St. Andrew's Do

In the run-up to Scotland's national day St Andrew's Day a weekend of festivities will be centred on St Andrew Square Gardens and linked to venues across Edinburgh and Scotland, including free access to Historic Scotland castles and buildings. The 2009 St Andrew’s ‘DO’ offers a programme of family-friendly activities and entertainment.

Opening times are Sat 28 Nov, 10am-8pm, and Sun 29 Nov, 11am-6pm.

Set in three tents, the St Andrew's 'Do' will highlight Scotland's achievements, key historical events and famous Scots; Scotland's ambitions and innovation, including science labs, tree planting and Gaelic language workshops; the best of Scottish produce; and a packed programme of music and entertainment.

Learning from Scotland’s Past

• Be amazed by the ingenuity of our Bronze and Iron Age ancestors and try your hand at some of their
  ancient technological inventions. Or why not dig for hidden artefacts in our archaeologist’s ‘dig pit’?
• Learn about Scotland’s great victories against the odds from the Historic Scotland team – you can even
  try on some medieval armour!
• Take part in a ‘drop-in’ art activity, celebrating Scotland’s great inventions.
• Watch the Edinburgh of yesteryear, courtesy of the Scottish Screen Archive.

Looking to the Future

• MadLab – enjoy learning about electronics with the Edinburgh International Science Festival then make
  your own working electronic toy to take home – what about making the new toy created especially
  for St Andrew’s Day – the Flashing Haggis!
• It’s not Magic, it’s Science – discover our busking ‘scientists’, who’ll entertain you with their science tricks.
• Plant a tree for St Andrew’s Day – see the benefits of protecting and enhancing Scotland’s environment
  and plant your own small tree to take home for your garden, courtesy of Edinburgh & Lothians Greenbelt Trust.
  Cookery Zone
• Discover some of Scotland’s top produce and the people behind it – enjoy the children’s activity area and
  take some samples home.
• Live cookery demonstrations – running every hour, some of Scotland’s finest chefs will prepare fresh,
  healthy food, followed by a short tasting session. Will you be game enough for our ‘Bush Tucker Trial’?

Music and Entertainment

• Get Dancing! – Dancebase will be offering taster sessions throughout the day, ranging from Ceilidh dancing to Disco.
• Ceilidh – with music provided by A Whisky Kiss, there will be family ceilidhs to enjoy throughout the weekend.
• Hip Hop Scotch – take a breather and watch Hip Hop Scotch perform two special sets each day.
• Tricky Ricky’s Magic Show – don’t miss Tricky Ricky’s Sunday stage shows or his Magic Workshop.
• Interactive Storytelling – two interactive storytelling sessions for the under 7s and their families.
  Storytellers from the Scottish Youth Theatre will deliver a lively and fun telling of ‘The Frog Prince’ and
  ‘The Magic Porridge Pot’ each day.

The St Andrew Square Gardens programme will also feature face painters, balloon modelling, Gaelic song and language workshops and the highly talented Neil Kempsell, Scotland’s top live caricaturist.