The Edinburgh Festivals Part Two

In part one of this article five of the festivals that Edinburgh offers were discussed. There are still four more festivals to visit during August 2007 if you can fit them into your schedule.

Kicking off on the 10^th of August is the Edinburgh International Festival. It draws visitors from all over the world and presents a program packed with dance, music, theater, and opera. Highlights of this year's festival are operas such as Capriccio, Candide, Orpheus and Oedipus Rex, and L'Orfeo. Theater events include Poppea, The Bacchae, La Didone, Beowulf, Orpheus X, and Optical Identity. Some of the musical performances that will be featured are The Tiger Lillies, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, The Tallis Scholars, and the Bank of Scotland Fireworks Concert.

That is not all for the Edinburgh International Festival though. There will be dance performances by The Scottish Ballet, Impressing The Czar, On Danse, and the Trisha Brown Dance Company. As for visual arts, the Jardins Publics will be open from Friday, August 10^th to Sunday, September 2^nd. The official website for the Edinburgh International Festival is www.eif.co.uk

By now you may think every form of art has been covered by one of Edinburgh's festivals, but don't forget the books! The Edinburgh International Book Festival begins on August 11^th. This is the world's biggest book festival. It presents a varied program for all ages, children and adults alike, and includes discussions, workshops, lectures, readings, and debates. The official list of events will be announced on June 14^th 2007. All events of the Book Festival take place in Charlotte Square Gardens, Edinburgh. To see a listing of events, check www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/book/

Recently it was announced that actress Tilda Swinton would join Sean Connery as a patron of The 61^st Annual Edinburgh International Film Festival. The festival will run from August 11^th through August 26^th. The program for the festival will be announced on July 11^th and the box office opens July 13^th. For the most up to date information on the program, check out their website at www.edfilmfest.org.uk/

Scotland's biggest multicultural arts festival is Mela. The website for Mela, www.edinburghfestivals.co.uk/mela/, promises details for 2007's festivities will be coming soon. The roots of this fete lie in South Asian cultures, but there is something for everyone. Visitors find themselves in a bazaar filled with exotic smells, colorful costumes, arts, crafts, acrobats, and people from all over the world.

The festivals discussed in these two articles all take place during the late summer, but they are not the only festivals that Edinburgh has to offer. Travelers may want to check out Edinburgh's Hogmanay, which is the Scottish New Year. Enjoy a few drinks, fireworks and four days of fun events including Ceilidh in the Garden, and of course, the kissing of complete strangers.

Edinburgh truly has festivals to cater to any interest.