As the sun rose over Peel on Sunday morning, the town came alive as stallholders and performers prepared for this year’s Oie Voaldyn celebrations.

Known affectionately as Sunset City, each May the town hosts Oie Voaldyn - the traditional Manx May Day festival which marks the arrival of summer.

While the evening fire show remains the centrepiece, festivities begin much earlier in the day with music, food, storytelling and entertainment across the town.

Peel Town Commissioner Katryna Baptist, who serves as events and commercial innovation lead member alongside Stuart Hardingham, was among those involved in supporting this year’s festival. The 2026 event itself was organised by John Shakespeare.

Mrs Baptist described the day as ‘a great success’.

She said: ‘It’s such a privilege to host and support events like this in Peel. With the beautiful beach and historic castle as a backdrop, I think it’s the perfect location.

‘The event provides a welcome boost for local businesses and, of course, creates a great experience for both residents and visitors.’

The daytime programme featured craft stalls, live music, dancing, storytelling and food vendors, with crowds gathering throughout the town ahead of the evening spectacle on Peel beach.

The festival has continued to grow in both scale and popularity in recent years, with large numbers attending this year’s celebrations.

Mrs Baptist added: ‘It’s a joy to see this festival grow over the years. The community has really come together to create a full day of creativity celebrating Manx culture.

‘There’s craft tents, singing, dancing, storytelling and more - it’s no longer just an evening show.’

Entry to the festival remained free, with a range of local food vendors on site throughout the day.

Mrs Baptist praised the efforts of everyone involved in organising the event.

She said: ‘I loved how so many people were involved in pulling the event together. The costumes were incredible, the show was very well delivered, the music was atmospheric and overall, it was extremely well organised and produced. Thank you Team Oie Voaldyn.’

All pictures courtesy of Katryna Baptist.

The Culture Vannin team were part of the festivities aswell
The Culture Vannin team were also part of the Oie Voaldyn festivities (Katryna Baptist)
The team from Rumbin Tum food truck
The team from the Rumblin’ Tum food truck at work during the festival (Credit: Katryna Baptist) (Katryna Baptist)
The Summer Queen pictured with the circle flower head dress is Jo Pickering. Juan Callister is pictured to the far right, alongside friends.
Oie Voaldyn’s Summer Queen Jo Pickering (centre) with members of her party with Juan Callister (far right) (Katryna Baptist)
Peel came alive for Oie Voaldyn
Peel came alive for Oie Voaldyn. (L-R) Trevor Gibbs, Cathy Clucas and Pip the white Glashtyn (Credit: Katryna Baptist) (Katryna Baptist)
Various different costumes were part of the celebrations
Jordan Collie helps one of Odin’s ravens take flight (Credit: Katryna Baptist) (Katryna Baptist)
Charity Ed Space were present in Peel for the festival
Volunteers from the Ed Space charity manned a tent on Peel’s Shore Road during the festival (Credit: Katryna Baptist) (Katryna Baptist)
Friends gathered in Peel during the day for activities before the fire festival began in the evening
Friends gathered in Peel for a day full of activities before the fire festival began in the evening (Credit: Katryna Baptist) (Katryna Baptist)
There were lots of smiling faces from the crowds, even the ones on duty
There were lots of smiling faces amongst the crowds, even the ones on duty (Credit: Katryna Baptist) (Katryna Baptist)