The wait is over!

The Open Meeting for the 2025 Beltane Fire Festival will be held on Saturday February 22nd  at Nicolson Square Venues between 1:30 and 5pm, with a pre-meeting chat for newcomers at 12:30pm.

The Open Meeting is a great opportunity to hear about all the different performance and production groups available to join for that festival, to find out about the rehearsal schedules and skills required, and to meet our Group Organisers (GO’s) for this festival.

The meeting will include brief presentations by individuals involved in organising the society and the festival. Importantly, all open groups will be sharing their ideas and inviting you to join and be a part of it all. Following this, there will be an additional hour for potential volunteers to speak with group organisers and sign up for more information about future meetings and activities. Feel free to sign up for as many groups as you like!

If this is your first time being involved in a BFS festival, welcome! From 12:30 to 1:00pm, there will be a short pre-meeting chat to introduce the society and how our festivals work. There will also be a welcome table to introduce you to the society, and can answer any of your questions. The most important thing to know is that we’re (almost) all volunteers, who are here to have fun and be a part of something truly special. 

The venue will be open for general admittance from 1pm with the Open Meeting to start around 1:30pm. At 4pm, there will be a “Quiet Hour”, where you can come talk to the organisers in a more relaxed and quieter atmosphere. Feel free to just come along to this if you are more sensitive to louder environments.

If Open meeting has piqued your interest into our society, BFS has booked the OX bar for after, where all are welcome to meet and socialise.

Accessibility information

Edinburgh Methodist Church is wheelchair accessible with a disabled toilet on all floors. There are bus stops located nearby, where the 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 14, 29/X29, 30, 31/X31, 33/X33, 35, 37/X37, 45, 47/X47, 49, 51, 53, X55, X62, X70 and X95 buses stop

The Open Meeting can be loud and overwhelming, with lots of excited people and sometimes a few drums. You are free to move around, stand at the back, or leave for a while and come back if you need to. Contact information for all the groups will be available on the website before the meeting for those who aren’t able to chat in person. And again, between 4 and 5pm is the “Quiet Hour”, where there will be less noise and foot traffic.

Useful links

How to get involved: https://beltane.org/get-involved/

About BFS: https://beltane.org/about/