BOWER
Bower will accept new members until this Thursday (14th March) and will then be closed.
The Bower is a physical place, a concept and a group of people, and we would love you to join us in supporting our Beltane community. We will invite all groups to ground themselves at Bower at the beginning of the night to prepare yourselves for the transformation to come. We will welcome you back home in the same space once the Bonfire has been lit. Bower will be there when you need us most. We will offer comfort, safety and sustenance in the form of food that we prepare for the other volunteers. We are a safe place if for any reason you need it. And we will provide the last little bit of energy needed for the final transformation and emergence into summer.
Contact Catriona and Marlies a line on bower@beltane.org
CONTACT POINT
Contact Point has room for 2 or 3 more members.
On the night, we seek to inspire an informed audience with information about the festival and BFS, handing out maps and info leaflets and answering questions, along with posting live social media posts of the action as it happens. We’re looking for shiny chatty people who love to talk! Our meetings are on Saturday afternoons.
Contact Tanya and Zander at contact@beltane.org
ELEMENTS
Elements will accept new members until this Saturday (16th March) and will then be closed.
Fire, Water, Earth, Air. What do they represent? Are they embodiments of natural forces or are they aspects of our own energies? The Elemental group will be exploring what the elements mean to us and what they mean for the Beltane story. We will bring balance and interact with diverse groups to create a vibrant performance on the hill with acrobatics galore.
Contact Alun and Seth at elements@beltane.org
FIRE PRIESTS
Fire Priests have room for 6-8 more people.
The Fire Priests worship at the alter of divine flame, we embody and worship it’s cleansing warmth. With costumes and faces to match our firey element, we will endeavour to show that fire can be dangerous, mesmerising, divine and beautiful. We will be creating some new variations on the traditional torch, adding some small parts of costume. We have two meetings a week, one a drop in social meeting on Thursday evenings in Art’s Complex and the main meeting to practice on Sunday afternoons on Calton Hill.
Contact David and Steven at firepriests@beltane.org
REMNANTS OF WINTER
Remnants of Winter will accept new members until this Saturday (16th March) and will then be closed.
As the last remnants of winter, we are stunned at the loss of our king and father. Our last duty is to escort our king to his last resting place. With this it will allow us to move into summer by casting off the stagnant winter energy. At this point we have a choice between remaining as winter in oblivion or follow summer into frivolity. Ultimately we follow summer but fully in the knowledge that winter will rise again. We meet on Saturday afternoons.
Contact Ross and Rachel at winter@beltane.org
STEWARDS
Stewards are still actively recruiting.
The Stewards are the friendly but firm face of Beltane. We welcome the audience onto the hill, informing and guiding, and keeping everyone safe and happy through this celebration of the transition from Winter to Summer. With the Fire Priests we form the liminal boundary which escorts the Royal Procession on its journey. As the line between the performers and audience, we also get the best view in the house.
If you haven’t got the time for making elaborate costumes or want to get your Beltane feet wet before jumping in head first, Stewards is the group for you. Our main training session is on Sunday afternoons on Calton Hill, with a more social session on Thursdays in Art’s Complex.
Contact John and Shyam at stewards@beltane.org
TECH
Tech are still recruiting.
Pots of Fire! Burning sculptures! Epic Stages! Tubs of Flapjacks! Tech are the stage crew behind the magic of Beltane. We are the fire proof suited, soot stained, frazzled looking folks who put it all together on the night. We build the stages, make the scuptures, soak the rope, prep the fuel, put out the fires and in the morning, pack it all away again. And all this powered by nothing more than tea and biscuits.
Contact Adam and Helen at tech@beltane.org
TELLERS OF BEL’S FIRE
Tellers will accept new members until this Saturday (16th March) and will then be closed.
The Tellers of Bel’s Fire will bring to life the third component of the Ceilidh culture (dance, music and storytelling) complementing the events’ dedication to ritual dance and music. Based on the Scottish Travellers’ proverb ‘Stories are told eye to eye, mind to mind, and heart to heart’, The Tellers will engage the audience prior to the start of the procession serving as a bridge between the real world and the ritual world of the Beltane performance. As the bridge between the two worlds, the Tellers will open the veil prior to the start of the procession, engage and interact directly with the audience, prior to, and during the procession. It is our task to draw the audience in and to educate them about the Beltane story, so that they, and the people they tell in turn, will have a better appreciation and understanding of the events that they will witness on the hill offering them both understanding and a connection to the evening’s events. Tellers will be meeting Wednesday evenings (18:30 – 20:30) and Saturdays (12-17:00)
Contact Trish and Fenland at tellers@beltane.org
Beltane Fire Society 