Samhuinn is the old Celtic turn of the year, the night the wall between this world and the other one goes thin. The Silk Road is where worlds actually crossed. This year we are putting the two together.
It is less strange than it sounds. The Norse traders the Arabs called the Rus ran the rivers from Scandinavia down to Baghdad, so a Viking with a pocketful of silver dirhams was an ordinary thing to meet on the Volga. This is how a set of Highland pipes and an oud end up at the same fire, on a farm in Albemarle County.
Come for the whole day. Stay for the fire.
Music & Ceremony Program:
2PM Kinnfolk, a Celtic folk duo out of the Blue Ridge, whose live show runs like a kitchen party.
3PM Femme Celtique will bring their pipes and drums and weave you into dance.
430PM Al-Hawanim, all-women all-stars playing Arab, Turkish, Persian, Armenian and Greek repertoire, which is roughly the western half of the road in one set.
6:45 Høly River from Richmond, harmonium and drone and songs about the turn toward a new day.
8PM Samhuinn Fire Ceremony, led by ceremonialist Jen Waine with musician Lester Seal.
Through the day: falconry and raptor education, archery, Viking and Rus encampments, belly dancing, henna, tarot and fortune telling, and food from all along the road, Anatolia to the Thai coasts and the Himalayas.
After dark: shadow puppetry from Nettle Shirts Puppet Works, the annual crowning of the Samhuinn spirits, the dance and community bonfire.
Tickets for youth ages 12-18 are available at $18. Free admittance is offered for children 12 and under.
*Food, Beverage, and specialty vendors available on site but not included in ticket price. No outside alcohol is permitted on site at Thistlerock.
**Event is Rain or Shine
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Party size
1 ticket