The procession down Church Street.
When: 1st – 2nd May 2016
Where: Clun, Shropshire
£: Free (there is an admission charge for Monday’s fair in the castle grounds, £5 for adults and £2 for children, under 5s go free)
What is it?
The Clun Green Man Festival is a traditional annual event with music, drama and medieval merriment, celebrating the arrival of spring.
The highlight of the festival is a playful ‘battle’ between two characters, ‘The Green Man’ and ‘The Frost Queen’, who symbolise a battle between the seasons of winter and spring.
For those who haven’t heard of The Green Man before, he was once a popular mythical figure used to symbolise rebirth and was often used to represent spring. The Green Man, often depicted with a face made from leaves and other vegetation, can still be found in various forms around the country. He is commonly seen in wood and stone carvings on buildings and furniture, as well as on traditional signs for pubs named The Green Man. Clun’s version of The Green Man is unique to the area, with a face made of leaves and deer antlers on his head.
The Clun Green Man Festival kicks off on Sunday 1st May, as The Frost Queen’s Battle takes place in The Square. Visitors to the festival will be able to watch as The Green Man attempts to defeat The Frost Queen in this historic mock battle.
The Jester and The Frost Queen.
As well as the battle, there will be plenty of street entertainment taking place during the day. There will be traditional fun in the form of morris dancing, Jack the Jester and the Plantagenet Medieval Society. There will also be exotic animals from Animal Man, and music from Over the Hillbillies.
On Monday 2nd May there is another battle between The Green Man and The Frost Queen. This is the most important day of the festival, as tradition states that if The Green Man does not defeat The Frost Queen there will be no summer in Clun Valley!
The day begins with pre-battle entertainment on the bridge from 11.30am with Jack the Jester. At 12 noon The Green Man approaches the bridge accompanied by the May Queen. The famous Battle on the Bridge then follows. If The Green Man wins the battle (and we suspect he will) then the Traditional May Fair will open in the grounds of Clun Castle.
The fair will feature The Green Man, fire and drumming displays, stalls and traditional craft demonstrations. There will also be morris dancing, maypole dancing, strolling entertainers, jugglers, and battle re-enactments from the Plantagenet Medieval Society. Not to mention, a duck race, beer tent, face painting, live music and a circus workshop.
More info: www.clungreenman.org.uk and www.facebook.com/ClunGreenManFestival