Beltane Fire Society

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The Beltane Fire Society is a community organisation that puts on the Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill and the Samhuinn Fire Festival on the Royal Mile, in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The society was formed in 1988 for the second Beltane Fire Festival (the first on Calton Hill). The BFS also organises events for the other Celtic cross-quarter days, i.e., Imbolc and Lughnasad, and for Solstices and Equinoxes.

Find us online [ Website ] [ Blog ] [ Facebook ] [ Twitter ] [ Google+ ] [ Flickr ]

Beltane Fire Society is a not-for-profit registered charity in Scotland (Charity Number: SC040137)
Get in touch with us at Contact@Beltane.org


Check out this gorgeous time-lapse photography video of Beltane 2013 by BoydGPhotography on YouTube!

Beltane Fire Festival

Last week Sylwia and I photographed Beltane, the ancient Celtic festival welcoming the onset of summer (or spring, depending on your point of view  - anyway, the relatively warm part of the year) as part of a project that we are working on at the moment. We photographed some of the preparations as…

Beltane on BBC's The One Show: 06/05/2013

A crew (and celebrity hairdressers!) from the BBC’s One Show joined us at Beltane Fire Festival this year to film part of the event, interview some people and chop some locks!

  • As I type this, I’m sitting in my flat surrounded by the shadowy figures of numerous black Torchbearers’ cloaks, freshly laundered spectres of festivals past, draped like happy memories around the days following The Night. Post-Beltane laundry is no small task, as anyone currently attempting to return their home to its former state, before it became a temporary storage locker/prop factory/wardrobe department for the weeks leading up to 30th April, will tell you. Part of the epic task of packing everything up involves the laundering of numerous Tech overalls, their work done until Samhuinn preparation begins. After a trip to a very busy launderette, the overalls lurk in room 1.24 of Arts Complex, drying before being put away for the summer. Thanks to Daniel at Arts Complex for the pictures.
  • As I type this, I’m sitting in my flat surrounded by the shadowy figures of numerous black Torchbearers’ cloaks, freshly laundered spectres of festivals past, draped like happy memories around the days following The Night. Post-Beltane laundry is no small task, as anyone currently attempting to return their home to its former state, before it became a temporary storage locker/prop factory/wardrobe department for the weeks leading up to 30th April, will tell you. Part of the epic task of packing everything up involves the laundering of numerous Tech overalls, their work done until Samhuinn preparation begins. After a trip to a very busy launderette, the overalls lurk in room 1.24 of Arts Complex, drying before being put away for the summer. Thanks to Daniel at Arts Complex for the pictures.
  • As I type this, I’m sitting in my flat surrounded by the shadowy figures of numerous black Torchbearers’ cloaks, freshly laundered spectres of festivals past, draped like happy memories around the days following The Night. Post-Beltane laundry is no small task, as anyone currently attempting to return their home to its former state, before it became a temporary storage locker/prop factory/wardrobe department for the weeks leading up to 30th April, will tell you. Part of the epic task of packing everything up involves the laundering of numerous Tech overalls, their work done until Samhuinn preparation begins. After a trip to a very busy launderette, the overalls lurk in room 1.24 of Arts Complex, drying before being put away for the summer. Thanks to Daniel at Arts Complex for the pictures.

As I type this, I’m sitting in my flat surrounded by the shadowy figures of numerous black Torchbearers’ cloaks, freshly laundered spectres of festivals past, draped like happy memories around the days following The Night.

Post-Beltane laundry is no small task, as anyone currently attempting to return their home to its former state, before it became a temporary storage locker/prop factory/wardrobe department for the weeks leading up to 30th April, will tell you.

Part of the epic task of packing everything up involves the laundering of numerous Tech overalls, their work done until Samhuinn preparation begins. After a trip to a very busy launderette, the overalls lurk in room 1.24 of Arts Complex, drying before being put away for the summer.

Thanks to Daniel at Arts Complex for the pictures.

Beltane 2013 Acropolis sequence footage by shade19752000 on YouTube.

Beltane Fire Festival footage by Sylwia K on YouTube.

Beltane Fire Festival footage by shade19752000 on YouTube.

Rowan Tree Story by Tellers of Bel’s Fire from Gary Alexander on YouTube.

The Beltane Toast by Krapatoa on YouTube

  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.

A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Heidi Korkala. See more on Flickr.

  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.
  • A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.

A selection of photos from BFS Contact Point photographer Maciej/MacDor Photography. See more on Flickr.

Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh welcomes summer with flames and drums | Magazine | Edinburgh | STV

Thousands of people turned out to Calton Hill for the annual colourful extravaganza. The festival channels Celtic traditions to welcome the season.

Lovely interviews with Zander Bruce and Katie Johnson.

Beltane Fire Festival 2013 | Galleries | Edinburgh | STV

Marking the start of summer with the Beltane Fire Society

Beltane on BBC Alba

Local, national and international news from BBC ALBA.

Edinburgh Beltane Festival marks start of summer - Heritage - Scotsman.com

Fire illuminated the Edinburgh sky as thousands of people gathered to watch a modern take on an ancient Gaelic festival.