The princesses have been ruminating over a second party event. The Halloween party is an annual event, established by Jax and her husband, TheScott. Part of the beauty of celebrating Halloween is that it is a wonderful and familiar crossover between the (pagan) sacred and the secular. If you’re new to our blog, one of our goals is to be openly pagan without excluding (or freaking out) our non-pagan friends and family.

Beltane (also called Walpurgis Night) offers an opportunity for a similar crossover. When I was in junior high, (ask how many years ago that was and risk instant expulsion from the realm) we celebrated a secular May Day, with the pole and everything. I have very fond memories of that event. Sadly, Jax and TheScott have never celebrated May Day. That is about to change!

Why is Beltane an important day for pagans? It is a cross-quarter day in the earth’s rotation around the sun, marking the half-way point between the spring (vernal) equinox and the summer solstice. Visit an earlier post for more information on pagan holidays and seasons. (Beltane is a time for casting off the dragging winter and opening your arms to the sun.)

We have as many trappings as possible, but we will have boundaries (financial and geographical). We want the event to be family friendly, open to attendance by our readers (because we love you!) and we’d really like to serve food provided by local sources. We’ve decided to scout out local parks that will allow alcohol, music and provide electricity. We’ll start visiting city parks in the next few weeks and let you know what we think. Ideally, we will also be allowed to have a fire, either in a pit…or maybe fire dancing! Ah, the possibilities are exciting! I really want to have a May Pole, too. More on that later. 🙂

What do you think? Did any of you ever celebrate May Day? Can local readers recommend sites, including but not limited to city parks?