Events 2013
Whatever your tastes Cornwall caters for all, from celebrating ancient traditions to showcasing local produce. Music, poetry, drama, dance and laughter, have a look below to see what you're after!
Trereife House is looking forward to hosting its fourth Easter Bank Holiday Food and Craft Fair weekend at the historic Queen Anne manor house and its spectacular grounds, kicking off with a series of cookery demonstrations, craft demonstrations and a programme of entertainment.
Over the past years Trereife has developed a reputation for attracting some of the finest local food producers which is set to continue this Easter with larger marquees to house a wide range of producers from Worthy Farm Cheeses and Fish sales from ‘Cornish Smokies’, to locally produced beer, cider and wine, as well as this there will be a selection of high quality art and craft from Cornish designer-makers such as Marsha Drew jewellery and contemporary furniture design by Paul Wilcox.
April
6 & 7 April, Cornwall Spring Flower Show
May
2-6 May, Cornwall International Mail Voice Choir Festival
The bi-ennial Festival showcases the very best of male voice singing from across the world. Male choirs of all ages (from boys to senior citizens partipate in concerts, sing in in tourist attractions, educational activites and competitions.
8-18 May, Fowey Festival of Words and Music
Fowey Festival of Words and Music is the new name for Cornwall’s most loved festival of literature, music and entertainment, formerly The du Maurier Festival.
This vibrant annual Festival has an exciting programme of high quality events, talks, exhibitions, workshops, guided walks, river cruises and community activities that appeal to a wide audience. The Festival attracts the great and the good from the world of literature and entertainment. Over the years it has sparkled with star names such as Ann Widdecombe, Jo Brand, Tim Rice and Terry Wogan. The festival marquee is the main venue for book talks, stand-up comedy and live music, while other venues around the town host lots of events including theatre and classical concerts. The countryside around the town’s magnificent harbour is the setting for guided walks and river cruises that take in many locations that have been inspiration for other famous novelists like Arthur Quiller-Couch, Leo Walmsley and Wind in the Willows author Kenneth Grahame.
11 May, Port Elliot Dog Festival
Port Eliot dog festival and whippet tea party. For humans there will be an array of stalls, cream teas and other refreshments, a treasure hunt and other activities for kids.
18-19 May, Polo on the Beach at Watergate Bay
The award-winning Veuve Clicquot Polo on the Beach weekend event takes place once again at Watergate Bay near Newquay, with the promise of speed and excitement featuring some of the country’s top professional polo players. This Spring the surfers will make way for ponies on Watergate Bay for the 7th edition of Polo on the Beach. For the first time the event will take place over a weekend and will be packed full of events, entertainment and music all on the beach, the highlight being an exhibition polo match between two teams of top international players which will be free to attend.
June
6-8 June, Royal Cornwall Show, Wadebridge
For three days each year the dedicated showground at Wadebridge is transformed into a living town, bustling with life, energy, agriculture, entertainment and trade. It is a significant event on the Cornish calendar with around 130,000 people attending.
This has been Cornwall’s showcase since it was first held back in 1793 and as you’d expect from a county show, a fascinating glimpse into rural life in the county. Apart from the livestock judging, there is the famous flower tent decked out with wonderful displays from individuals and local nurseries. The main ring offers a full three days of entertainment featuring different headline acts each year, plus show jumping and a fast and furious inter-hunt relay. There is also a full programme of entertainment and demonstrations in the countryside area, alongside Cornish heritage and Cornish wrestling. You’ll find busy marquees dedicated to goats and rare breeds, cage birds and poultry, bees and rabbits, there’s a major dog show, a traditional steam fair, the Cornwall Festival of Dance, forestry and if that’s not enough then there’s the motor fair, agricultural machinery, crafts, health and beauty ... in fact, something for all the family.
14-16 June, Looe Lugger Regatta
This bi-annual regatta in the busy seaside town of Looe is a celebration of the area’s fishing heritage. Traditional Luggers, small, two masted sailing boats once common along the coasts of England and France, head to the town for the three day event.
During the regatta, the Luggers, some of which sail across the channel from France, compete in six races spread over the two days of competition. Around fifty boats, many of which were built more than a hundred years ago and lovingly restored by their owners, unfurl their sails in the harbour creating a magnificent spectacle.
The seaside town of Looe is still very much a working fishing port where level streets snake their way to the beach near the town’s banjo-shaped pier passing a mix of shops and eateries, many of which are located in buildings dating from the 16th and17th centuries. In the west of the town, you can watch the races out at sea from the large beach and harbour. Across the river in west Looe you can get a grandstand view on the long stretch of Hannafore beach overlooking Looe Island. To wind down after a day of racing there is entertainment on the Saturday evening in Looe fish market.
Cornish luggers were the principal vessel of the Cornish fishing industry during its heyday. They were also used as privateer ships and for smuggling back the in 18th and 19th centuries when their speed and manoeuvrability became invaluable in outrunning revenue ships.
14-16 June, Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival
The Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival was founded in 2003 by Falmouth Shout, a group of singers whose mission is to keep alive the history of Tall Ships and the days of sail by performing sea shanties, songs of the sea and Cornish songs. The Festival’s aims are to raise money for the RNLI and to preserve and promote the maritime heritage of the area.
In common with other Celtic nations, Cornish people love singing and music and song has always been an important part of the county’s culture. Whether it be miner, fishermen or farmer, after the work was done, there were always stories to tell, songs to sing and a few pints to drink. The Sea Shanty festival provides a platform where that heritage of storytelling through song comes alive with live performances by dozens of groups from all over Cornwall, the UK, Holland and France.
Described as the largest free festival of maritime music on the planet, the three day event kicks off on the Friday evening with singing on Custom House Quay and in Events Square, continuing at several other venues in town until late! It’s a great way to soak up the true atmosphere of Falmouth’s seafaring past and you’ll find it hard to stop your feet tapping along to the infectious rhythms.
21-23 June, Rock Oyster Festival
Rock Oyster Festival is one of the leading artisan food festivals in Cornwall and takes place at the stunning venue of 17th century Dinham House overlooking the Camel Estuary near Wadebridge.
Promoted as a midsummer celebration of food, music and art, visitors to the festival eat their way through thousands of Cornish oysters in highlighting the county’s rich seafood traditions. As well as the ever-present oysters there’s live music, circus acts, endless kids’ entertainment, alternative performing arts and a shopping bazaar.
29 June, Eden Sessions, Keiser Chiefs
Running over the weekend there’s a fantastic range of family entertainment as well as some of the best local producers showcasing delights from shellfish to steaks and everything in between. So, even if you aren’t a confirmed oyster lover, you can give them a go or opt for something else equally delicious. The festival also includes cookery demos from local chefs and there’s the hotly-anticipated oyster shucking (shell opening) competition. Live music ranges from gypsy folk to reggae and to get that longed-for Cornish laid back feel, there’s plenty of camping space on site.
Kaiser Chiefs return to the Eden Sessions as curators and headliners for a day of live music at the home of the Biomes. The band will hand-pick special guests and exciting emerging artists to play across the Eden site alongside other non-musical surprises. The Leeds lads are no strangers to Eden, having played to a sell-out crowd at the Sessions in 2008.
July
15 July, Stithians Agricultural Show
Stithians Agricultural Show is held on the large showground between Truro and Helston where thousands descend to enjoy musical entertainment, food courts, craft stalls, a fairground, and animals of all sorts including rare breeds, a dog show and dog agility competitions.
17-21 July, Penzance Literary Festival
The Penzance Literary Festival is a festival for everyone who enjoys words – the written word, the spoken word, the recited word and the sung word too. We always have talks by prize-winning authors and by people with a deep knowledge of subjects special to West Cornwall. We have ’round table’ discussions, authors in conversation, and workshops on writing, poetry and drama. Performance and entertainment feature prominently in the evenings. 2013 will be our fourth Festival, and to go by our experience in previous years a tremendous ‘buzz’ is guaranteed!
The 2013 Festival will again be based at The Acorn theatre in central Penzance. Our other venues – Morrab Library, Penlee Coach House, Trevelyan House and Artist Residence in Chapel Street, The Exchange gallery, The Ritz, The Old Dairy and The Edge of the World Bookshop – are all nearby. Because most of the Festival’s venues are small, it’s easy for members of the audience to ask questions and contribute to discussions, making for a very informal and lively atmosphere. Festival-goers tell us they have learned a lot and often laughed a lot. If you enjoy words, do come and join us!
A literary festival unlike any other
The Penzance Literary Festival is unlike any other. Almost every other literary festival depends on national celebrities to attract the crowds. Not ours: we do things differently in Penzance! We’re not interested in celebrities just because they’re celebrities, although we attract and warmlywelcome some very well-known people. First and foremost, our contributors are interesting people who have interesting stories to tell and an interesting take on life.
And this is a Festival put on by and for the local community. In Cornwall there’s a great tradition of every town, village and parish holding its own special celebration – festival, feast day, charter day, agricultural show, steam rally … So we think of our Festival as a celebratory get-together for the ‘literary village’ of West Cornwall.
This annual agricultural show features a Horse Show, Heavy Horses, Cattle, a Dog Show, Goats, Cage Birds, Domestic and Horticultural Section, Alpacas, Pigeons, and Poultry. Trade stands, gun dog demonstration, refreshment stalls, side shows, and children's activities. Plus a full programme of entertainment including the likes of the Camborne Youth Band and the Cornish Wurzels.
30July, Port Isaac, St Endellion Music Festival
Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008, the St Endellion summer music festival began life when a musical priest, Roger Gaunt, invited a group of college friends down to help him renovate St Endellion’s derelict rectory. Over the years the festival grew from friends putting on small scale fundraising concerts to include an orchestra and a chorus.
The beautiful church of St Endelienta becomes concert venue for some of the most prestigious soloist and musicians in the UK. Nowadays the internationally famous festival fields a symphony orchestra and a chorus of seventy-five who along with guest artistes present a program that encompasses the classics from Brahms to Stravinsky, music from Broadway and late night brass bands.
Over a dozen concerts take place during the festival, and include lunchtime performances. Whatever your musical taste, you’ll find a concert that suits and in the unique surroundings of the church, the choirs, orchestras, string quartets and opera stars that perform will provide a lasting memory of one of Cornwall’s most renowned festivals.
31July-3 August, The gunnislake Festival
Village walks, live bands, barbeques, film screenings and concerts all feature. Local pubs put on a variety of events each evening with the main festival day ending off the week in a community jamboree.A fascinating village history exhibition always creates a lot of interest (with daytime guided walks being an additional feature). Watch the traditional flora dance and children’s fancy dress parade on the Saturday and afterwards enjoy specialist bands and Morris dancing displays. The local amateur dramatic society will add fun and further entertainment. There’s also a falconry display, along with a Punch and Judy show plus a variety of stalls, a children’s
corner and plenty of live music providing enjoyment for the whole family all afternoon. Throughout the festival there is a art exhibition in the church hall where you can see work by local artists. A concert in St. Anne's Church is planned for the Friday
August
3-8 August Charlestown Regatta Week
A week of events including water sports, games and entertainment, raising funds to benefit the people of the village of Charlestown.
What happens?
Charlestown is one of Cornwall’s most photogenic villages due to its magnificently authentic Georgian harbour which has been the backdrop to many films and TV series. The weeklong event includes events such as the fun triathlon, raft races, donkey derby, live music and colourful carnival.
How can you take part?
Located on the south coast near St Austell, Charlestown provides a wonderful location for the varied events. The week kicks off with the exciting triathlon which involves teams of three in a 200m swim, 4 mile cycle and 2 mile run. In the afternoon there’s water golf, a hotly contested raft race and even a fun knobbly knees contest. During the week you can watch the carnival led by two local brass bands followed by a traditional flora dance through the streets of the village, enjoy a proms concert and to round off the week dance the night away at the Regatta Rocks live music event.
