The May Queen is a festival which has been part of Lymm Village for over 100 years. Originating from the event "Walking Day" it was a type of Church parade which was very common in towns and villages in the North West of England. The Churches would hire bands to perform such as brass, pipe or marching bands and everyone would follow the procession through their village. Non-church processions could be led by a young lady who had been crowned the "Rose Queen" that year. The children from the churches, schools, Scouts and Girl Guides would play a big role in the event which is still a key feature of the festival today.
Each year, the festival includes a village procession with musical bands, floats and dancing acts which parade through the village twice. The village centre is packed to the brim with people enjoying the entertainment and fairground rides and stalls. Before the event, the May Queen is chosen from a selection if young girls at the Village Hall. All girls have to have lived in the village for at least 3 years and the Queen is picked from names out of a hat. Following the selection of the May Queen, a Rose Queen is chosen, who is of a younger age, and then a further 6 attendants for each Queen are picked. These consist of 4 flower girls and 4 boys to be crown bearers. After the parade, the event moves on to the May Queen field which is owned by the committee. The members of the floats walk around the show ring and a prize is given to the best float. The Queens are then crowned in the show ring in front of the crowds. A wide selection of fairground rides and stalls are presented on the field for everyone to celebrate and enjoy.
Lymm May Queen is held on the 12/06/2010.
Dickensian Day is a Victorian themed Christmas Fair held in Lymm Village Centre. Thousands of people line the festively decorated streets and take part in the annual event which sees a procession of floats, brass bands and performers circle the village. Children from the village's primary schools, vintage bikes and cars, people riding horse and cart and even Santa and his elves can all be seen in the procession. Punch and Judy make their traditional appearance, whilst jugglers, Morris Dancers and piped bands also add to the amusements. A display of Lymm Artist's work can be view in the Village Hall also. With the village flooded with countless stalls, foods, fairground rides and entertainment it's a great way for everyone to get together and celebrate the festive season.
Lymm Dickensian Day is held the Second Saturday in December.
View the Lymm Dickensian Website.
Another annual event to further the festive feel in the community is the Carol singing service at the Cross on Christmas Eve. Get wrapped up and really experience some Christmas cheer as everyone gathers round the huge Christmas tree and blasts a few carols. Padgate Brass Band and members of the Women's Institute groups lead the event whilst everyone sings along. With all the Christmas lights and decor of the village it's the perfect occasion to join in with the village's merry mood and enjoy some mulled wine or a hot choc.
A whole day event which sees 1000 pedigree yellow ducks released into Lymm Lower Dam in a race to the bottom, definitely not to be missed! Each Easter Monday the race takes place as a fund raiser purely for charitable and local community causes. Previous charities include NSPCC, St Rocco's Hospice, Children's Adventure Farm, Warrington MENCAP and Riding for the Disabled. The event takes place in the village centre and the Dingle where spectators can expect to find an 8 foot long bright yellow MegaDuck! With the race beginning at noon there's an assortment of attractions and refreshments held in the village from 10:30am. A selection of fairground rides, stalls and food bars all run by local craftsman and schools are all there to be enjoyed throughout the day. There's also an array of activities for the kids such as 'Hook a Duck', egg hunts and Easter bonnet competitions. The race includes hundreds of 'racing' ducks (£1 per ticket), a selection of larger ducks being sponsored by local businesses (£30 per duck) and around 15 'Super Ducks' at £60 each. Prizes are awarded to the winner, runners up and ofcourse the one for the slowest duck of the day. Express your competitive side, enjoy a Peking duck pancake and join in with the village's delightfully amusing event.
The first account of the Rushbearing festival in Lymm was on Saturday 20th August in 1853. It was the first newspaper publication of the event in the Warrington Guardian. The article describes how a cart of rushes was drawn by "a gallant team of four Greys, the very best horses in the parish". This was followed by a performance by The Morris Dancers at The Cross. The dancers would then perform at each person's house and were led by a male dancer in female attire who was known as the “Maid Marian” or “Old Fool”. He would lead the dancers whilst ringing a bell and carrying a large wooden ladle to collect donations. Monday and Tuesday, following the weekend's events, were devoted to sports and horse and pony races. The whole festival took place around the time of the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.
The Thelwall Morris Men still perform in Lymm Village today as part of the Rushbearing Festival.
