Guides May Fayre 2027 Sunday 9 May Updated 25 Sep 2026
The May Fayre is always the second Sunday in May, which makes 2027 Sunday 9 May. The organiser confirms the programme in the spring.
Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival 2027: free Punch and Judy in the piazza
The second Sunday of May, free, at the Actors' Church. A brass band procession at eleven, a service with Mr Punch in the pulpit at noon, and puppeteers all afternoon.
Sunday 9 May 2027, free, in the garden of St Paul’s Covent Garden. It is the oldest thing on this list and the least like the rest of London: a churchyard full of puppet booths, a brass band, and several hundred people watching Punch hit things.
The fayre marks the first recorded sighting of Mr Punch, which Samuel Pepys watched in Covent Garden in May 1662 and wrote down, which is why the anniversary has a date at all. It has run annually for over fifty years.
What happens, and when
Eleven in the morning: a procession led by a brass band goes round the neighbourhood and ends with a toast to Mr Punch in the piazza. Noon: a service inside the church, at which Punch has been known to appear in the pulpit. Then puppeteers, Punch and Judy professors, clowns, magicians, stilt walkers and pearly kings and queens until half past five.
Getting in
Free and unticketed. It is a churchyard rather than a park, so it fills, and the shows that draw a crowd are worth standing near early. Covent Garden station is two minutes away and is exit only at busy times; Leicester Square and Charing Cross are both a short walk and usually easier.
If it rains
It goes ahead. The booths have their own canopies and the service is indoors.
Dates and events for 2027 go in as venues confirm them. The guide above is what we know so far; it is rewritten as the list fills.
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What is on right now
All 2189 listingsThis guide is rewritten each year before the dates come round. For what is actually happening this week rather than what happens every year, the listings below are dated, checked against the venue and carry the venue's own link.
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Soho Covent Garden Islington Bloomsbury Camden Shoreditch Dalston Battersea Fitzrovia Crouch End
Questions people ask
When is the Covent Garden May Fayre 2027?
Sunday 9 May 2027. It is always the second Sunday in May.
Is it free?
Yes, free and unticketed. There are stalls selling puppets and crafts, and a collection, but nothing to pay to get in.
Where is it?
The garden of St Paul's Church, Covent Garden, known as the Actors' Church. The entrance is on Bedford Street or through the piazza.
What time should I get there?
Eleven for the procession, or noon for the service. The afternoon is the puppet shows and runs to half past five.
Is it worth taking children?
It is largely aimed at them. Punch and Judy, clowns and magicians, outdoors, free, and over in an afternoon.
Every listing on this page is checked against the venue's own page and the page is rewritten each year, usually six to eight weeks before the dates. Times and prices can change on the night; the venue link on each event is the one to trust. How we choose what goes in.