Mingling in the crowds at EdTwestival and entertaining Twestival goers with close-up magic will be Kevin McMahon master magician.

You may recognise Kevin from somewhere. But to stop you from spending the whole evening in torment, I’ll let you know why that is.

Five years ago Kevin appeared in the channel 4 show ‘Faking It‘, back then he was a shy radiologist. But the show  convinced him to make a dramatic change in his career plans.

This summer from 7- 11 July he is bringing the UK’s first Magic Festival to the Scottish Capital. The festival will feature world-class performers and a ‘Magic School’ for youngsters looking to get into magic, or just curious about what magic entails.

Wanna see some magic up close? Get you tickets here

We have a new band to add to our already sterling playlist, with the inclusion of Shooting Stansfield (@shootstansfield)

The band was only formed last September and they’re definitely no slouches, they already have their debut EP out. Shooting Stansfield have a unique sound courtesy of vocalist Stewart Douglas’ distinctive voice.

The Edinburgh based band look to the Scottish Music scene for their influences, naming Frightened Rabbit, Biffy Clyro and Colin Hay amongst their influences. Also named as an influence are co-twestival performers Idlewild so maybe they can get some tips backstage.

And finally there are only 7 Early Bird Tickets left, so hurry and buy yours.

Hello all - just a quick post today, with a smattering of Edtwestival entertainment news…

We’ve managed to persuade malt masters Chris and Lucas from the Edinburgh Whisky Blog (@EdinburghWhisky) to come along on the night, and lead a free whisky tasting! So, if you fancy a wee rest from the main event, you can slink downstairs into the Ghillie Dhu bar for some educating. More on that as it comes (and if you want to donate some whisky get in touch!)

We’re also very grateful to Laura at Edinburgh’s Secret Beauty Garden (@secretbeautygdn ) who has agree to treat us hard-working Twitterers to mini-pampering packages at the event, creating an oasis of calm where stressed out Tweeple can roost a-while.

We have news of new sponsors and another musical act confirmed for the night, and lots of brilliant raffle/auction prizes to announce, so keep an eye on the Twitter feed…

Oh, and only 15 early bird tickets left - get yours before they’re gone!!

Ahoy! And a very happy Friday afternoon.

With no further ado, it’s about time we announced the first marvellous musical acts confirmed for Edinburgh Twestival!

First up is Mitchell Museum (@mitchellmuseum), Glasgow-based purveyors of ‘Junk Pop’ (?!) who’ve just released their first EP “We lost 1st prize”. Drawing influence from various American and Canadian experimental indie bands including Animal Collective, Flaming Lips, Wolf Parade and Modest Mouse, Mitchell Museum create an experimental pop sound with strong hints of folk, psych, and electronica.

Also on the bill is Pose Victorious (@posevictorious), a relatively new Edinburgh band who’ve already made a name for themselves. The current line-up of Ross Millar, Jack Rowberry, Gavin White, Gordon Barclay and Jordan Laird formed in early 2009 - since then, a whirlwind of gigs and recording sessions have seen Pose Victorious rapidly ascend the ranks of the Scottish new music scene supporting the likes of Tango In The Attic, Sergeant and The Paddingtons as well as receiving airplay from Jim Gellatly (New Scottish Music Show) and Gill Mills (NME Radio).

Later in the evening, DJ George Wallace of Groove City Soul Club ( @scotsoul50 ) will play a mix of uptempo soul genres, so we’re not all indied-out. And because we love a bit of Northern Soul.

And finally (for now) a couple of the lads from Idlewild (@IdlewildTheBand) will be laying aside their guitars (and drums) to spin a few records. Yes, we just said ’spin a few records’.

We’ll bring you more info on all the performers listed here over the next couple of weeks but, for now, you can buy tickets here !

So here we are, hang on, wait for the Lady Mayoress to cut the ribbon- alright, now you can buy your tickets.

Remember that there are only a limited number at this special early bird price of £6.50 so don’t dilly dally!

Tickets are available at amiando, 100% of your ticket money goes straight to Concern Worldwide, none on the running of the event.

So if you want to offer sponsorship for the running costs, raffle prizes or your own blood, sweat and tears you would be more than welcome. Please contact the team at @EdTwestival

Buy your tickets here !!

p.s. Later today we’ll be posting news on the musical line-up….

Is there no end to our bird punnery? Apparently not.

In more crackng Edinburgh Twestival-related news, we have been given an image overhaul, courtesy of new Edinburgh design company Ladies and Gentlemen (Twitter handle @ladsandlassies).

As you’ll see, they’ve designed us an egg-cellent new avatar, which we’ll be using for all sorts of nefarious purposes in the coming weeks…

We’re very grateful for Ladies and Gentlemen for all their help - thanks a million guys!

As an added extra, they’re also running a wee pre-twestival competition, giving our followers the chance to win a FREE website or logo design from them. That’ll be coming on the Twitter feed soon, so keep an eye out.

Later today we hope to announce some of our musical line-up for the night (Thursday 25th March, Ghillie Dhu, Edinburgh - get it in the diary!) and tickets should be going on sale tomorrow, Friday 5 March.

And finally, a word from our designers, Ladies and Gentlemen….

“Ladies and Gentlemen is a multidisciplinary design studio based in Edinburgh, and we’re delighted to be involved with Edinburgh Twestival.

“At our studio, we conceptualise and design effective branding, print and web solutions. If you would like your company to stand out in a highly competitive marketplace, with ideas that will give you a creative advantage, then please drop us a line (or a tweet!) We would love to meet you!

You can also check out our blog, Human Resources™ - an independent, online source of creative inspiration. Launched in the late summer of 2008 by three Edinburgh College of Art graduates, it was recently nominated for ‘Arts & Culture Blog of the Year’ by style bible Dazed & Confused Magazine.

It is a continuously evolving live project, and as such, there will be a number of exciting new developments in 2010. If you would like to showcase your work, would be interested in writing with us or simply would like to get in touch, you can do so by giving us a shout out at:hello [at] welcometohr.com”

www.ladiesgentlemen.co.uk

Hello fellow Twitterers of Edinburgh. First of all, apologies that it’s been a while since we blogged - a combination of technical glitches and busy schedules!

However, we have been badgering away organising the Edinburgh Twestival and are very, very pleased to announce that we’ve secured a fantastic venue for the event…..

(feel free to look away from the screen for a bit here to build anticipation)

…..in the form of Ghillie Dhu, a brand spanking new, gorgeous three-storey venue, situated on Rutland Place.

In fact it’s so new that it’s not even open yet (launching in the next two weeks) so EdTwestival-goers will be among the first to try it for size.

It’s a really stunning venue,a former church with a huge auditorium (which we’ll be calling home), a bar and brilliant facilities for live performances. You can see images here (check out the ceiling!)

It’s also very handy for buses and the train station, for out-of-towners, so you have no excuses

We’re really excited about holding the event in Ghillie Dhu, so a HUGE thanks to them for putting a roof over our collective heads.

Stay tuned as we’ve managed to snag some great entertainment for EdTwestival which we’ll be announcing over the next day or two - and tickets will be going on sale towards the end of the week. Meanwhile you can follow us on Twitter or join the Facebook group to stay up-to-date with what’s going on.

Hope to see you there!

www.ghillie-dhu.co.uk

Welcome, welcome.

Its going to be a hard act to follow but we’re very pleased to announce that, after the enormous success of Edinburgh Twestival Global 2009, the amazing “Internet” will yet again be bursting forth into our fair city in the form of….

…Edinburgh Twestival 2010!

The date to put in your diary is 25 March 2010 and this time we’ll be joining cities around the globe to raise money for the international humanitarian charity Concern Worldwide

We’ll be revealing more details soon - not least where it’s going to happen…

Meanwhile, you can keep tabs on us by following @EdTwestival and via the Facebook page (where you can also declare your intention to attend, giving us a rough idea of numbers).

GET INVOLVED

“How can I be a part of this marvellous event?”, we hear you ask?

Well, it simply couldn’t be simpler.

We’ve already had lots of great ideas and offers from local Tweeters, but we’re hungry for more. If you want to help, donate a raffle prize/your technical wizardry, sing, dance, do origami, conduct a robot orchestra or something else we haven’t yet imagined please contact one of the EdTwestival team:

@vraimes @katetrussler @hilaryjanegray

(Hopefully a few more names will join that list shortly!)

SPONSORSHIP

In the next couple of days we’ll be posting more information on how companies can help raise stacks of cash for Concern Worldwide, and their online profile, by becoming a supporter of Edinburgh Twestival.

Until then, you can email us: edtwestival(at)gmail.com

Hope to see you there - and keep those suggestions coming!

Thanks,

The EdTwestival team

Dear all,

Sorry for the delay in announcing the prizes.

Firstly - wasn’t Thursday 10 September - an absolutely fantastic night?

There are so many people to thank for helping the evening come together.

Our Sponsors

It wouldn’t have been possible without our sponsors @bigmouthmedia, @convergenceuk, @channel6, @uservision - thank you so much!

Electric Circus

We also want to thank the amazing venue @circusedinburgh for hosting us and helping the evening to run so smoothly. Especially the lovely Jason who put up with our lots of visits during the organisational process!

Our *entertainers*

@ewanspence, @calamateur, @chutesmusic, @epic26, @bananasessions, @omegamale

Raffle Prizewinners

Finally the amazing prizegivers - and without further delay we want to announce the prizewinners!

@colingilchrist at Redress - One user licence for Tweetabits - value £495

And the winner is @peter433! Congratulations!

@300miles via Nicol Manson, owner) -2 nights at the Waterside Hotel

This was won on the night by @marielslater

@300miles (via Grant Manson, owner ) - meal at Orocco Pier.

Won by Karen Read (via @atocher)

@300miles - Voucher for two persons to partake in a “Firefighter for a day”

This was won on the night by @katetrussler

@circusedinburgh - 1 x 2 hour session of Karaoke for up to 10 people (Sunday-Thursday)

- Winner @nadinepierce

@thefinewineman - Wine Tasting for 2 with The Wine Experience worth £70

This was won by: @fraserH77

@civicuk - £50 voucher for John Lewis

- Winner @qubika

@cityferret (via Angel Loving Care) - transformational No hands Massage with Deborah King which includes a mini nlp diagnosis with her

- Winner @Hannahmelville

@AnnieBee - three month membership to The Beluga Club

- Winner guest of @300miles

@PeoplemapsJulie - Signed copy of Sunil Sharma’s “From Here to Happiness”

- Winner @frannybop

@PeoplemapsJulie - Signed copy of Sunil Sharma’s “From Here to Happiness”

- Winner guest of @300miles

@PeoplemapsJulie - Signed copy of Sunil Sharma’s “From Here to Happiness”

- Winner @convergenceuk

@PhotographyJC - Free photography portrait session and 12×12 print

- Winner @tjmwatson

@plumtunes - Signed *pre-release* copy of the new CD from the lovely Plum

- Winner @jaffne

@300miles - £100 voucher for Farmer Autocare

- Winner @owenp

@centotre £50 gift voucher

- Winner @

@queens_hall £30 gift voucher

- Winner @tanepiper

@zanzero £30 gift voucher

- Winner guest of @300miles

@canongatebooks Signed copy of The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave

- Winner Crystal Atkins (Ambergreen)

@canongatebooks Signed copy of Emergency by Neil Strauss

- Winner @convergenceuk1

@canongatebooks Spoken word CD (complete and unabridged) The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave (read by the author)

- Winner @rhinoglamour

@regalclothing “I’m Tweeting this” T Shirt (medium)

- Winner @aigwilson

@regalclothing “I’m Tweeting this” T Shirt (large)

- Winner @mattmcarthur

@andrewghayes Signed copy of A History Walking Guide to Edinburgh by Andrew Hayes

- Winner @amypalko

@Flexiscale 1 years free hosting on the Web-1500 package (terms and conditions apply)

- Winner @itsonitsgone

Karen Read via @atocher 1 half bottle of Jack Daniels bourbon

- Winner @fionapriestley

@scottmliddell 1 x The Beatle Man signed by the author.

- Winner @the_emecks

@scottmliddell 1 x The Beatle Man signed by the author.

- Winner @tomgriffiths

@scottmliddell 1 x The Beatle Man signed by the author.

- Winner @hannahmelville

@calamateur 4 different CD’s and a 7″ single

- Winner @photographyJC

@filmhouse Two tickets to a film

- Winner @nic_78

@300miles Signed Proclaimers CD: “Hope your 300 miles are as successful as our 500 miles”

- Winner @louandboo

@ourdynamicearth Family day pass

- Winner @sjames74

@300miles Signed Ian Rankin book: ‘Doors Open’: “Please follow @300miles on Twitter. It would be a crime not to”.

- Winner @timread

@edinburghfringe Fringe Pack - assembly of items from the Fringe Shop including posters, magnets etc

- Winner @architectedin

@funky_junk A snazzy necklace

- Winner @kingofpastry

@Blitzmiz Bottle of Remy Martin Cognac

- Winner @doctorvee

@jehollin Bottle of Laphroaig 10 year old malt whisky

- Winner @mykescotland

@pinknikdesigns 1 x Special Edition Twestival Mug and Cloth Bag

- Winner @colingilchrist

@pinknikdesigns 1 x Special Edition Twestival Mug and Cloth Bag

- Winner @alisonwalsh

@centotre £50 gift voucher for Centotre

- Winner - Sandra Marr who collected on the night (sorry if we spelt your name wrong - it was pretty loud!)

We will contacting all the prizewinners by twitter during the next week to arrange delivery / collection. Congratulations!

Love you and love your work!

The EdTwestival Team

Dear all,

As promised - here is the update on the top five prizes (announced on the night) and extra prizes confirmed since the last blog.

Top Prizes

@colingilchrist at Redress - One user licence for Tweetabits - value £495

Tweetabits is:

1. designed for businesses who want leads come to them – a new way of reaching potential or existing customers
2. based on locality so you can search for customers in your area for direct targeting
3. a way you can tag and flag tweets as a way of sorting and streamlining leads and interesting tweets
4. brings the leads to you rather than you having to do endless searches to find them
5. a way for the first time you can choose to not include search terms in the same way as you can include them
6. a way to have as many search terms as you want (normal twitter applications only allow you to use up to 140 characters which is restricting if you want a refined search)

Colin will create a voucher which can be given to the winner on the night.

@300miles (via Nicol Manson, owner) - 2 nights at the Waterside Hotel

Two nights bed and breakfast for two people (and A la Carte Dinner one night) at the Waterside hotel, Inverness. This voucher
has an approximate value of £250.

@300miles (via Grant Manson, owner ) - meal at Orocco Pier

Voucher for Dinner for two at Orocco Pier, South Queensferry, approx value of £100.

@300miles - Voucher for two persons to partake in a “Firefighter for a day”

Experience at the Scottish International Fire Training Centre in Edinburgh. This is genuinely a “money can’t buy” experience and will allow two individuals to be trained and supported by Operational Firefighters and experience the thrill of the job. This is courtesy of Centre Manger Kevin McCusker, Lothian and Borders Fire & Rescue Service.

@thefinewineman - Wine Tasting for 2 with The Wine Experience worth £70

ALL PRIZES

After the #EdTwestival on Thursday we will draw the rest of the prizes and then tweet/blog the results. We will be taking the twitterhandle and or contact details of the people entering the competition so please make sure if you are on twitter you are following us.

Remember - we are raising money for the amazing CLIC Sargent so dig deep to buy those tickets!

The prizes are as follows (we will announce which five will be drawn on the night tomorrow)

*NEW*

• @civicuk - £50 voucher for John Lewis
• @cityferret (via Angel Loving Care) - transformational No hands Massage with Deborah King which includes a mini nlp diagnosis with her
• @AnnieBee - five three month memberships to The Beluga Club
• @PeoplemapsJulie - 3 x signed copies of Sunil Sharma’s “From Here to Happiness”
• @PhotographyJC - Free photography portrait session and 12×12 print
• @plumtunes - Signed *pre-release* copy of the new CD from the lovely Plum (hey, this one may not make it to the raffle 3;-> @btocher)

• @300miles - £100 voucher for Farmer Autocare
• @centotre £50 gift voucher
• @queens_hall £30 gift voucher
• @zanzero £30 gift voucher
• @canongatebooks Signed copy of The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave
• @canongatebooks Signed copy of Emergency by Neil Strauss
• @canongatebooks Spoken word CD (complete and unabridged) The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave (read by the author) - and it’s a wonder that this prize will make it to the raffle (;-) @salidatious) Put that back down again Sally! (@btocher)
• @regalclothing “I’m Tweeting this” T Shirt (medium)
• @regalclothing “I’m Tweeting this” T Shirt (large)
• @andrewghayes Signed copy of A History Walking Guide to Edinburgh by Andrew Hayes
• @Flexiscale 1 years free hosting on the Web-1500 package (terms and conditions apply)
• Karen Read via @atocher 1 half bottle of Jack Daniels bourbon
• @scottmliddell 3 x The Beatle Man signed by the author.
• @calamateur 4 different CD’s and a 7″ single
• @filmhouse Two tickets to a film
• @300miles Signed Proclaimers CD: “Hope your 300 miles are as successful as our 500 miles”
• @ourdynamicearth Family day pass
• @300miles Signed Ian Rankin book: ‘Doors Open’: “Please follow @300miles on Twitter. It would be a crime not to”.
• @edinburghfringe Fringe Pack - assembly of items from the Fringe Shop including posters, magnets etc
• @funky_junk A snazzy necklace
• @Blitzmiz Bottle of Remy Martin Cognac
• @jehollin Bottle of Laphroaig 10 year old malt whisky