He may be nearing his 350th birthday but Mr Punch is showing no signs of slowing down. This annual Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival celebrates the red nosed stick-wielding puppet, bringing together dozens of puppeteers in a colourful, highly entertaining afternoon. The Covent Garden location is appropriately close to the spot where Samuel Pepys first sighted Mr Punch on 9th May 1662 and recorded the fact in his diary - which is why the birthday celebrations fall on or near to 9th May. Puppeteers from all over the country are accompanied by folk music, dancers, clowns and jugglers. The day's events start with a toast to Mr Punch, and a brass band led Grand Procession starting at Church Garden, a beautiful little oasis in the city centre. There follows a special church service at St Paul's Church, with a sermon administered by Rev Mark Oakley and Mr Punch himself. An integral part of British heritage, the puppet with attitude is a wonderful, anarchic figure and this is a top traditional family day out.
Visiting Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival
Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival
St Paul's Covent Garden, WC2E 9ED
9th May 2010
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He may be nearing his 350th birthday but Mr Punch is showing no signs of slowing down. This annual Covent Garden May Fayre and Puppet Festival celebrates the red nosed stick-wielding puppet, bringing together dozens of puppeteers in a colourful, highly entertaining afternoon. The Covent Garden location is appropriately close to the spot where Samuel Pepys first sighted Mr Punch on 9th May 1662 and recorded the fact in his diary - which is why the birthday celebrations fall on or near to 9th May. Puppeteers from all over the country are accompanied by folk music, dancers, clowns and jugglers. The day's events start with a toast to Mr Punch, and a brass band led Grand Procession starting at Church Garden, a beautiful little oasis in the city centre. There follows a special church service at 
