Wassail at Pianodrome

Pianodrome Wassail

Sunday 26th January

Join us for our second annual Pianodrome Wassail! Help us ward off dank winter spirits and bless the budding apple trees on our local urban orchard with farm-folk legends Portnawak and the Woo and Castle Chorus leader Caro Overy.

10.30am - 12.30pm - Urban gardening - help us look after the apple trees (email [email protected] to let us know you're coming)

1pm - 2.30pm - Free Lunchtime Concert & Wassail - Gig in the Pianodrome followed by procession to urban orchard and Wassail.

In 2023 a crack team of local community gardeners moved 30 apple trees from a site pipped for construction, to a grassy plot just outside our Granton Warehouse. This urban orchard is still young and not yet bearing fruit, so to help it on its way we are hosting a day of urban gardening, a lunchtime concert, and a Wassail.

Wassailing is an ancient tradition of blessing fruit trees in the winter and singing to their health, to ensure a rich harvest in the Autumn. We've invited the extraordinary Portnawak and the Woo and Caro Bridges to lead us in a joyful and light-hearted ceremony to provide the spiritual nutriments needed for our new apple trees to thrive. The event marks four seasons since the move of National Galleries of Scotland's Mobile Apple Orchard to its new plot just outside our warehouse.

Beforehand, join us if you'd like to help provide actual physical nutrients to the trees, which need to be mulched, fed with compost and generally tended. Turn up ready for some light but grubby outdoor work at 10.30am - we'll provide the tools and materials and some hot food. Please email [email protected] if you intend to join us in some urban gardening.

Let us sing, dance and be merry as we drink to the health of the old apple tree!

About the musicians:

Portnawak & The Woo are a musical ensemble playing a unique blend of folk hop, psychedelic tribal bounce music and organic punk...... with the added element of Woo! They will play a full set from 1pm in the Pianodrome before leading us all to the apple trees for the Wassail proper.

Caro Overy is a community musician and song leader who cares about fun and healthy music making for everyone. She leads Edinburgh's folk and roots community choir Castle Chorus and works with singing for breathing charity The Cheyne Gang as well as writing and performing her own songs under stage name Caro Bridges. Singing together is a key part of the wassail tradition so Caro is delighted to share a small selection of related songs old and new.

**As usual, please dress warm when attending our events - we have fires and provide blankets, but our space is not insulated or heated. We have unique eco-friendly compost toilets on site. If you have any accessibility requirements please get in touch in advance and we will cater for your needs. Send an email to [email protected] **

Host or Publisher Pianodrome