Preview: Beltane Fire Festival

Published on Friday 22 April 2011 11:30

'BELTANE has been staged by volunteers for almost 25 years, regardless of the economic climate, bureaucracy or problems finding money," says Adam Ley-Lange, performer and press officer for Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival.

"That's part of what makes it so amazing. It's really inspiring that those volunteers make it happen year after year, even as things are difficult in society and people are struggling to survive or stop their houses being repossessed. The festival reminds us that we're part of a community, that we can still do things within that community to improve our own lives and those of our neighbours."

Such opinions sum up the particular appeal of Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival, a fixture of the city's cultural calendar since the pagan tradition was revived there 24 years ago. The celebration, which marks the start of May, and with it the onset of summer, is unlike any other on the Scottish festival calendar. Staged on 30 April at the top of Calton Hill, Beltane is part ritual, part spectacle, part theatrical performance, following the procession of the May Queen and the Green Man from winter into spring, the latter character being symbolically killed and reborn over the course of the evening.

For the many thousands of non-pagans who attend every year, of course, it's simply a dazzling show which features dancing, drumming, fire sculptures and juggling, and some memorable costumes. A certain sense of eerie, Wicker Man-echoing excitement is exemplified by the body-painted Red Men, while the Big Society echoes of Ley-Lange's words belie Beltane's counter-cultural roots as a reaction by a group of local musicians and dancers to the Thatcher government's active dislike of certain public gatherings.

"Beltane has evolved since then, as it should," says Erin Chadwick, this year and last's May Queen and a five-year veteran of the Beltane Fire Society. "I don't think there's so much of a political agenda now. It's a creative outlet and not an encouragement to revolt. But people will always bring what inspires them, what fires them up, to Beltane."

Although Edinburgh's Beltane retains something of a free and individual spirit about itself in comparison to more commercial events (the website unashamedly labels it a "hippy festival"), what was once a friendly and spirited free-for-all atop Calton Hill has adopted more of the trappings of a mainstream event in recent years. Until 2003 it was free to all, but following a sabbatical that year when it was forced into being a tiny club date by disputes with a concerned council, the festival returned with a more controlled format - a maximum crowd capacity, an early curfew (when compared with the previous all-night format), paid-for tickets and a security presence all caused controversy with the old hardcore at the time.

This year's Beltane producer Sean O'Hare, however, sees the festival as being just as vital a part of Edinburgh's identity as ever. "We're utilising a great public space in the city to put on what is yet another big international event for Edinburgh," he says. "On the night we'll have 300 volunteer performers playing for an expected 12,000 people from all around the world. Beltane is a perfect showcase for the city, and for the many artists, arts groups and creative industries thriving in Edinburgh."

Chadwick, an Australian, agrees. "It's an event which deserves recognition because it draws a lot of people to the city. Does it compare to Hogmanay? As a spectacle, yes it does, and I think it's earned its support over the years."

"Especially after last winter, and all the snow we had and chaos it caused," says Ley-Lange. "It's good to be a part of something which conveys how much we're looking forward to summer. It's a night filled with colour and energy and vibrancy, a big party atmosphere. By the end of it, when everyone's gone on their journey, done their transformations and finally shrugged off the last remnants of winter, the energy on the hill is electric.

"I know that sounds a bit New Age and all that," he laughs, "but the happiness and rejoicing really are tangible when the festival reaches its climax. It's a celebration of nature which fills a gap, I think, in what modern society offers to people. We live in consumer-driven times, but the experience of Beltane transcends materialism for a short time."

This does indeed sound rather high-minded and esoteric, but also refreshingly innocent for a festival in this day. Planning for the 25th year won't begin until this one is done, say all concerned, but it would be nice to think such a significant milestone might be recognised and rewarded. v

DAVID POLLOCK

The Beltane Fire Festival 2011, Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Saturday, 8pm

www.beltane.org

&#149 This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on 24 April 2011