Fire and drums to mark arrival of winter at Edinburgh’s Calton Hill as Samhuinn plans announced
The Samhuinn Fire Festival will feature fire-play, drumming, acrobatics, dance, elaborate costumes and immersive performances at Edinburgh's Calton Hill
Edinburgh’s Calton Hill will be lit up with fire and drums as the Samhuinn Fire Festival marks the end of summer and the arrival of winter.
Hundreds of performers will gather at the landmark on Saturday October 31 for the celebration of Scotland's Celtic heritage.
The annual festival, organised by the volunteer-run Beltane Fire Society, will feature fire-play, drumming, acrobatics, dance, elaborate costumes and immersive performances throughout the evening.
At the centre of this year’s production will be the Cailleach, the ancient Crone and Goddess of Winter.
Organisers say her story will encourage audiences to reflect on the importance of rest, sacrifice and letting go, while highlighting the cycle of life, death and renewal.
The performance will also feature the Summer King and Winter Queen, whose stories explore themes including consumerism, grief, challenges of accepting things that cant be changed.
A tired Summer King will confront a culture of consumption and the consequences of continually demanding more, while the Winter Queen will face personal and collective grief.
The stories return to the wisdom of the Cailleach, with audiences invited to consider that endings are a natural part of life and that winter represents survival as opposed to an ending.
Chair of Beltane Fire Society, Jenny Bloom, says: “People coming together as a community is one of the most powerful ways to brace ourselves against an ever more frightening present day and an ever more uncertain future.
“Each year, our hundreds of volunteers spend months weaving the stories, rituals and performances that construct our Festival and it is an honour to carry thousands of Witnesses with us as we share the magical Samhuinn Night with our City.”
The Samhuinn Fire Festival is one of the four traditional Celtic quarter-day festivals and marks the transition from summer into winter.
Gates for this year's event at Calton Hill will open at 6.30pm, with the festival running until 11pm.
Tickets will be priced from £13 for adults if you book in advance, while under-18s and those on low incomes can purchase tickets from £10.
Tickets are only available through the organisers authorised box office supplier and will not be valid if purchased through a secondary resale platform.