The Merchant City Festival

So here I go - yet another spectacular event Glasgow has to offer. Luckily all these events are being held in the summer, where we are promised better weather! This 4 day festival is one I would again recommend not to miss. Although it offers the same ideas as the West End Festival - the two are completely different. Each year the festival seems to expand - bringing enjoyment, warmth and laughter  to its attendees.

"Each year we build and expand upon the year before - this year both nationally and internationally - ensuring the programming stays fresh, innovative and exciting - and above all else, unique to Glasgow."(website)



The Merchant City welcomed 70,000 visitors last year and I was one of them. This quarter of Glasgow with its vibrant scene offered opera, acrobats, stalls, live music, street acts, food drink. EVERYTHING. In a new approach to programming the Festival, Glasgow Life has been appointed by the Merchant City Festival Committee to create a broader ownership and involvement in the Festival among the local businesses and arts organisations. This year you'll be mad not to miss something new and exciting. To get all the latest information there is a page to sign up to for email alerts of what will be happening with the event in 2011. Click Me!

Short and sweet from me. After a few festivals which offer a lot, I will be going on to talk about a more specific event next time. And remember any comments will be welcomed with open arms.

Populating The West End

   The West End Festival is the biggest event in Glasgows calendar. Being placed in the top 30 European festivals by the Guardian, this must be doing pretty well for itself. The main attraction for this festival is the mardi-grass which is the centre of the 16 day long festival. I have attended this event since I was only a toddler so both my opinions and expectations are very high. The centre parade has been compared to as the second largest Mardi Grass following Notting Hills carnival event in Glasgow. With over 40 indoor and out-door venues with hundreds of activities and shows... Glasgow should be proud to host such a fantastic event!



The Glasgow Mela

AKA - The O2 Glasgow Mela

Melas are south Asian events which have spread around the world from the south Asian subcontinent. Mela means 'gathering' and can describe festival, market, trade event, religious gathering and more. Mela are celebrated with music, dance, theatre, fashion, food and stalls, these are days for the whole family, to join in and embrace south Asian culture. According to the official website

"Nothing compares to the energy, vibrancy and colour of the O₂ Glasgow Mela – shimmering saris, fabulous food, and inspiring music and dance are just some of the sights and sounds of this amazing free entry summer event."

Offical Logo

This event is in the heart of cultures - this is what globalisation has profoundly led to, celebrating and learning about new exciting cultures. The event was originally created in 1990 as part of the European Culture Festival but has now torn away from this, building up to be one of Glasgow's most celebrated cultural events. Now we are going to be hosting this event for the 21st year, where we will see the event expanding  over two days with even more music and entertainment for a diverse group of people. Being brought up with close family friends from India I have been taken here again from a young age. I feel like every year it has expanding - BIGGER & BETTER! But hopefully they will be able to pull off maintaining high standards over these two days. Here is a clip from 2010 which highlights how special this event truely is.

As the event will be celebrating its 21st birthday there will be a fantastic mix of cultural music, dance, interactive arts, food and sports all lined up for the event. The chosen venue this year will be Kelvingrove park as it was last year - I feel in the right weather this is just the perfect venue for entertainment and stalls. Although the acts have not yet been announced keep in with their facebook page for the latest live news feeds.

Feel free to have a peep next week where I will be exploring yet another Festival in Glasgow - who says that Glasgow is a lifeless city would be very wrong!!

Scottish Fashion Awards

Wednesday 15th June 2011

After reading about this event in the Sunday Herald Magazine the other day, I thought I would give you my opinions on this huge fiesta - SCOTTISH FASHION AWARDS. This Scottish based event features creative talents world wide but more importantly fresh Scottish talent. The event is known worldwide for its many celebrity attendees crammed on to huge - not red - but tartan carpet! These awards will be making their way to Glasgow's Science Centre - a futuristic venue which will be used to its full advantage. The press have taken a huge attraction to this event which has made it all more known. From More Magazine to the Daily Record.

Press involved with SFA

I thought I would add a bit to this seeming that the judges have now been announced for the event in June. These judges include big names such as; Nathalie Colin  the Creative Director of Swarovski; Dolly Jones, the Editor of Vogue.com and Brian Duffy, the President of Ralph Lauren Europe. With big shot names like this, Scotland is doing pretty well for itself. The panel is joined by a selection of global brands and partners including Mercedes-Benz, Swarovski and Tony and guy.

This is one Glitz and Glam event I would love to be attending. I will leave you with their official facebook page for live news feeds and a clip from 2010 which I feel sums up the event. As we're on exciting events in the summer I will be giving you my thoughts and finds on the Mela O2 Festival within the next few days.. Get excited!

Live News Feed

Books Galore

This festival - a bit less technological than the Film Festival but not less known is appreciated by everyone in society. AyeWrite has been running for 6 years now and is only improving as the years go on. The event has already been a few days in but I thought I would give you my thoughts and opinions of it so far incase theres anything that may be of interest. Ayewrite has from day one been held in one of Europes largest reference libraries: The Mitchell Library; a spacious, distinctive building built accross 5 floors.

The line up this year has celebrated the full spectrum of writing Glasgow has to offer but not forgetting the feature of Scottish and international authors also. This is what gives this event its cultural edge and variety. This variety is also shown in the wide mix genres covered throughtout the festival; fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, crime, comedy, politics and debate. Similar to the GFF, throughout the book festival there are many activities which succeeded in trying to attract the all different cultures from around Glasgow and surrounding areas, especially the younger generations. These activities included debates, author talks, workshops, creative reading/writing events, young peoples book discussions and even musical events. I will leave you with a direct link to the official website for this year and next year.

                                                                           AyeWrite!


Next week I'll be presenting you with my opinions on The Scottish Fashion awards - which Glasgow is proudly hosting this year. See you then.