Eastbourne Lammas Festival

Where: Formerly Eastbourne, Sussex starting at the Pier
When: Formerly Saturday near August 1st (often late July)
Time: Formerly 12 noon parade, 5.30 Lammas Ritual

 

Lammas is an ancient celebration connected with the harvest and it falls on August 1st. Eastbourne Lammas festival was a modern celebration on a weekend near to Lammas with a parade along the seafront which included dancers, morris men, drummers and musicians. The Lammas ritual ended the afternoon symbolising the life of John Barleycorn (the corn spirit and inspiration for the ancient folksong of the same name) and was performed by Hunters Moon Morris. There were also ceilidh events in the evening and further music & dance events during the Sunday. Look out for the traditional Lammas Loaf!

Helpful Hints

A new Lammas Festival was being planned for 2025- but it now looks more likely to be postponed until 2026. I’ll amend this post when more information becomes available about time, date and location of the new event. Currently lapsed for several years, it’ll be a welcome return to the calendar.

Click here for the new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556073604832

Money collected was donated to the RNLI so give generously! Members of the public were encouraged to join in the parade and to wear fancy dress or flowers if they wished.

There were plenty of trade stalls on the Western Lawns with a wide range of products, many with ethically produced goods.

Click here for the old event website : http://www.lammasfest.org/

ande here for the old Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/groups/45707716449/

Photo 1 by Bertie Bassett25 and all the others thanks to Ed Owen!

View this location on the map.