Welcome to the Samhuinn Fire Festival 2026!
Whether you’re someone who’s looking on curiously, or a regular volunteer – we’re delighted to introduce you to the different performance and production groups who will be making up this festival. Below you’ll find the information you need to apply for your desired group and be part of our celebration. See which group calls to you!
The Open Meeting for the Samhuinn Fire Festival 2026 will take place on Saturday 5th September at Broughton St Mary’s, 12 Bellevue Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 6NE. There will be a session for first-time attendees from 12:30pm to welcome them to the Society and give them a little context to what we do, with the presentations from all the groups starting at 1pm. More information on the Open Meeting can be found on this post: Announcing the Samhuinn 2026 Open Meeting.
Please note: where organisers mention whether a group is child-friendly or not, this refers to whether parents are able to bring their children along to practice in order to increase accessibility to parents. Children are not able to perform in any capacity and parents will be responsible for them throughout the practice.
Open Groups
Bone Point
Group organisers: Fern Farndale-Brown, Milo Menzies, Orion Toivoinen
In today’s modern age, death is sanitised. A foreign thing that is talked about in hushed tones and happens away from us in clinical settings and hospitals. Some of the most powerful among us even believe themselves beyond death, seeking the medical equivalent of the philosopher’s stone all while making decisions that cause death tolls in immeasurable numbers.
Bone Point is a band of skeletons, risen from the dead for one night only with an important message-
“MEMENTO MORI – REMEMBER YOU MUST DIE”
Confronting both the audience and the Summer King with their own impending mortality, we will be a character work focused group, with strong themes of acceptance of change and transition. We will also be danse macabre-ing our bones down to the tunes of Necrosphere, because of course, what do the dead want more, than to live a little?
We will be a medium commitment group, meeting on Wednesdays 7pm – 9pm and on Sundays 2pm – 4pm at a variety of locations in central Edinburgh (perhaps some graveyards…), with additional prop-making/costuming sessions on dates to be confirmed.
We will be having an optional day trip/staycation on 26th and 27th September, and we’ll have an expected financial contribution of £25 for group costs like prop-making materials. Unfortunately due to the nature of the themes of our group, we are not a child friendly group.
Our open rehearsals will be held on:
- Sunday 6th and 13th September 2pm-4pm
- Wednesday 9th September 7pm-9pm
Mycelium
Group Organisers: Vickie L. (she/her), Cinders M. (she/her), Melissa D. (she/her)
We are Mycelium. We are a network of mushrooms exploring the spaces between life, death, decay and rebirth. We have many voices and bodies, but move as one. Our networks span miles and centuries, connecting spaces, species, and times. Our fruiting bodies take countless weird and wonderful guises.
As the days grow cooler our mycelial network changes and we stir, hearing the Cailleach’s call. We inhabit the liminal space between death and rebirth, feeding on the decay of summer to sustain ourselves and others. This Samhuinn we will interweave our stories with those of other groups, perhaps even decomposing consenting Summer groups…
Mycelium is a performance group, brought to life through movement/dance and evocative costumes. As GOs we will hold the focus for these key aims, but will also welcome contributions to the development of our ideas from group members: a mycelium is a network in which energy and impulses flow freely in all sorts of unexpected directions.
We are a medium-commitment group, with a compulsory weekly practice on Wednesdays 6.30-9:00 PM and an additional practice on Sundays from 3:00-6:00 PM, mostly held at the Pavilion hub at the Meadows. We encourage attending both sessions as much as possible, particularly as the date of the festival draws nearer.
Open practices will be:
- Sunday 6th September, 2:00-4:00 PM
- Monday 7th September, 7:00-9:00 PM
- Wednesday 9th September, 7:00-9:00 PM
Our non-compulsory (but vibrantly encouraged) staycation will be on the weekend of 3-4 October. We will ask members for a financial contribution of £30 to support basic group costuming and props. A BFS participant fund is available if this will represent a barrier to joining the group for you.
We want to be as accessible as possible and welcome applications from new society members, folks with disabilities, and adults with childcare responsibilities. If a member needs to bring a child to practice they are welcome to, with the understanding that they will be responsible for the child at all times, and that our themes and conversation topics may not be suited to very young people.
Nightfox (Stewards)
Group Organisers: Michelle and Jenny
Nightfox Stewards are the guardians of the hill on Samhuinn night. Our top priority is to help keep everyone safe and to have some fun with our fox theme using the orange high vis vests as a costume basis, and adding a few foxy twists.
We will also interact directly with the audience with story telling, question answering and direction giving in a positive and friendly way.
Being a Steward is important. It’s a good way to see what’s happening plus be part of a group working together to discuss potential risks and how to mitigate them, together with important matters like consent, accessibility and health and safety.
What’s involved: Weekly meetings which will include team bonding games, learning new skills and making new friends.
Where we meet: Calton Hill, by the Portuguese Cannon, 2pm Sunday afternoons. Option of informal drink and chat afterwards.
Day out: There will be a picnic day out on October 3rd.
Practices you must attend: Health and Safety briefing, Fire Safety briefing and the two Walkthroughs, as well as all the interesting Sunday afternoon practices you can manage.
Costs: It’s free! (Almost). All you need is fire safe clothing and head gear (any colour) and real leather gloves.
Accessibility: Calton Hill is an accessibility challenge, but the GOs will provide support for those who need it.
If this interests you, please email nightfox@beltane.org, we’d love to hear from you or come to our first meeting on Sunday September 6th, 2pm, Calton Hill, meet at the Cannon.
Photopoint
Group Organisers: Lanta (they/she), Martin McCarthy (he/him)
We make photos!
As well as the festival, we record the rehearsals and help groups show the concepts and stories that mix into the magic.
We’re looking for a mix of beginners and experts, newbies and veterans.
Photopoint starts as medium commitment, sharing knowledge in workshops. In the weeks leading up to the festival this rises to high commitment as we cover group rehearsals and creative photoshoots, and this continues in the weeks after the festival as we edit and deliver our images. Member contributions will be around £30.
Additionally, this festival we are introducing an option for acro within photopoint. Both as a performance aspect of the festival, and as a way of getting a different perspective for our pictures. ACRO IS ENTIRELY OPTIONAL.
Someone once said: “If you want to make more interesting pictures, stand in front of more interesting things.” We have that in spades!
We’ll have a local (or local-ish) away day on 4th October – attendance is optional, but strongly encouraged.
Our open sessions are:
- Thurs 10th Sept at George Square, 7-8:30pm (7-9:30pm for those interested in acro);
- Sun 13th Sept on Calton Hill, 4-5:30pm (4-6:30pm for those interested in acro).
Both these sessions will be the same, there’s no value in coming to both.
Our first closed session will be Weds 16th Sept and we’ll have sessions on Wednesdays and Sundays throughout September. October sessions will give way to group photoshoots when we will have to be flexible on timings.
Helpers with acro experience are welcome to apply too!
Púcaí
Group Organisers: Torin (they/them), Lizzy (they/them), Josephine (they/them)
Pucai are shape-shifting creatures that walk the line between benevolence and malevolence. Pucai are associated with Samhuinn and Puca’s day (1st November) appearing when the last of the crops are brought in to bless or curse the next harvest – though we might be nice if you leave us our “Puca’s share”.
We are tricksters who embrace both the light and dark though we are leaning into the darkness for this festival bringing blessings or chaos… or should we say rhythms??
Because we will be a high commitment character driven drumming group. We will be leaning into playful chaos using improvisation and assorted percussion in our music, and are looking forward to seeing what rhythmical havoc we can create together.
We are a transitional group that will explore and celebrate the shift from summer to winter through our music and character; becoming more intense and unhinged, and fuelled by the last of the summer energy as the night progresses.
We are looking for people with drumming or musical experience to join the group. We will be unable to supply drums for open practices, so be sure to bring your own snare, tom or bass. Do contact us for advice on where to source a loan if you are struggling.
We will be asking for a participation fee of £60 and will have 2 practices a week:
- Thursdays from 7-10pm indoors
- Alternating Sundays combining indoor and outdoor practice from 2:30pm – 7pm (2.30-3.30pm outside, 4-7pm inside)
First closed practice: Sunday 13th September
Away Day: Saturday 26th September
We will be part creature, part jokesters who emerge on the night, shapeshifting and filling the air with playful or stoic rhythms.
If you want to join us in our unpredictable mischief, fill the form below and come to our open practices:
- Wednesday 9th 7-10pm
- Thursday 10th 7-10pm
Reds
Group Organisers: John (they/them), Nicole (she/her), Dominik (they/them)
We are the devils on your shoulders, whispering the best worst ideas straight in your ear.
We are the last embers of summer who don’t want to stop.
We are the bad influence daring you to let it all out one last time.
We are the reds.
Through acrobatics and character we will embody the burning flame of summer: joy, energy, sexiness and laughter. On Samhuinn we will burn to the extreme, into mania, wildness and mischief. As red you will explore any and all of these aspects and share them with all who will listen.
This year, the reds will make no apologies for whom we are, and push those around us to join our last revelries. We may know in our heart that this is our last night, but we will celebrate it all the more; get all the wildness in our hearts out, so we can die knowing we’ve given our all.
Join the last, defiant hurrah of summer.
Too Long Didn’t Red:
- A LOT of cool acro
- Find your inner Red, getting ready for the last party of their life
- Be bad influences who get witnesses and other groups alike to join our revelries
- PYRAMIDS
- Explore an individual death at the end of the night
ACCESSIBILITY:
The group is open to all. You don’t need any acro experience nor have a high fitness level to join.
While a level of fitness and mobility needed to be able to participate safely, the Reds are all about pushing your own boundaries and not anybody else’s. We are committed to making this group as accessible and flexible as possible, and to thinking together with you about adjustments we can make to make it possible for you to join.
KEY DATES:
Open practices:
- Monday 7th of September 7:00pm-9:30pm
- Wednesday 9th of September 7:00pm-9:30pm
- Saturday 12th of September 2:00pm-4:30pm
All opens will be at Red point (top of Middle Meadow Walk)
///pink.jeeps.mostly
https://w3w.co/pink.jeeps.mostly
N.B. our group selections will be ON SATURDAY 12th in the evening and our first closed the day after on SUNDAY the 13th!
Closed practices:
- Wednesdays 7pm-10pm
- Sundays 1pm-5pm
Usually at Red Point, but sometimes other central Edinburgh locations.
Weekend away: Camping from Friday 2nd (arrival after 5pm)-Sunday 4th of October
Commitment Level: HIGH.
The mandatory part consists of 2 practices a week (3 hours on Wednesdays and 5 on Sundays), physical (2x a week) and character (1x a week) homework as well as attendance during the morning-evening part on Saturday during the weekend away.
The rest of the weekend away is great fun though and camping in October in Scotland is an unforgettable experience, highly recommended! We also have 2-3 non-mandatory but highly fun socials planned throughout the run up!
Expected financial contribution: 50 Pounds (a BFS hardship fund is available if this is a problem)!
Spectral Hounds
Group Organisers: Caroline Massey, Lulu Flowers, Alex Nuttgens
AWOOOOOOOOOO BORK BORK! We are Spectral Hounds and we are all very good dogs!
We are the phantoms, ghosts and fairy dogs from folklore and myth from across Europe and the Americas. We act as omens, augurs and guardians of the living, and the dead.
Some of us are helpful to lost travellers, protecting them and guiding them to safety, but others lead them into danger, or even herald their DOOM!
Black Shuck , Church Grims, Cun Annum ,the Lamber, Black Dogs, Hell Hounds, Barghast, Carriage Dogs, The Wild Hunt, the Cu Sith, the Black Dog of the Hanging Hills are just a few examples of the many creatures we’ll be taking inspiration from!
While our characters are mythical, we’ll also be learning how to portray real dogs in the way we move, hunt and play. We’ll be using a combination of stilts, crutches and other methods to execute dog-like, quadrupedal movement for a most unsettling effect.
We’re looking for performers eager to try out a fun, unusual movement style using arm stilts (or crutches) as front legs! No prior front-stilted experience is required—just enthusiasm to experiment. If you happen to have experience with traditional leg stilts, that’s a plus, as some of us will be playing with four-legged setups too
Our group will run the full SPECTRE-um of the behaviours of dogs both real and mythical. Join the Spectral Hounds, the fluffy, adorable omens of death!
Specifics: We’re planning to be a medium-high commitment group, with a bit of costuming and a lot of movement, but you don’t need to be super-fit to join, just keen!
Our open practices will be:
- Sunday 6th, 4:30PM-6:30PM in Holyrood Park by the Education / Rangers Station
- Thursday 10th, 7PM-9PM in Holyrood Park by the Education / Rangers Station
- Sunday 13th, 4:30PM-6:30PM in Holyrood Park by the Education / Rangers Station
Map link for location
Our regular practices will be Sundays (1-5) and Wednesdays (7-9)
We’ll be having a staycation in or near Edinburgh on the weekend of the 2nd-4th October (non-compulsory, but we’d still really like it if you could come!).
Group fees are going to be £50
(piccies are from previous groups, this is the first ever Spectral Hounds!)
Tech
Group Organisers: Peter Jackson, Niall Walsh
Come be a part of the festival from behind the scenes!
Tech are the Beltaners who build, transport and set up most of the physical stuff on the hill, and facilitate the tech needs of other groups (within reason!) On the night, we light fires all over the hill, put them out at the end, and generally contribute to the safety and smooth running of the festival.
From making fire sculptures, training on extinguishing fires safely, we do a little bit of everything, and deal a little bit with everyone. We work especially closely with our contractors, stewards, torchies, and anyone wanting to do anything technically cool! It’s a great way to see the big picture of how the festival works.
Tech aims to be a space where members can take the level of responsibility you feel comfortable with. You don’t need specific skills, only enthusiasm! We’re here to share knowledge, make stuff happen, and have a good time. Whether you’re completely new to BFS, have only done performance, or you’ve done more festivals than you can count, everyone is welcome in Tech.
Practical things:
- We meet most Sunday afternoons in the run up, likely 2pm to 5pm, but to be confirmed.
- Practices are usually on East Cromwell Street, Leith, where Beltane has stores.
- First meeting is Sunday 13th September 2pm-4pm at 16 East Cromwell Street, Suggest that you contact us in advance but just turning up is fine too. Just show up in the yard and someone will find you!
- If you can’t make the first meeting that’s fine, fill out our form and we’ll email details of later sessions.
- The only sessions you have to attend (before Samhuinn itself) are a mandatory health and safety briefing, and at least one of the walkthroughs. However, we recommend attending as many as possible, especially if you are new.
- On the night, we are first on the hill, to set up while other groups get their paint on.
- It would be really helpful if you were available for at least some of the build and take down days between the 27th October and 1st November. Lending a hand with tech whilst also committing to another group is possible and encouraged, especially for the derig!
- No financial contribution. You might want to consider buying your own safety boots, but many tasks don’t need safety footwear, and we have a limited number of pairs that can be borrowed.
- Accessibility: Group Practices are not child or pet friendly unfortunately, but talk to us about other accessibility requirements you might have.
Any questions, ask Niall or Peter!
Contact: email tech@beltane.org or complete the form:
Torchbearers
Group Organisers: Feòrag (they/them), Harls (flexible)
What is a fire festival without fire? That’s where we come in! We will make the fire, from scratch, and take it to wherever it needs to be. We might also have a wee surprise for those watching the festival through their phones.
Practices are twice-weekly, Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon. Our expenses are low, though you will need to beg, borrow or make a cloak if you don’t already have one.
Winter Beets
Group Organisers: Ian, Nick, Yvonne
Winter Beets is a leafy high-fibre drum group, specially intended for people who for whatever reason haven’t drummed in a BFS festival before. If you’re interested in drumming but:
- have never tried it
- aren’t sure if you’d like it
- have never drummed at Beltane or Samhuinn
- have a life outside Beltane and can’t make two rehearsals a week
- can’t schlepp a heavy drum all round town, or just refuse to
- have accessibility requirements that could make it difficult to join another drum group
- or just don’t know what a drum is
then Winter Beets would love to hear from you!
We’ll be learning and playing simple down-to-earth beats, on bass, tom, snare, shaker and cowbell. As winter beets we’ll be planted in late summer, grow organically in September and October and be ready to harvest as the first frosts appear. Which will make our beats all the sweeter because that’s what frost does to beets! (Other root vegetables are available.)
We will be a low to medium commitment group. We will have one mandatory drum rehearsal per week and then additional optional sessions for costuming, socialling and maybe extra drumming for those who wish. There will be some drum homework between practices, but our drum tunes will be not too tricky and not too many, and there will be experienced drummers on hand to help!
There will be a staycation in Edinburgh on 3-4 October, of which part (drum practicing) will be mandatory.
Expected group contributions will be around £60 but if this might be an obstacle talk to us – we don’t want it to be!
Winter Beets practices will be held at the Bongo Club in the Cowgate. We’d love to see you at an open practice! Open practices will be:
- Sunday 6 September, 4-7pm
- Wednesday 9 September, 7-10pm
- Thursday 10 September, 7-10pm
We’ll ask for group applications to be in during the day on Friday 11 September, and we’ll let people know that evening if they’ve been selected.
Closed practices will be on Sundays from 4-7pm starting on 13 September. Optional additional sessions will usually be on Thursdays.
You only need to come to one open practice. Please let us know in advance by signing up at the open meeting or at this form:
Beta Vulgaris!
Closed Groups
Necrosphere
Group Organiser: Kaelin Farnish (they/them)
We are a Necrosphere, a dark-folk music ensemble. This Samhuinn we will create a soundscape to accompany the performance of Bone Point and all groups who visit, focusing on storytelling through music, dissonant renditions of well known songs and live improvisation. Using twisted versions of traditional ceilidh tunes, original compositions and elements of Danse Macabre, we will awaken the graveyard with our song and accompany the skeletons as they dance through the night.
Instrumentation includes banjo, fiddle, viola, percussion, bass, vocals and other acoustic instruments. We are members of the band Runach, and we all first met and performed together via Beltane and Samhuinn musical groups over the last three years. Our genre is dark-folk, and we draw from Scottish and Celtic poems, stories and songs to create our music.
We are a closed group but have space for a helper if the right person comes along. Experience with sound tech would be useful but not necessary! We will have weekly practices, it would be useful for a helper to attend at least half of these. Reach us at necrosphere@beltane.org to find out more.
Voices of the Cailleach
Description pending.
Projects
Cloaking Devices
Project Organiser: Ann Landmann – cloakingdevices@beltane.org
Everyone loves a cloak! They keep you warm, potentially dry and definitely looking cool and mysterious.
But not everyone has one in their wardrobe, and experience shows that making one A) takes longer than expected and B) is often left quite late as people are swept up in the excitement of the festival.
This is where Project Cloaking Devices comes in!
We’re an informal costuming group that meets a few times in the run-up to the festival. Whether you’re an experienced sewer or embarking on your first make, come along to connect to fellow Beltaners, get tips and tricks or tackle that tricky bit in good company (Hoods! Pockets!).
We’re not limited to making cloaks – we’re here for all your costuming needs, but please note that your Project Organiser Ann has only made two cloaks and one hood (and many, many diaper bags) to date.
We will have informal drop-in sessions on the following dates and times
- Saturday, 26 September 2026 12:00 to 16:00
- Thursday, 01 October 2026 18:00 to 21:00
- Thursday, 22 October 2026 18:00 to 21:00
Venue: Teaching Room 05 (Old College, University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL)
More sessions may be added.
There should be no financial contribution to come along, however you will need to source your own materials.
Sign up to our mailing list to keep updated about our meeting dates. We are also looking for people to share their expertise and own makes.
Dumb Supper
Project Organisers: Amber (She/her), Claire ( She/they), Judy (She/they)
Saturday 10 October, 6.45pm for 7.15pm start in Stockbridge.
This is an evening where Samhuinn Fire Festival participants and members of the Beltane Fire Society can take time to ritually remember those who have travelled on before, outside of the hurly burly of festival preparation. A time to join in community and remember over a meal, share stories and ritually acknowledge the thinning of the Veil between the Worlds.
THIS RITUAL MEAL IS NOT OPEN TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.
The format of a dumb supper varies dependent on a range of factors and traditions.
However, they all are conducted as a place of remembrance for the dead and contain an element of quiet (hence ‘dumb’).
For this ritual meal, we ask you:
- To bring some foodstuff – this can be related to someone dearly departed, something significant to you in ritual, or just something delicious to share.
- To wish to take part in ritual
- To listen to, and honour, others stories. There is no pressure to provide one yourself, but all should hold space for one another.
To aid with renting the space, there will be an honesty box, or you can otherwise pass on monies electronically. The suggested amount is £5. If you cannot provide this, please do not let this deter you from attending – all are welcome.
Once open groups have chosen members, the first come-first served booking list will be opened. We will confirm to you by email, if you have booked a place.
There is a mandatory zoom call for all participants on Monday 5 October 2026 at 7.30pm to go through any forms, ritual format etc for dumb supper participants.
When the places have been filled, we will have a waitlist in case any space/s open up before the Dumb Supper.
Spill the (Herbal) Tea
Description pending.
Beltane Fire Society 