Shining Hearth 2026

[Arethinn aTinderel]

Announcing the sixth annual Shining Hearth, a free online gathering of Elves, Fae, Sidhe, and adjacent folk! It will be held on March 27-29, 2026, the fourth weekend in March, on our Discord server. (If you are unfamiliar with Discord, we have a guide for newcomers here.) (PDF, 3.37 MB) As always, we plan to have workshops and discussions, games and watch parties, music, and of course plenty of time just to hang out and chat. You can get all the details and sign up for our newsletter on our website.

As with last year, we're starting out with an expanded schedule framework, hoping to have more offerings at times of the day that are more accessible to those attending from the eastern hemisphere. To do so we will need to have presenters willing to present at suitable times, staff to do presenter check-in duties and moderate chat, and streamers to host video watch parties or run games!

If you are a member of any otherkind spaces that are focused on those regions (or just have a high population of non-North-Americans) where you could assist with outreach, or have any other brainstorms, we welcome any suggestions and advice. If you're in Europe/Africa/Asia/Australia/wherever yourself, we encourage you to consider applying to present or be staff, or volunteering to stream a movie (or similar item) or host a game session. 

Please note that the event and server are 18+ only. For more information about our policies, see the FAQ.

Important dates:

Presenter sign-ups: November 14, 2025 - January 16, 2025
General registration: January 1 - March 26, 2026
Staff sign-ups: January 31 - March 2, 2026
Schedule posted: mid-February 2026
The gathering: March 27-29, 2026

Feel free to ask any questions here or email staff (at) shininghearth.net. We hope to see ye elfae folk there!

[Arethinn aTinderel]

Shining Hearth Staff sign-ups are open

Our Staff moderators watch chat on the server to make sure everyone is abiding by our Code of Conduct, deal with any conflicts that may arise, and may be asked to assist with Presenter check-ins. We are well-staffed for the Americas this year, so are particularly seeking staff from UK/Europe and Australasia (or other places that align with those time zones) to support events happening at those times of the day. Applications will be accepted through March 2nd or while space is available. Sign up to be staff here.

 

Late Presenter sign-ups will be accepted for two more weeks, through February 13th. The Australasia block is still mostly open and there's a few slots open for UK/Europe. The Americas block is full at this time, but we also accept applications as backups in case someone has to cancel between now and March. (Please note that while you can apply with a brief description, that the deadline for final titles/descriptions is also February 13th. We recommend entering your final text into the form if you can.) Sign up to present here.

 

General registration is still open through March 26th. Register to attend here.

[Arethinn aTinderel]

General registration for Shining Hearth is open! Register to attend here. If you are already a member of the server, you do not need to register again.

"Do I have to be Elf/Fae/Sidhe/Tuatha?" No; others are welcome. However, those kinds are our target audience, and we stick to that theme as much as possible.

"When will the schedule be posted?" We aim for mid-February. So far we've received proposals about fairy genealogy, alterhuman LARPing, fairy glamour, soundscapes for meditation and other 'kin-related purposes, intuitive faery art, and color magic. We will likely see the return of the perennially popular Realm of Refuge, and possibly have a ritual working on Bringing Home the Balefire.

We are still seeking Presenters! Currently there are a few slots open for the Americas block, three for Australasia, and the Europe block is still entirely open. Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long, but you don't have to fill up the whole time. Sign up to present here.

[Arethinn aTinderel]

Presenter sign-ups are now open! Presentations can be on any topic that would be of interest to elfae folk and can be in any format: lecture, panel, group discussion, demonstration, ritual, meditation, performance, etc. Timeslots are 1 hour long. (You don't have to fill up that whole time, but should use at least 30 minutes.) There are time options available for those in the Americas, Europe, and Australasia. If you want to present as a group, choose one person to be the primary contact and only fill out the form once. (All members of the group must be 18 or older and must agree to the Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.)

 

Presenter applications will be accepted through January 16, 2026, or while space is available. The signup form is here.

 

Interested in presenting, but need inspiration for a topic? Check out the schedules from previous years here, or see this compilation of workshop descriptions from otherkin gathers of yore.