At a Glance: West End Festival 2013

The West End Festival is back! It hasn’t been smooth sailing but, as we reported earlier in the year, it’s going to better than ever with the triumphant return of the Byres Road Parade, all thanks to a generous £15,000 donation from itison.com founder and local lad Oli Norman.

The festival starts tomorrow (May 31st) and runs right the way through to the end of June. There’s going to be TONS to do over the 4 weeks, so much in fact that you couldn’t possibly see everything, so let Get Out Glasgow take you through the bits you simply don’t want to miss!

The Quirky West End Walking Tour (Friday 31st May, 7pm)

Why do many of us love the “quirkiness” of the West End? And what does this mean anyway? Join Ann Laird of Friends of Glasgow West to investigate some of the places and buildings that consistently charm and delight visitors and residents, and consider the range of influences that may determine their future. Tickets can be purchased from Barretts Newsagent on Byres Road for £7.

Gibson Street Gala (Sunday 2nd June, 12pm - 6pm)

This very Sunday is undoubtedly one of the best days of the entire festival. Gibson Street closes down for the whole of the afternoon and the entire population of the West End descends to spend their hard earned on baked goods and useless (but beautiful) tat. This year’s gala also boasts a host of other activities besides the main stalls, including 2 stages featuring numerous local bands, acts and performers throughout the day. Expect a lot of local businesses to be opening their doors to the masses and hosting smaller events of their own.

Festival Sunday Parade (Sunday 9th June, 12pm - 7pm)

Similar, in many ways, to last week’s Gibson Street Gala, but bigger and better in almost every way! Expect Byres Road to be busier than you’ve probably every seen it with revellers lining both sides of the street to enjoy the impressive Mardi-Gras parade, and pouring into Kelvingrove Park afterwards for hours of festivites. Just pray to the sun gods that it’s not going to be washout!

The whole street will be closed from 8am, there will be food and drink, stalls and entertainment, and the Parade with costumes and samba bands will set off from the Botanic Gardens at 3pm, arriving at the foot of Byres Road at 3.45pm and Kelvingrove Park at 4.15pm. As well as the Parade there will be activities such as Ceilidh on the Corner, Seafood Showcase and much more! (Route: Botanic Gardens, Byres Road (north), Byres Road (south), Dumbarton Road in front of the Art Galleries, into Kelvin Way and ending inside Kelvingrove Park.)

Lansdowne International Film Festival (Every Sunday, 6.30pm)

Forget about Cannes! Every Sunday evening in June the Lansdowne will be screening a selection of international film in the Glasshouse. Each week will feature different world cinema from anime to arthouse with a bit of Bollywood for good measure! Free popcorn for all plus two pizzas for £10 will make this an excellent and affordable way to expand your cultural horizons.

Glasgow Science Festival (Thursday 6th June - Sunday 16th June)

Now in its 7th year, the Glasgow Science Festival is starting to become pretty well established. This is actually a city-wide festival which just so happens to coincide with the WEF’s dates, but you can’t afford to overlook it. The theme this year is “Glasgow Naturally” and will feature a number special events including meeting birds of prey to the floating lab on the Forth and Clyde Canal! Explore everything from astrophysics to zoology through cinema, live comedy, exhibitions and hands-on activities in 34 venues around the city.

Big Band Festival (Thursday 6th June, 7pm)

WEF’s first ever Big Band Festival - featuring
 Zig Zag Big Band, the Byres Road Big Band (who were fantastic at the launch event) and the Glasgow University Big Band. This special gig of Jazz, Blues and Funk-based music will deliver something for everyone, and includes some new work never before performed in Scotland.

Stanley Odd & Hector Bizerk (Saturday 8th June, 7pm)

Scotland’s Hip Hop Heavyweights come together to celebrate the West End Festival with this show at Oran Mor. Glasgow 2 piece Hector Bizerk released their game-changing LP DRUMS.RAP.YES. to massive acclaim last year whilst Stanley odd answered that call with the wonderful “Reject” album which has seen them play the world, as well as performing at Celtic Connections with a full orchestra. These two acts are knocking down the walls of the Scottish hip-hop ghetto, using the scene’s history and vernacular to create relevant music with universal appeal.

O2 Glasgow Mela (Saturday 15th June - Sunday 16th June)

For one weekend Kelvingrove Park will be transformed into an extravaganza of music, dance, exotic food and eclectic stalls with the O2 Glasgow Mela, Scotland’s biggest multi-cultural festival. The two-day event is open to all ages, and includes family activities and an array of stalls to browse and food to try, as well as a richly diverse programme of colourful performances across three stages.

So there you have it, every event which we’ll be doing everything in our power to Get Out to! What are your own highlights? Anything you think that we absolutely have to add to this list? For full listings of everything that’s happening during the festival, be sure to head over to the official website.