What a great way to celebrate the First day of May!

by Jennifer Lim

I have contemplated attending the Beltain festival at Butser Ancient Farm since 2008. This year, I finally put my foot down and decide I want to experience the fun and mythical origin of this event... and I was not disappointed.

It’s a nice way to usher in a new season especially summer. The prelude to the event was exciting as the day itself. First, we have to perfect our dance. There was lots of camaraderie as we practice and perfect the dances. Gay decided that we should grace the event with antlers she collected through the years.  I never know till now that deer sheds their antlers after each mating season.  There was lots of catching up for me as I have many lessons last year. Luckily, the videos I had from past performances have helped me make up for lost time. 

It’s the first day of May and the day to celebrate Beltain. The weather report was not positive, we will not be getting the dry and sunny weather we had a week ago. But we were blessed. It didn’t rain. The cloudy and windy condition didn’t deter our enthusiasm. We put on our make up in the open and practice our dance in the Roman Villa much to the bewilderment of visitors exploring the Roman artefacts.  

The performances went without a hitch. Our costumes add colours to the green fields. The crowd were great and we had a great time. The day ended with the burning of the wicker man. This year’s wicker man is styled to honour the late Edward Woodward , one of the main actors from the classic 1973 film, The Wicker Man.

Beltain Festival will be seeing me there next year!