May Faire Festival

Kick off the Spring season with May Faire, in Mathews County, Virginia the first weekend of May every year; join us for a community heritage festival. Enjoy dozens of vendors, food trucks, exhibits, performances, and special events throughout the day.

The 2022 May Faire theme will be Celebrating Mathews Watermen. This year’s theme will be a tribute to those county residents who worked in the past and now work on the water: the oystermen, fishermen, crabbers, clammers and a special tribute to the U.S. Coast Guard.

May 7 Schedule:

• Food trucks, Vendors, Music, Ceremonies and Performances

• Recognizing the US Coast Guard, 10:00am at opening ceremonies, on stage at the Pavilion. The public is invited to view the Coast Guard’s rescue boat and to speak with active duty Coast Guard members.

• Hosting “Conversations,” 11:00 am-1:00 pm at the Court House, with a cross-section of six of our most noted watermen and women, sharing their stories and their experiences. The panel will be moderated by author and reporter from the Southside Sentinel, Larry Chowning.

• Exhibits such as net making and crab pot making, on the Court Green

• Photographic Exhibits from Captain Robert Roland Hudgins, a commercial fisherman and Captain Charles Lee Forrest, a menhaden fisherman.

• Call for Photos and Stories of Local Watermen: Debut of our newest exhibit at the Museum, The Mariners’ Wall, a collection of photographs and stories from our watermen.