venues in the Borders, and the Clackmannan District Brass Band playing around the Stirling area. www.europeanfestivalofbrass2014.com