Each year, over 100 morris sides¹ and dance teams from thoughout the UK come together in Rochester for the Sweeps Festival, which takes place over the May bank holiday and on May Day itself if that falls separately from the weekend. The modern day festival is believed to be the biggest traditional May festival in England.

The Rochester Sweeps Festival of today was revived in 1980 from the May Day holiday that chimney sweeps of 300 years ago would have looked forward to and enjoyed. They celebrated their annual holiday on 1 May with a procession through the streets, accompanied by the Jack-in-the-Green².

There are three parts to the festival, the Jack in the Green awakening ceremony on Bluebell Hill, dancing and activities thoughout the weekend and the final procession around the streets of Rochester.

The festivities get off to an early start with the annual Jack-in-the-Green Awakening Ceremony at dawn on top of Bluebell Hill on 1 May. Local morris sides greet the Jack-in-the Green. After an hour of so of dancing, everyone heads off to various pubs who have opened early to serve breakfast to the dancers and the Festival is underway.

Throughout the weekend there is dancing in various styles in the High Street by a variety of dance teams, while bands and musical groups (mostly folk and traditional singing styles) perform at various venues, often in pubs and there are sometimes workshops.

The highlights of the festival are a Sweeps Ball at the Corn Exchange and the final procession on Bank Holiday Monday, when many of the sides process through the main street, all dancing in their own styles. They parade from the Castle Grounds, along the High Street, through the Vines and back to the Castle. The parade usually starts around 2.45 pm. There are also sweeps, who are mostly young children dressed up in costume with blackened faces and collecting for charity. It is considered lucky to be kissed by a sweep. (Blackfaced morris men will have you³ believe it's lucky to kiss them as well!) Many of the dancing sides collect as well, some for charity and some for themselves, to cover the cost of travel, etc.

The festival is well worth a visit⁴ and details of the festival can be found from: City of Rochester.

See also Rochester Castle.