New Chair
Peebles March Riding and Beltane Queen Festival recently held their Annual General Meeting. This meeting saw the completion of Chairman Paul Spence’s five years in office, a tenure that was more difficult than many of his predecessors, given the decisions that needed to be made around the covid pandemic. The new Chair is Lorna Evans, a long-time member of the committee, and the remaining office bearers remain unchanged with Ex-Cornet Angus Tait as Vice-Chair, Jan Gordon as Treasurer and Ex-Cornet George Blair as Secretary.
Three Bridges and Professional Sports
Unfortunately, no one came forward to take of the convenor roles for the Three Bridges Races and the Beltane Professional Sports. As a result, neither of these events will take place this year but it is hoped in both cases that this is a temporary blip, and both will return in 2026.
Finance
The main topic of conversation during the evening was the financial position of the festival. While the festival has been incredibly fortunate to have been the beneficiary of some very generous legacies in the last few years, the Beltane nevertheless is incredibly expensive to deliver and in a normal year, costs are almost double the income received. This means that any savings will be quickly used up if the current trend continues. A strong fundraising sub-committee has been formed to look at plugging the gap of the annual five figure deficit, so new fund-raising events will be advertised soon.
As part of the effort to raise more funds, a very successful Coffee Morning was held in the Burgh Hall last weekend, and the committee’s thanks go to all those who supported the event, either by donating home Baking/raffle prizes, or by their attendance.
Patrons
One way supporters can make an immediate difference, is by becoming a patron of the festival. A patron is an individual or business that makes an annual donation to the festival. The Festival is incredibly grateful for the support of its patrons, who currently contribute almost a quarter of the festival’s annual income. A full list of patrons appears in the Beltane Programme annually. Should anyone wish to become a patron, they should contact patrons@peeblesbeltanefestival.co.uk.
Dates for your diary
Next up, is the Introduction of the Beltane Principals on Friday 18th April in the Burgh Hall. A Coffee Evening, with music supplied by the Silver Band will commence at 7pm, while the Cornet-Elect and Lass, Crowning Lady, Warden of Neidpath, Warden of Cross Kirk and Boundary Reader will all be announced at 8pm.
Wednesday 7th May will see the announcement of Beltane Queen, First Courtier and the Queen’s Court outside the Drill Hall, around 2.30pm.
Finally, this year’s festival will take place from Sunday 15th to Saturday 21st June 2025.