May Pen

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May Pen

May Pen is the parish capital of Clarendon. The town is a busy market town, if you visit on market days (Friday and Saturday) expect to see lively and chaotic scenes!

There are few sights on interest to a visitor of May Pen. However, you should look out for the stone May Pen Clock Tower which was erected some time after World War 2 (the exact date is unknown) and commemorates the contribution of Jamaican soldiers to the Great War.

May Pen was established following the construction of a bridge over the Rio Minho. Prior to this time traders would wait on one of the banks until the river was low enough to cross but many drowned as a result of misjudging the river. After the construction of the bridge May Pen grew in importance and, over time, a large town was established.

May Pen enjoys a strategic position of being in the centre of a largely agricultural parish and roughly half way between Kingston and Mandeville on the south coast main road.

Denbeigh Agricultural Show

The biggest event to occur in or around May Pen is the annual Denbeigh Agricultural Show which is held in the Denbeigh showground, some 3km west of May Pen. The three day festival is held every year in August, over independence weekend.

Farmers travel from all over Jamaica to showcase their agricultural products. Farmers also compete for the coveted "Farmer of the year", "Young farmer of the year" and "National Farm Queen" titles.

Live music and food vendors also appear at the festival.

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