Around Town

WestFest returns this weekend (Sunday 1 – Sunday 29 June) with more than 150 events showcasing the culture and community of Glasgow’s West End. From exhibitions, workshops and screenings to live music and theatrical performances, all events take place across more than 60 venues. A particular highlight of this weekend is the Ashton Lane Opening Street Party, featuring food, DJs and family fun.

Take in the beginnings of Summer with Remembering The Gardens Of Childhood (Sunday 1 June) led by ecologist Ian Edwards. Ambling through the gardens off the Royal Mile, visitors will learn the antidote for stinging nettle, the edible plants hiding in every garden, how to make the perfect daisy chain, plus plenty of plant lore.

Prepare your poodle skirts and don your dagger collars for B’s Summer Bonanza Vintage Market (Sunday 1 June). More than 20 pop-ups will be selling lovingly curated vintage clothing at Out Of The Blue Drill Hall, ranging from 1920s flapper sophistication (and earlier!) to y2k glamour.

Music

Folk artists from around the world are coming together at The Queen’s Hall for A Night For MAP (Friday 30 May), the proceeds of which go towards Medical Aid For Palestinians. Artists include British folk band LAU, jazz and folk fusion artist Fergus McCreadie and more.

Òran Mór presents A Night Of American Folk Music with Americana singer-songwriters Eli Waltz and Korina Zambrano, two artists whose musical roots lie in old-school American folk. Waltz and Zambrano excel in poetic, evocative lyricism and musical storytelling. 

If you’re not so much into folk, rapper Tyler, The Creator’s world tour is making a stop at the OVO Hydro (Friday 30 & Saturday 31 May). The tour promotes his latest album, Chromakopia, which blends hip-hop, jazz, and soul, and the set-list promises a mix of new tracks and fan favourites. 

Stage

It’s the last night before the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, and he finds himself baring his soul to a motel worker delivering room service. The Mountaintop opens at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre (Saturday 31 May), exploring life, death and legacy. 

For something a bit lighter, head to the Festival Theatre where Scottish Opera is blending classic Victorian entertainment with an all-new comedy. In this double bill, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial By Jury is followed by the world premiere of A Matter Of Misconduct, an operetta set in the press room of Number 9 Downing Street (Friday 30 May – Friday 6 June). 

Catch Nathan A Harris’ new reimagining of A Slight Ache at CCA Glasgow on Friday 30 May. When an old match-seller appears at the bottom of their garden, married couple Flora and Edward must confront anxieties about ageing, jealousy and the unknown.

Screen

Taking place across Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Latin Connections Film Festival (until Saturday 14 June) is bringing cinema from all over Latin America (and beyond) to Scotland. This weekend’s offering is Into The Void (Saturday 31 May), a collection of Brazilian shorts centred around resistance, solidarity and politicised bodies.  

The Glasgow Telly Festival continues (until Sunday 1 June) with free one-minute pilot screenings in pubs across the city. Get in touch with your inner critic and help decide which of these telly teasers should be commissioned for a full season. 

Acclaimed theatre director Marianne Elliot makes her feature debut with The Salt Path, a new film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs. After losing their home and receiving a fatal diagnosis, a married couple embark on a trek along the South West Coast Path. In cinemas from Friday 30 May. 

Visual Art

Myths Of The New Future is a multimedia exhibition exploring the anxieties and tensions of everyday urban life. Bringing together works by five different artists, the exhibition will run at Glasgow’s The Common Guild (until Saturday 12 July).

Joseph Buhat’s new woodcut and screenprint, Lifting The Veil, launches at Edinburgh Printmakers (Friday 30 May) and will be on display through June. His work examines personal transformation and the loss and growth that comes with it.

Meanwhile Edinburgh’s City Art Centre casts its gaze backwards with John Bellany: A Life In Self-Portraiture (opens Saturday 31 May). This new exhibition showcases more than 80 self-portraits of one of Scotland’s most significant painters, including never-before-seen works.