The first May Day festival was held at Whitelands College in 1881 at the instigation of the Victorian philanthropist John Ruskin, a friend of the then College Principal, the Reverend Canon John Faunthorpe.
The first May Day festival was organized by John Ruskin, a wealthy philanthropist who was also a close associate of the college's Principal, Reverend Canon John Faunthorpe, at Whitelands College in 1881.