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West End Festival Kicks Off Today – Friday 3 June, 2016

West End Festival kicks off today on 21st anniversary

 
Scotland’s largest community festival, the West End Festival (WEF), kicks off today (Friday, 3 June).Artist and hut designer, *Adrian Wiszniewski was on hand at the launch of the Ideal Hut Show in the Botanic Gardens, part of the Festival of Architecture 2016. The Ideal Hut Show is included in the WEF programme and will run throughout the festival, Friday 3 to Sunday 26 June.
 
As the WEF celebrates its 21st anniversary, Glasgow favourites Belle and Sebastian celebrate their 20th anniversary, with a special line-up of events throughout the festival month, including screenings at the Grosvenor Cinema and gigs at Oran Mor and the GUU.
 
The Kelvingrove Bandstand will also play host to some special music events including Glasgow Life, which presents the Summer Arts Community Stage, Voice@ The Bandstand and the West End Festival Fiesta.
 
Local gala days include the Gibson Street Gala on 19 June, Vinicombe Street party on 5 June, Wilton Street Garden Fete on 11 June and Queen Margaret Drive on 5 June. Queen Margaret Drive will also hold its Big Lunch on 12 June.
 
Glasgow Fiddle Workshop’s annual outdoor ceilidh will take place on Sunday 12 June at Kelvingrove Art Gallery – last year over 200 people attended!

As always, the WEF features a great line-up of singing events, including City of Glasgow Chorus with ‘Come and Sing’ on Saturday 4 June at Hyndland Parish Church and The Mackintosh Choir ‘Sing into Summer’ on Sunday 19 June at St. John’s Renfield Church.
 
Liz Scobie, WEF chairman commented:

“Our 21st anniversary programme is truly fantastic, with over 400 events in over 80 venues across the west end of Glasgow.

“Of course, this year we’re disappointed not to have our annual Festival Sunday on Byres Rd featuring the Mardi Gras parade, however, we launched our fundraising campaign for members of the public and local businesses to donate to help bring back Festival Sunday next year. We aim to reach £50,000 by March 2017.”

Festival organisers have stressed that as the festival is a charity and run by volunteers the community needs to work together to help bring back the much loved day, normally held on the opening weekend of the festival.
 
Michael Dale, festival director, added:

“Who can believe it’s been a continuation of wonderful summer events since 1996! I have fond memories of the first Belle and Sebastian concert we ran in the Botanic Gardens in 2004!

This is a special year for us but it’s also fairly significant in the way we look to run a sustainable community event going forward.

The Ideal Hut Show is a fantastic major travelling exhibition which will run throughout the festival in the Botanic Gardens. We’re excited to see what the designers and architects have come up with!”
 
The quirky installation includes 18 garden sheds, transformed by top architects and designers from across the UK including Kelpies designer Andy Scott.  Other highlights include a tartan hut and an ‘exploded axonometric’ which is just as dramatic as it sounds.  The hut by the late David Mackay (1933 – 2014) is a very poignant reflection on the refugee crisis.

All event listings can be found on the festival website.

West End Festival 2016 – Festival Highlights

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