WEST PORT SHOPS FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

Friday 29 September to Sunday 1 October

Loads of events, many free, and great offers. What’s On by venue:

Cabaret Antiques, 137 West Port

Saturday 30 September, 6.00pm: Hall Thorpe exhibition launch with a talk by Keith Cavers (free).

John Hall Thorpe’s highly individual colour-printed woodcuts are collected worldwide. The Hall Thorpe exhibition at Cabaret Antiques will run until the end of November.

Lily West, Florist, 143 West Port

Saturday 30 September, 3.00–4.30pm: Hand-tied Bouquet Workshop. (£45). Seasonal flowers and glass of fizz supplied. Take home your creation.

Herman Brown, 151 West Port

Sunday 1 October, 1.00–6.00pm: Business as Usual, except, wait, no... An uncurated list of artists from Edinburgh and beyond will be playing onto the shop floor. Worm in your ear. Worm ear. We have made an open call for music-makers, music-lovers and artists to send us music for Herman Brown in exchange for promotion – expect a hodge-podge, ad hoc variety of sounds while you look at lovingly curated objects.

Lovecrumbs, 155 West Port

Friday 29 September, 7.00-11.00pm: Malt Melt. Whisky and grilled cheese pop-up bar. Whisky and grilled cheese flights, matching three nips of whiskies with three of Lovecrumbs’ fabulous grilled cheese toasties. To reserve a space, call 0131 629 0626 and pre-order a flight (£8.50).

Main Point Books, 77 Bread Street

Sunday 1 October. 2.00pm: Author Anne Pia discussing her Italian-Scots childhood in Morningside and reading from Language of My Choosing: A Candid Life-Memoir. With ice-cream cones and Italian arias sung by Beatrix.

3.00pm: Poetry of Place.

4.00pm: Slezer and his Legacy. Talk by Keith Cavers. John Abraham Slezer’s book of engravings of Scottish towns, castles and churches was published in 1693. This year marks the 300th anniversary of his death.

5.00pm. Zine Launch: Ryan Hamill (Dick Tucker, Drag Detective) and Francis Scott (Staffa) in conversation; festival wind-down refreshments. (all Main Point Books events are free).

Tasty Buns, 67 Bread Street

Friday 29 September: Sconefest. Six delectably different scones, freshly baked, savoury and sweet, on sale all day.

All weekend: Exhibition. The debut of Edinburgh-themed postcards designed by futuredeadpoet (free).

Carnivalè Vintage, 51 Bread Street

Saturday 30 September, 6.30–10.30pm: Shim Sham Shimmy! Dance lesson, vintage gramophone music and 20% discount on all Carnivàle vintage stock on the night. (£16) Phone 0131 228 8787 or email carnivalevintage@gmail.com.

Healthy Life Centre. 35–37 Bread Street

Sunday 1 October, all day: 20% off select Therapies. Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Reiki… and more! Call to book in advance or pop in on the day. Tel: 0131 229 0724.

For the weekend of the festival, Knightsfield, 55 Bread Street is offering a 5% reduction on all stock and The Fat Pony Wine Bar, 47/49 Bread Street will be selling its full range of sparkling wines by the glass (starting at £5.35).

Edinburgh Books, 145–147 West Port, and Main Point Books, 77 Bread Street: Window Art by ECA Illustration students and paper sculptures by John Ferguson.

Pop-up filmmaker Robbie McLean will be filming the weekend’s events.