In keeping with Celtic tradition the history of the Festival is maintained mainly through storytelling. Beltane lore is held by the Blues, a respected group of the society’s ‘old hands’ who build the stories through their considerable experience in participation and involvement in the Beltane Fire Society.
Our Blues are long-standing and active members of our community with lots of experience participating and performing in festivals, and a deep connection to our rituals and traditions. For more information around the role, please see the links below, or head further down to see who our current Blues are and read the words they shared with us.
- What Blues do.
- The current Blues for any festival form part of the GO Selection Group for that festival: they therefore now cast their votes, along with the Board, on an equal footing. You can find the full GO selection process here.
- The Blues and Board also work together to select court members. The full court process selection for this year is here.
- Processes around becoming and stepping down as a Blue.
If you have queries about these process or changes, please contact us at board@beltane.org, or members of the board will have a table at the Open Meeting where you can drop by and chat with us.
Our Samhuinn 2026 Blues:
John
I first took part in Beltane in 2008 as a Steward.
I had been attending the Festival for many years as a spectator (we call them witnesses now). Being rather short, I rarely saw very much of the performance with so many people in front of me. But that didn’t matter as the pulsing of the drums and electrifying excitement of the spectacle rippled through the crowd, everyone moving together to the beat in their thousands.
Then technology ruined it all! People had decided that if they stood very, very still, their terrible 1.3 megapixel phone cameras would be able to capture the majesty of the May Queen despite the darkness of the night and the flickering glare of dancing fire. They were wrong, but the damage was done. The pulsing crowd of previous years was transformed into a dense forest of human tripods.
Joining the Stewards allowed me to stand at the front and get a great view for the first time. I still had no real idea what was going on, but whatever it was, it was Right There! I was hooked, returning the next year and every year since. As well as several more stints as a steward, I have been a firestarter, an embarrasing uncle, entourage to the May Queen, a drummer, a dancer, an acrobat, a king, a host of the party, an evil chef, a witch, a noisy blacksmith and a Blue, learning something new and exciting about the festival and myself each time.
Our festivals are exciting and challenging and spectacular, but what really keeps me coming back, year after year, is the incredible community of friends and colleagues who come together to create each one afresh, with no two festivals quite the same.
Simone
Back in 2015, I turned up to a Beltane Open Meeting anxious and unsure if I’d fit in, and was immediately swept up into a delightfully mad whirlwind of strangers who welcomed me like an old friend.
Since then, I’ve been painted a rainbow of different colours as a drummer, photographer, King’s helper, White, Techie, hunter, Gaelic singer, bird, faerie and GO. I’ve learned new skills, grown as a person, made friends for life and achieved things that I thought I never could… and had a whole lot of fun along the way!
The creativity and love that goes into what we do still blows me away, and seeing everyone’s hard work come together on the night still gives me goosebumps every single time.
I’m honoured to be asked to Blue, grateful to be able to give back to this amazing community, and so excited to do this wild, wonderful thing with you all.
Lindsay
Despite being an Edinburgh native, I only discovered Beltane existed after I started drumming with the Edinburgh Samba School. After a few years watching the festivals (and becoming very close to getting involved – even attending an open rehearsal in 2007), I took the plunge and joined as a Processional Drummer for Beltane 2009. And despite being somewhat (very!) confused and overwhelmed with the whole experience that first festival, I was hooked.
What followed was many years of drumming, including leading both the Processionals and Winter Drummers for a number of years (and a couple of one-off drum crews), until I finally took the plunge completely out of my comfort zone into a non-drumming group for the Queen’s Hands in Beltane 2024.
Beltane has been a key part of most of my adult life and has offered me so many opportunities and experiences that I can confidently say I would not have had in any other capacity. I am honoured and excited to be one of your Blues for this festival and hope to do it justice and contribute to this really rather wonderful thing we do.
I came for the drumming, but I stayed for so much more.
Mailis
My first Beltane was in 2017 after I joined the very last open practice of the Aerie; pushing myself to do something new and scary after moving to Scotland in October 2016.
In my 9 years within the BFS, I have been a bird, a dancer (many times), a drummer, a snake, a Pixie, a fire performer, a root vegetable, a Cailleach/Queen’s/Blue’s helper, Green Man and a trustee. I have met so many delightful people, started calling Scotland home and found a little corner of joy on a Hill. Despite time passing and the challenges we’ve faced, each year the magic remains and I marvel at the creativity of everyone who helps create the not-so-small feat that our Festivals are!
I am so honoured to have been asked to become a Blue, and I am so excited to help shape and support the wild things that we do every year.
Siobhan
My first festival with Beltane Fire Society was Samhuinn 2016 — the infamous “wet one”. Ten years and 15 festivals later, after countless drums, fires, costumes, body paint and adventures, I somehow find myself becoming a Blue.
I came to Beltane Fire Society on something of a quest, looking for connection and community.
What I found was something more profound: a space where, little by little, I felt safe enough to let my guard down and show up as I am.
It became somewhere I could explore how I relate to myself, to other people and to the world around me; learn that boundaries weren’t something to apologise for or hide behind, but something we could understand, express and respect together; and give myself permission to play, be curious, make mistakes, develop new skills, be supported — and become more fully myself.
Over the past ten years, I’ve been in eight different drum crews and five Reds groups, as well as a White and a Torchie, and Group Organiser for Reds on three occasions. Those different perspectives have taught me about performance and festivals, but also about leadership, teamwork, trust and responsibility — lessons that now feel especially relevant as I step towards becoming a Blue.
More important than the number of festivals and roles, though, is the sense of community those experiences have shown me. When people commit to something together — supporting one another, making space for different strengths and quirks, and combining artistic passion with wonderfully bonkers ideas — we can create something genuinely magical.
I’ve also come to appreciate more clearly the value of what we do: keeping traditions and rituals alive while allowing them to evolve and speak to the times in which we live. For me, part of the magic lies in connecting past, present and future through fire, ritual, story, music, movement and collaboration.
But BFS is only part of the story. Life beyond the Society has shaped me too. The past year in particular has brought profound challenges and responsibilities, reminding me how much compassion, patience, kindness and community matter when life is difficult. I hope to carry those lessons with me, alongside everything my time with BFS has taught me.
All of that — the practical experience, the community, the traditions, and the lessons life has brought beyond BFS — is what I carry with me into this next role.
I’m under no illusion that becoming a Blue means I suddenly know everything there is to know about the Society. There are many people with vastly greater knowledge, experience, creativity and festival wizardry, and I’m grateful to learn from them. I also recognise what I bring: ten years of showing up, getting stuck in, listening, learning, taking responsibility, sometimes getting things wrong — and trying again. That has given me experience and perspective of my own to offer the role.
So I step into being a Blue with gratitude, excitement, curiosity and a healthy respect for what lies ahead. I hope I can offer what I’ve gained, continue to listen and learn, and warmly support the Society and its members within my capacity.
Beltane Fire Society has brought me friendship, adventure, challenge, creativity, ridiculous amounts of fun and opportunities to discover parts of myself I might never otherwise have found. Most of all, it has given me a place to belong, and a place in which I have felt safe enough to grow. The chance to give something back feels like both an honour and a responsibility.
Ten years ago, I came looking for connection.
I found my people.
I found a place to grow.
I found fire, drums, body paint, unexpected experiences and a whole lot of magical chaos.
And, apparently, I’m still here.
I’m incredibly grateful for the journey so far — and very excited to see where the fire leads next.
Beltane Fire Society 