15 May, 2009

Your Ultimate Festival Experience


Image: Gelabert Azzopardi, Photo: Outumuro.

We’re running a competition to find the Ultmate Festival Experience at Edinburgh International Festival 2009!

Submit your Ultimate Festival Experience in 500 words or less and you’ll go in the draw to win a Festival 09 prize pack comprised of two CD box-sets of Handel's 'Acis and Galatea' Bach's 'Matthew Passion' (provided by Dunedin Consort who perform as part of our Bach at Greyfrairs series), a limited edition Festival 09 Edinburgh Toile cotton bag and a pair of tickets to the music recital event of your choice at Usher Hall or Queen's Hall (subject to ticket availability).

Email your entry along with the subject heading ‘Ultimate Festival Experience’ to marketing@eif.co.uk. The best entries and the winner will be posted here on our Festival Insider Blog.

To get you started, here is an example of an Ultimate Experience at Edinburgh International Festival 2009:

“Why not start your day with some breakfast in the New Town and take a stroll through Princes St Gardens. Next, make your way to the Queen’s Hall for one of the world’s leading classical music recitals from the likes of Hopkinson Smith or the Scottish Ensemble and Tenebrae.

After the performance, explore the cobblestoned streets of the Old Town on your way to the
Collective Gallery in Cockburn Street and the Talbot Rice Gallery at the University of Edinburgh to experience our visual arts exhibition, The Enlightenments.

Next, immerse yourself in the festive buzz of the Royal Mile and admire the city skyline from the top of Castlehill. Head to
The Hub, sit outside in the sun and grab a bite to eat or a drink from the café's delicious summer menu before joining one of our Conversations with Artists or Behind the Scenes talks and workshops led by the artists and companies such as Malcolm Martineau, Andreas Staier or Scottish Ballet.

In the late afternoon, why not head to the
King’s Theatre and catch one of the plays celebrating the works of Irish playwright Brian Friel in our Gate Theatre residency? Alternatively, experience an early evening concert at the ambient Greyfriars Kirk from ensembles such as the European Union Baroque Orchestra or the Dunedin Consort.

In the early evening treat yourself to a meal of fresh Scottish produce at The Hub or one of the many gourmet restaurants around Festival venues. After that experience some of the very best drama, dance, music or opera – the choice is yours! At the
Edinburgh Festival Theatre choose from opera such as Actus Tragicus from Staatsoper Stuttgart and Admeto, re di tessaglia or contemporary dance from Gelabert-Azzopardi Companiya de Dansa. At The Edinburgh Playhouse take your pick from works including Diaspora from TheatreWorks Singapore, The Return of Ulysses from the Royal Ballet of Flanders or New Work choreographed by Michael Clark.

There are also many evening theatre shows at the
Royal Lyceum Theatre including Rona Munro’s The Last Witch and symphonic concerts and recitals at the Usher Hall including soloists such as Sir Willard White and Bryn Terfel.

If you still haven’t satisfied your Festival craving by this stage of the day, head back to
The Hub for our Caledonia Sessions, a series of performances exploring the musical scene in Scotland in the 18th Century, and then have a pint of ale or a wee whiskey at a thriving Festival venue such as the Traverse Theatre.

Finally, collapse into bed and have sweet dreams about your Ultimate Festival Experience. Then wake up early and do it all again – the possibilities are endless!”

2 comments:

Barnett said...

While it sounds interesting, the Festival for 2009 has not taken place as of yet, so we don't know the quality of the performances.

I believe it would have been smarter to have an essay about previous festivals we attended. After all, we could vouch to their merit and how it gave form to the Festival.

That's my two cents for all it's worth.

Edinburgh Holiday Lets said...

This is a fantastic idea - a great way to encourage people to share what they want from the Edinburgh International Festival. We'll Twitter this feed!

If anyone is looking for quality accommodation during their stay in the festival city of Edinburgh, look no further than Edinburgh Holiday Lets to finish off your ultimate festival experience.

http://www.edinburghholidaylets.co.uk