Kate Kennedy Spring Procession
Town and gown unite each April for the Kate Kennedy Spring Procession - a joyful, costumed celebration of St Andrews' rich tapestry, with over 150 symbols of local and global heritage!
About Kate Kennedy Spring Procession
| 18th April 2026 | |
| See event website for details | |
| St Andrews | |
| See event website for details | |
| Visit the event website here |
St Andrews will mark a century of the Kate Kennedy Spring Procession on Saturday 18th April 2026, staging the largest celebration in the event’s history, with several road closures planned to ensure the safety of both participants and spectators invited to line the town’s streets.
Over 160 costumed participants will take to the town centre in a centenary parade, bringing a millennium of local, national and global history to life. The free event is open to all with residents and visitors encouraged to gather along the route and take part in the Community Day festivities.
The Procession begins at 2pm from St Salvator’s Quad on North Street with the traditional reveal of the Lady Katharine, a historical figure renowned throughout the town for her beauty, and whose spring visits in the 15th century inspired the tradition. It will then wind through the Scores, South Street and Market Street, before returning to the Quad at 4pm.
The centenary is expected to be the largest and most ambitious Procession in its 100-year history, with more participants, historical figures and a wider programme of community events than ever before.
A Historical Symposium on Thursday 16 April begins proceedings with an evening of fascinating, short historical talks on the history of St Andrews including the roots of the Procession. The renowned travelling Spiegeltent from the Netherlands, typically seen each year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, will also host events throughout the centenary weekend, including a Community Ceilidh.
The free to enter, the Community Day in the Town Hall is open to families, visitors and anyone curious about the stories that shaped St Andrews. Music, poetry, arts and crafts, facepainting, book readings, a treasure hunt and even a thrilling battle re-enactment will keep people of all ages entertained.
Parking will be suspended in the town centre on Saturday morning, and from 1pm onwards, a full road closure will be in effect around the central streets until the Procession is complete, expected around 4pm. Those looking to park are being advised to do so towards West Sands.
Local shops and cafés will remain accessible by foot, but residents and visitors are advised to plan ahead and use alternative routes where possible.
More details of road closures are available on the website. www.katekennedyclub.org.uk
Highlights will include mounted riders, a staged re-enactment of the assassination of Archbishop Sharp and the Lady Katharine, played by a first-year university student, travelling in a horse-drawn carriage decorated with daffodils from Cambo Estate.
The City of St Andrews Pipe Band will provide live accompaniment with the parade featuring an array of characters from medieval to modern times that have had an impact on the town, including King Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Margaret, Benjamin Franklin, Louisa Lumsden, Rudyard Kipling and John Cleese.
Founded in 1926, the Kate Kennedy Spring Procession has been held annually, with interruptions only during the Second World War and Covid-19 pandemic. The tradition traces back to spring celebrations in the 19th century, which were shut down for “unruly behaviour,” before being revived in 1926 by Principal Sir James Irvine and students Donald Kennedy and James Doak as a historical pageant celebrating figures who shaped St Andrews.
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