edinburgh people's festival     

23 April 2008
Seamus Milne To Speak
At May Day March

The award winning investigative journalist Seamus Milne will be among the speakers at this years Edinburgh May Day march.

Mr Milne, whose book ‘The Enemy Within’ sensationally exposed MI5 infiltration of the National Union of Mineworkers during the 1845 strike, has accepted an invitation to address the city’s annual labour movement celebration.

Edinburgh May Day organiser Colin Fox believes there will be great interest in what Mr Milne has to say.

“Seamus Milne is an outstanding writer and campaigner for social justice and has been for many years. We are delighted he has agreed to travel from London to participate in our annual May Day celebrations. I am sure such an acclaimed journalist will have much to say about the state of the world today. And I am equally sure there are many people in the Lothians who will want to hear him.”

7 April 2008
International Speakers Head to City for May Day Parade

Organisers of the this years Edinburgh May Day parade, celebrating international solidarity and socialism, today announced the guest speakers for the event which takes place on Saturday 3rd May.

The march this year will be led by Pat Arrowsmith from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Colombian trade union leader Aida Avella.

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11 March 2008
Award Winning EPF Exhibition Set to Debut in Craigmillar

The Edinburgh People’s Festival, which last month won two awards worth £8,000 for its exhibition on the 50 year history of the groundbreaking arts project, announced today that the show will take place in the ‘Artspace’, Craigmillar.

People’s Festival Chairman Colin Fox thanked the ‘Artspace’ management committee for agreeing to host the week long exhibition saying:

“I am grateful to the management committee at ‘Artspace’ for making such fantastic facilities available for our exhibition. Craigmillar is in many ways the spiritual home of the Edinburgh People’s Festival.”

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6 March 2008
EPF Secures Lottery Funding For Historic Exhibition

The Edinburgh People’s Festival [EPF] has secured National Lottery funding for an exhibition on its 50 year history.  The ‘Awards for All’ Fund has agreed to provide £5,000 towards the cost of the show to be held in August this year.

People’s Festival Chairman Colin Fox welcomed the news and expects to announce details of the venue for the exhibition in the next couple of days on the website.  ‘This award from the National Lottery is terrific news for the Edinburgh People’s Festival.  Our organisation has grown in leaps and bounds in recent months and we are delighted that the ‘Awards For All’ fund has recognised the great merit in our proposal.’

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4 March 2008
Last Spanish Civil war veteran from Scotland dies
MayDay Committee Presentation To Stevie Fullarton
L-R Colin Fox, Stevie Fullarton, Craig MacLean, Ronnie Fullarton (son)

The death of Stevie Fullarton, the last surviving Scot to fight in the Spanish civil war [1936-38] represents the end of an era and breaks an important human link in the struggles of the socialist movement internationally.  Stevie was born in the east end of Glasgow in 1920 and joined the Communist Party as a teenager.  He left Glasgow at the age of seventeen and smuggled himself into Spain via France because he was outraged at the sight of Franco’s fascists threatening the elected Republican government.

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Foundation Backs EPF

The Edinburgh People’s Festival has received important financial backing from an influential UK foundation. The Barry Amiel and Norman Melburn Trust based in London aims to ‘advance public education, learning and knowledge in all aspects of the working class movement’. The Trust has awarded the Edinburgh People’s Festival £3,000 towards the cost of an exhibition to be staged later this year.

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AL Kennedy Wins Top Prize

Edinburgh People’s Festival Chairman Colin Fox today sent his warmest congratulations to Scots author AL Kennedy on winning the 2008 Costa’s Book of the Year Award.

Alison Kennedy performed at last years Edinburgh People’s Festival (EPF). Speaking today from New York she expressed her thanks to the EPF both for their kind message and their past support and wished the organisation continued success.

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Alternative Burns Supper

On January 25th 2008, an evening of music,comedy, traditional food, discussion and socialising.

'Celebrate the Radical' with Bruce Morton, acclaimed comic, storyteller and social commentator and Patrick Scott Hogg, a leading authority on the writing and life of Burns.

For tickets, £7 (£4 unwaged) contact:
Kevin on 0774 714 8764

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Charitable Status Secured

The Edinburgh People’s Festival has reached yet another important milestone by becoming Scotland’s newest registered charity.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator [OSCR] this week acknowledged that the People’s Festival meets the criteria laid down in sections 7 and 8 of the Charity and Trustees Investment [Scotland] Act 2005. It has further confirmed that the purposes of the People’s Festival - ‘the advancement of education, the arts, science, heritage and culture’ - mean it can now be entered onto the Scottish Charity Register.

Edinburgh People’s Festival spokesman Colin Fox believes their achievement will put the arts group on even stronger foundations.

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Russian Revolution
Booklet Launch

The Edinburgh People’s Festival has published a booklet to mark the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution. The booklet entitled ‘What the Russian Revolution means to me?’ will be launched at Word Power Books on Wednesday night [12th Dec 2007 at 7pm].

People’s Festival spokesman Colin Fox believes the publication marks another stage in the progress of the project which began in 2002 to promote a ‘for the people, by the people’ approach to the arts in the city. The idea for the book, he told us, arose out of an event the People’s Festival held in October with the Oscar nominated playwright Trevor Griffiths.

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The launch will take place on at 7pm on Wednesday 12th of December, at Word Power Books, 43-45 West Nicolson Street, Edinburgh.

Come and join us for this festive last EPF event of the year!

October 2007
Edinburgh Peoples Festival Incorporated

The Edinburgh Peoples Festival was incorporated on the 18th October 2007. The EPF was inspired by the original aims of the Edinburgh Festival, namely, a celebration of the arts 'for the people, by the people'. We want to include all the people. We want to celebrate the work of the original Edinburgh People's Festival 1951- 54 and acknowledge the contribution made by Councillor Jack Kane and the lately departed Hamish Henderson.

The vast majority of the population of Edinburgh don't engage with the present Edinburgh Festival. That's why we relaunched the Edinburgh People's Festival in 2002. That, and respect for Hamish Henderson, who died earlier in 2002.

September 2007
Russian Revolution 90th Anniversary Celebrated

The People’s Festival is presenting an evening to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Russian Revolution at the Stand Comedy Club.

The Oscar nominated playwright, Trevor Griffiths – he co-wrote the film 'Reds' with Warren Beatty - will take part in a Q & A session on the significance of the revolution and the making of the film 'Reds'.

There will also be an evening of comedy and music. Stand up comedian, Vladimir McTavish -aka Paul Sneddon - will be leading the comedy. Alistair Hulett's new band 'The Malkies' will be making their debut appearance and providing the music.