The May Fayre is always held on or near the date of Punch's birthday. We celebrate Punch's birthday on May 9th since Samuel Pepys first saw Mr Punch in England on 9 May 1662 and recorded the fact in his diary.

The 35th Annual Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival, to be held in honour of Mr Punch's 348th birthday, on Sunday 9th May 2010, in St Paul's Church Gardens, Bedford Street, Covent Garden, WC2. 10.30am Assemble for the Grand Procession around the neighbourhood. 11.30am Continuous performances of Punch and Judy and Puppet Shows to 5.30pm plus workshops, stalls, folk music and dancing. Please remember that this is a performance festival dedicated to the art of puppetry. If you wish to sell any items at all they must be directly concerned with puppetry and sold from a small stall at the side of your booth, not in front. People come from far and wide to see your performances and our policy is to retain the unique quality of this non-commercial event which we started in 1976 specifically to promote puppetry. As you know, we do try to make a contribution towards your travelling expenses, but if you are selling items we would not expect to pay your expenses as the running of the event gets more expensive every year. Maggie Pinhorn and Amy Dyke-Coomes (on behalf of the May Fayre Committee). Further information fromThe May Fayre Committee c/o Alternative Arts,Top Studio, Montefiore Centre, Hanbury St, E1 5HZ Tel 020 7375 0441 / Fax 020 7375 0484 e-mail: info@alternativearts.co.uk