Craigmillar Festival Society

The Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS) was a Community Arts organisation that existed in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh, Scotland from 1962 to 2002. It is regarded as important contributor to the Community Arts Movement. Starting in 1967, many of its productions involved Craigmillar Castle.

The Craigmillar Festival Committee was established in 1962, when a mothers group at Peffermill Primary School, south-east side of Edinburgh, created a Festival to celebrate local talent.

By 1962, Craigmillar was suffering from all the social ills of 20th century urban living and decay. The crunch came when the school’s reply to a request for music lessons for her son from local mother Helen Crummy was … “it takes us all our time to teach these children the 3Rs far less music.” Biting their tongues the frustrated mothers in Peffermill School Mothers Club responded by knocking on doors, pulling out local talent and staging a People’s Festival of music, drama, and the arts. The Festival was an instant success which brought joy, colour and fun to a drab and grey environment.

The festival married fun with passion for intensive political action. This led to politicians working not just for, but WITH, the local people. Combining culture with satirical criticism, the people wrote and produced their own community musicals and historical productions, basing them on the area’s multitude of social concerns and issues.

In 1970 the Craigmillar Festival Committee gained official recognition, charitable status and changed its name to the Craigmillar Festival Society (CFS). By 1976 the Society was employing 600 people and involving 1500 volunteers. That year, 17000 people either took part or attended the annual festival. By this time, it had received a major anti-poverty research grant from The European Community.

A prime example of what the CFS did in the community was through the tireless work of the Bingham neighbourhood worker Claire Elder. In 1970, she persuaded some neighbours to go dressed as a gypsy tribe to the Mediaeval Fayre. Later calling themselves the Bingham Belles, they formed a drama and music group and became stars of the Festival's Old Tyme Musical Hall. Entertaining in and beyond Craigmillar, they successfully campaigned to obtain much needed amenities for Bingham, including their own community centre and youth facilities.

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