THE county’s biggest festival of folk dancing returned to the streets of Winchester.

Mayfest, a carnival of dance which commemorates the coming of May Day, took over the city, with movers and shakers lining the roads to entertain delighted onlookers.

Each year groups of traditional Morris and folk dance teams take part in various routines.

And with Winchester in party mode due to the Royal wedding, hundreds enjoyed the festivities.

This year, dancers and musicians performed at St Maurice’s Covert, on the High Street, St Lawrence Church and to dozens of people soaking up the sunshine outside Winchester Cathedral.

In total more than 25 different groups performed throughout Saturday.

Organiser Cathy Knell paid tribute to those who helped make the event a success, including dance organiser Lucinda Pillow, treasurer Bob Dodson and Lin Raynor. The team helped to resurrect and reenergise the event.

She said: “It was a fantastic event with people from across the city enjoying the dance.

“It’s a really positive event and while people were sat outside enjoying the sun, they were able to have a look at what we were doing.

“It’s been a wonderful day and it worked well as Mayfest is about fertility, which links well with the royal wedding.”

She added: “We rely only on public donations, so without the help of everyone we wouldn’t be able to put on events like.

“We’re so grateful to everyone. People of all ages got involved in the end. There were youngsters, teenagers and adults all dancing. It was something really special.”

Cathy told the Hampshire Chronicle that Mayfest would return bigger and better next year, with a more international theme to the dancing on offer.

In the past there have been dancers in the Appalachian Mountains-style for the United States.

The event has been running in Winchester for decades but only returned in 2016 after a four-year absence.

A shortage of volunteers had also meant the event was not held in 2010 and 2011. It started in Winchester in the early 1970s on the back of the revival of interest in English folk music and dancing.

May 18, 2019, has been pencilled in as the next edition of Mayfest.