Bealtaine is the national arts festival celebrating creativity as we age.

Join over 120,000 people all over Ireland, taking part in events involving music, art, dance, cinema, writing, theatre, heritage and more

May belongs to the Bealtaine festival, celebrating creativity as we age coordinated by Age & Opportunity.

Thousands of older people now take part in the Bealtaine festival, with 2019 being its 24th year.

From dance to cinema, painting to theatre, Bealtaine showcases the talents and creativity of both first-time and professional older artists.

Each year we aim to put together a Bealtaine Festival that is enjoyable, inspiring, and sometimes challenging.

We also wish to bring people together to connect and jointly explore our personal and political worlds. In 2019, on the eve of our 25th anniversary, we believe we have created a diverse festival which includes choral performances exploring aspects of hospitality, exhibitions looking at the role of memory in our lives, workshops and discussion considering the development of creativity as we age, as well as the darker sides of ageing.

At the base of all of this, however, is a celebration of ageing and of ourselves as artistic creative people. 

Each year, Age & Opportunity invites local authorities, arts centres, libraries, Active Retirement groups, care settings, community groups and clubs, associations from every part of the country to run Bealtaine events that celebrate creativity in older age.

Bealtaine is an Age & Opportunity initiative part-funded by the Arts Council and delivered by hundreds of organisations around the country.