SUMMER FESTIVALS MMER FESTIVALS WEIRD & WONDERFUL F E S T T I P S # 5 ## Fe s t i v a l l i n g i n S c o t l a n d ? WAT E R P R O O F S U N C R E A M .
Ballater Victoria Week
I
V E N D E T T A V A N B Y M S S R A N P H O T O G R A P H Y
I
I
F e s t i v a l o f t h e E r o t i c A r t s
Where: Various venues across Ballater, Aberdeenshire, Sat 4–Sun 12 Aug, victoriaweek.org Price: Free–£10.
Where: Various venues in Edinburgh 22–24 June, erotic-arts.co.uk Price: £40 (£35) weekend ticket; single event tickets available.
Line-up: Aboyne Hip Hop Juniors, Guarana Drummers, An Evening of Clairvoyance with Maureen Smith Line-up: Kabarett with MC Ophelia Bitz, Torture Garden Edinburgh, Beginners’ Fusion Bondage Workshop, Sex Blogging talk, multi-media cabaret with ArtWank!
This annual celebration, ostensibly held to commemorate Queen Victoria’s accession, features a range of community-focused events which are eclectic to say the least, including a scarecrow competition and parade, a duck race, mud- pie making and messy play sessions, a ghost tour, an evening of clairvoyance and a pet show, with prizes for Waggiest Tail, Most Like Owner and Most Regal Expression. Quite what all this has to do with Queen Vic, we’re not sure, but it sounds like a riot. The website features a portrait of the august monarch that, when hovered over, bears the legend: ‘Be Amused!’ Who are we to disobey? (Niki Boyle)
Unless there’s a mudslide at T in the Park, this new festival looks to be the dirtiest of the year. Bambi-eyed beginners are in safe hands, though, with an elementary bondage workshop providing a practical grounding in at-home kink (safety scissors provided). Elsewhere there’s a spread of erotic exhibitions, talks, fi lms, spoken word and sexy arts and crafts and, for the more adventurous, a rare visit from fetish club night Torture Garden. We, of course, will be going only for the lectures – out of a purely academic interest, you understand. (Charlotte Runcie)
M a r y m a s s
I
I
L C N U O C E R H S R Y A H T R O N
Where: Various venues in Irvine, 11–22 Aug, irvineayrshire.org/ marymass Price: Free–£20.
Line-up: Continental market, Benny Gallagher, The Hot Seats, folk music festival Irvinites amass again for Ayrshire’s enviably wild celebration of its cultural roots. With traditional exhibitions, costumes and events, the festival’s ancestry dates back to the 17th century. The annual ‘sashing of the Queen and her four Marys’ (a kind of Stuart period prom queen coronation) begins the occasion on 11 Aug. Be sure not to miss out on the often fi ercely controversial open domino competition (12 Aug) and duck race (13 Aug). Though the highlight is, of course, the greasy pole – a competition in which men attempt to climb the eponymous lubricated totem to retrieve a ham stuck to the top. Competitors will be hoping to emulate the Roger Federer of greasy pole climbing, Burt Dickson, who, according to the Marymass website, ‘scaled the pole so many times they thought of giving him the pole and the ham to keep’. (Andrew Latimer)
WANT MORE FESTIVALS? Get hold of The List’s complete Guide to Scotland’s Festivals at shop.list.co.uk/guides. It’s free! Log onto list.co.uk/ festivals for info on all of Edinburgh’s summer festivals
Or see a complete list of summer food events at list. co.uk/events
LEEDS/READING FRI 24–SUN 26 AUG LEEDS/READING
Pick your favourite for this bi-locational festival. Artists include Kasabian, The Cure and The Foo Fighters hopping
between the two sites.
ELECTRIC PICNIC FRI 31 AUG–SUN 2 SEP CO LAOIS, NEAR DUBLIN The luck of the Irish means Patti Smith, The Cure and Elbow will be attending this musical picnic. Sandwiches
END OF THE ROAD FRI 31 AUG–SUN 2 SEP LARMER TREE GARDENS,
NORTH DORSET
Named because of its dates and not a refl ection on the festival’s career path, acts
BESTIVAL THU 6–SUN 9 SEP
ROBIN HILL COUNTRY PARK, ISLE OF WIGHT Not to be outdone on big names, Bestival reels in the exclusive Stevie Wonder for
not included.
include Grizzly Bear, The Low his only UK festival date.
LOOPALLU FRI 21–SAT 22 SEP
ULLAPOOL
Tickets tend to sell out before the line up is
even announced, so take your chance to discover Scotland’s best new music.
Anthem and Beach House.
44 THE LIST 24 May–21 Jun 2012