Dorchester’s Victorian Street Fair returns on Sunday 31st May, bringing a day of traditional crafts, performance and period celebration to the town centre. Held each year to coincide with Thomas Hardy’s birthday, the event draws on the world of his novels, with South Street, Brewery Square and Dorset Museum & Art Gallery hosting a mix of stalls, demonstrations and live entertainment.
Visitors can expect everything from morris dancing and folk music to wool spinning, poetry readings and heritage craft displays. Many exhibitors offer opportunities to try traditional skills, reflecting aspects of rural Dorset life described in Hardy’s writing.
There will also be Victorian sideshows, a traction engine and period attractions including Punch and Judy and penny farthings, with organisers encouraging visitors to dress for the occasion.
A formal procession led by the Mayor and members of the Thomas Hardy Society will make its way through the town to Hardy’s statue, where a wreath will be laid.
The fair runs from 11am to 4pm and is free to attend, with the day concluding with a free ceilidh and mass Hokey-Cokey organised with Tom Browns Pub at the Town Pump on South Street. Tom Brown’s held their last Hokey-Cokey outside their pub in 2023, when hundreds of people joined in.
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