Beltane at Extrasensory

Beltane is the fire festival that opens the bright half of the year. It comes from the Gaelic calendar of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, and falls halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. The name is often translated as "bright fire." On Beltane, people let their hearths go cold, lit great fires, and carried the flame home to start again. Herds were walked between two fires, through the smoke, before being turned out onto summer grass. Doorways were hung with yellow flowers, thorn bushes were dressed in ribbons, and small gifts were left for the spirits said to pass close by at this time of year. In the north, Beltane is May Day. In the south, we mark it now, as the jasmine opens over Naarm's fences and the evenings stretch out. It falls on the same night the north keeps Samhain: one door opening onto the dark, another onto the light. Join us for three hours of musical performances, ritual, fire & installations with a very special, fleshy altarpiece, featuring musical and artistic offerings from: Lyndal Walker, Jessica Aszodi and more TBA Bring something for the altar: something grown, something ripe, something blooming. Fruit and flowers are especially welcome.