Festival within 5 miles of Edinburgh

Edinburgh's festival season kicks off with the Meadows Festival, which offers the best local bands, dance groups, quirky performers and workshops amidst lots of family-friendly activities.

The vibrant community of Leith shows off its festival skills with a fun-packed programme of events. Among the line-up of exhibitions, concerts, walks, talks and films is the anticipated Leith Festival Gala Day on Leith Links.

Scotland's biggest jazz festival presents over 100 concerts in ten days all over the capital, in parks, churches, clubs and concert halls. With a programme featuring all jazz styles from early jazz to the avant garde, the EJ&BF usually manages to secure some world premières, new bands, and new collaborations.

World music, dance, fashion, food and fun spread over four areas: the Main Music Stage, the Mela World Dance Feste (newly established in 2012), the Mela Mix stage and the Kids Mela. The Mela Global Food Village is on hand to replenish your energy after taking in all the sights and sounds.

The oldest continually running film festival in the world, the EIFF draws on its prestige to consistently present abundant programmes of new features, documentaries, retrospectives, shorts, panel discussions and educational workshops, with a few high profile premieres thrown in for good measure.

Bringing world-class arts to the capital since 1947, the EIF sets the standard for classical concerts, opera, dance and theatre, with performers drawn from around the world. Among this year's many highlights, curated on a theme of art and technology, are Scottish Ballet's Dance Odysseys, Beethoven's Fidelio rocketed into…

MagicFest pulls another rabbit out of the hat with a progamme of close-up conundrums, mindboggling illusions, comic cabaret and other feats of the impossible. The festival begins with the Magic and Variety Gala Opening and continues to bamboozle with events and workshops.

Edinburgh's world-famous Hogmanay celebration ushers the new year in with a bang. A Torchlight Procession winds through the historic Old Town and onto a son et lumiere on Calton Hill on 30 Dec, a massive street party with live music from the highest calibre acts culminates with Midnight Fireworks from the ramparts of…

Michelin starred and award-winning chefs cook up a storm at this year's festival dedicated to epicureans, as well as offerings from local producers and workshops for food lovers young and old.

An essential fixture for everyone in the television industry wanting inspiration, networking, learning and fun. Run by and for the television industry, it is attended by over 2000 delegates and has featured hundreds of globally renowned top TV executives as speakers, including Ricky Gervais, Professor Brian Cox, Elisabeth…

Now in its 13th year, this local folk festival still emphasises pub sessions and fun. There are also open mic sessions, a craft fair and competitions for songwriting and the best recycled instrument. Workshops in the miners' club include accordion, songwriting, slide guitar, banjo, finger-style guitar and fiddle.

Held over three days, this exciting, fiddle-fuelled weekend includes concerts, recitals, workshops, talks, stalls, sessions, festival clubs, and ceilidhs.

A multi-sports festival featuring – you guessed it – seven sports. Those'd be rugby, touch, netball, hockey, football, volleyball and dodgeball, with a touch of music and fancy dress to top it all off. Watch from the stands or get out on the playing field(s).

Scotland’s largest annual celebration of visual art offers work by the best contemporary Scottish artists as well as exhibitions of the most important international artists and movements of the 20th century and other historical periods. This year marks the 10th edition of the festival, which will include over 40…

The Edinburgh Book Fringe takes place in Word Power Books and brings together writers and activists from around the world for a host of daily events of readings and discussions, all of which are free.

The largest arts festival in the world and the greatest show on earth. Every year thousands of performers take to a multitude of stages all over Edinburgh to present shows for every taste. From big names in the world of entertainment to unknown artists looking to build their careers, the festival caters for everyone and…

The world’s largest public celebration of the written word takes place in the first UNESCO City of Literature in the beautiful Charlotte Square Gardens. As well as leading Scottish and international authors, the varied programme always manages to cover poets, politicians, historians, journalists and children's authors…

This diverse and peace-promoting festival joins Edinburgh's cultural line-up in August with a generous programme of over 400 activities ranging from top-quality speakers and conversations to performances, film, food, exhibitions, family activities, workshops and art.

After a successful first outing last year, this festival specialising in all things naughty and arty returns for a second week of big-time sensuality in the form of performance, visual arts and crafts, film and more.

A free celebration of spoken word in all its forms: slams, storytelling, open mics, cabarets and a host of other events. The Minifest is organised by Inky Fingers, a grassroots spoken word events series based in Edinburgh.

Previously brings Scotland's history to life in a packed programme of talks, walks, tours, teas, activities, debates, exhibitions, theatre, comedy, art, photography, family history, film, open days and much, much more that will appeal to all ages. 2013 begins with a day devoted to Robert Louis Stevenson.