FEW weekends are busier than this one in Scotland’s calendar of the bizarre and far-flung.
Cultural diversions include the Shetland Folk Festival, Glasgow Art Fair, Isle of Bute Jazz Festival, Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Dundee Jazz Festival and Central Scotland Horse Trials.
Among other options is Triptych, whose intriguing programme includes everything from Candi Staton to Arab Strap via Aberfeldy. Offering events in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, it is a godsend for audiences who are prepared to be challenged by the non-mainstream. Anyone over 30 or terminally uncool is not likely to slip in un-noticed. But you could get away with attending Big In Falkirk, the annual cultural event at the apex of the M8-M76. There was a time when the only thing "big" in Falkirk was the giant branch of What Everyone Wants. Now in its fifth year, Big In Falkirk attracted record audiences of 100,000 in 2004. The family-friendly facilities at Callendar Park are extensive and free buses will run to and from Falkirk High station and the awe-inspiring Falkirk Wheel.
Also taking place this weekend is the Beltane Fire Festival, celebrating the arrival of summer (it usually rains) with a mix of fire, costume, drums and pagan ritual on Calton Hill. Beltane is thought to have derived from a Gaelic-Celtic word meaning "bright/sacred fire", and coincided with the ancient pastoral event of moving livestock to their summer grazing spot.
In recent years, audiences of around 15,000 have come to watch the two-hour procession and join in the celebrations. If you’re into the Beltane "scene" this means immersing yourself in the midnight dew and exploring your physical relationship with the ancient earth. If you’re not into the Beltane "scene" - or unfortunate enough to live close to Calton Hill - this appears to mean smearing oneself with brightly coloured paint, ululating while waving a flaming torch and peeing in someone’s garden on the way home. And constant drumming. According to the Beltane website, drumming is "one of the oldest known methods of obtaining trance states, altering consciousness to allow a glimpse of the divine". Doesn’t help the hangover, though. Now a ticketed event, in the interests of public sanity, the fiery procession is still a dramatic sight that brings much needed depth to Edinburgh’s annual festival calendar.
• For more details, ww.triptych05.com; www.biginfalkirk.com; www.beltane.org