Musselburgh
Riding of the
Marches
T
HE ANCIENT CEREMONY of
Riding of the Marches has
been held in Musselburgh
for over 300 years. It now takes
place every 21 years and this year’s
celebrations in July was a grand
affair which blended history, music,
performance, fun days, exhibitions
and social and sporting events.
QMU was delighted to support the week-
long festival by providing sponsorship as
well as expertise from staff, students and
graduates in the form of film and media, stage
management and costume design. Richard
Butt, QMU's Dean of Arts, Social Sciencies
and Management, created a promotional film
in advance of the event and graduate film
company, Raw Film Productions, captured the
magic of the pageantry including the marking
of the ancient boundaries of the Burgh, which
took place on horse back. Members of our
community outreach team were involved in
the musical celebrations.
A spectacular display of fire, water, sound
and light took place on the final weekend
with our stage management specialist, Scottie
Anderson, producing a visual feast with two
Son et Lumiere shows involving fire on the
River Esk. The talents of our Costume Design
and Construction students were showcased
beautifully on the banks of the river. A stunning
collection of dramatic illuminated white
costumes, commissioned specifically for the
finale, took centre stage as part of the final
parade which brought together music, song,
dance, water and fireworks.
Feast your eyes on some of the amazing
costumes, which were designed around the
theme of ‘Selene, goddess of the moon’, and
her court, on pages 14, 15, 16 and 17. ❒
Partnership provides social enterprise
boost to higher education
Q
MU HAS JOINED forces
with Edinburgh-based
charity, Cyrenians, to
combine their shared vision for
social justice and put sustainable
social enterprise at the centre of
higher education. experience working in the development and
support of sustainable social enterprise.
This will include research projects and
academic studies within QMU’s specialist
areas of health and rehabilitation, food
education, film-making and event
management, as well as volunteering and
fundraising opportunities.
The new partnership will provide QMU
students with a range of opportunities to QMU students will get the chance to
support their academic studies by working
on live projects and services for Cyrenians,
which has been working with the homeless
and vulnerable for almost half a century.
Ewan Aitken, Cyrenians CEO added “This
partnership speaks of our shared values
in striving to create communities without
borders and helping to improve people’s
lives locally, nationally and internationally.
We share a desire to be ambitious and
enterprising, holding social justice at the
heart of all we do. In a shared vision of
what we have and who we are, we are all
transformed. This is an exciting journey to
be setting out on together.” ❒
QMYOU / Community Engagement & Widening Access
7