Beltanica Festival welcoms warmer weather

The Third Annual Beltanica Festival saw residents and visitors giving thanks for the abundance of the earth and in their lives at Lightclub Curiosity Shoppe in the Village of Warwick on Saturday, May 10.

Proprietors Melissa and Catello Somma started he festival in anitipcation of the coming summer days.

Craft vendors will metaphysical goods, psychic readers, herbal and magical workshops, classes, music, food, and a procession and floral dance leading up to the raising and blessing of the Maypole were featured. Celebrations and workshops featured lavender and hawthorn, magical herbs that can enhance your life for the better, according to practitioners, many of whom were dressed in Renaissance attire. Later a procession carried in the Maypole that was erected in the center of the gathering and welcomed people to dance around it and the floral garlands that decorated it.

The name Beltanica is a composite of “Beltane” (celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere marking the beginning of summer in ancient Gaelic culture) and “Botanical” (relating to the natural ingredients from plants that help us to sustain life). Beltane, according to Celtic tradition, was primarily a practical agricultural and seasonal holiday. It signaled the start of the growing season and the movement into a time of abundance.

Melissa Paone Somma, who calls herself an eclectic witch, explained the background of this festival: “A lot of people think that the summer solstice is the start of summer, but the June 20 is near its peak. We celebrate this festival near the beginning of May with the Maypole dance, at winter’s end. It’s a celebration of nature and actually a celebration of life. We want attendees to be a little bit more aware of the world around us, and a little bit more respectful of nature.”