Saturday 1 November 2025

From garden to gut, light to dark…

Join us at Forgan Arts Centre to celebrate the Celtic festival of Samhain. This year, we’ll be getting cosy with the small things that nourish us through the darker months of the year. 

Explore the art of fermentation, enjoy a community feast and discover all that connects us to each other and our wider ecology. 

• Listen to dreamy eco folk songs by Iona Lane
• Join seasonal family art activities with Holly White
• Share a delicious autumnal feast created by Iraqi Thistle
• Concoct garden potions with Louise King, grower at East Neuk Market Garden
• Taste locally fermented drinks and refreshments, including Buddy Kombucha
• Explore the gardens at dusk (bring a torch)

Our event is a nod to the ancient festival of Samhain, one of four festivals we host annually to create connections to the cycles of nature and to celebrate the turning of the Celtic wheel. Samhain marks the Celtic New Year, the end of summer, and the end of the harvest season.

Practical Information

There will be indoor and outdoor activities, so wrap up warm and wear good garden footwear. The event includes vegan and vegetarian food and refreshments – please let us know of any food allergies. The event runs 3-8pm, with the full schedule of activities to be released soon. You are welcome to join in and drop out at any time.

Access

The rooms, grounds and most parts of the garden in use during the event are wheelchair accessible. You can tell us about your access requirements when booking your ticket. We will ensure there is seating available throughout the venue and grounds.

Tickets

Our tickets are priced on a sliding scale: please choose the ticket price you can afford to pay.

About the contributors

Highlands-based songwriter Iona Lane weaves ecology, conservation, islands and folklore into poetic songs and contemplative melodies. In her new album, Swilkie, written during three residencies on the Isle of Eigg, Isle of Mull and Sanday in Orkney, sense of place and landscape are at the core of these songs. From basking sharks to lighthouses, lichen to vanishing islands, curlews to tree planting. 

Iraqi Thistle is a small catering service founded by Zayneb – of both Iraqi and Scottish descent. Based in Perth, this home business is fused with Scottish ingredients and a love for Iraqi and Middle Eastern flavours. With a background in nutrition, expect nourishing, unique, and wholesome cooked meals that bring people together.