Welcome to the Cornwall Tourism Magazine - Festivals and Events in Falmouth page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Falmouth - The centre of the Universe.

 

When it comes to events in Cornwall, Falmouth really is the centre of the universe. It has more festivals than anywhere else in Cornwall and is extremely popular. And its not difficult to see why. Falmouth is your classic Cornish coastal town. It sits at the head of a wide river, the River Fal, which is a deep water river, and on the coast in a wide estuary making it ideal as a harbour for both trade and leisure. In terms of history, Falmouth goes way back to before the Romans and was actually called Smithwick until the early 17th Century, but it gained its prominence from the 14th Century onwards where the benefits of its deep water harbour were realised with the advent of larger sailing ships. In fact the harbour is the third deepest habour in the world and the deepest in Western Europe, so it has a long association with the sea and sailing ships.

 

Henry VIII, Nelson, WW2 and today.

 

Henry VIII thought it was worth protecting and build two forts there. The one at St Mawes on the east bank of the river mouth, opposite Falmouth and Pendennis Castle which is just to the west of Falmouth on the headland. Falmouth was also the first place in England to receive the news of Nelsons death at the battle of Trafalgar. Falmouth also saw some action during World War Two where it was bombed by the Germans, killing 31 people, and it was also the embarkation point for the famous Commando raid in the dry dock facilities at St Nazaire in France. Today though, Falmouth is a very popular town with lots of hotels and restaurants and with its large marina, is attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. Making it the ideal location for festivals and events. In fact you could call it Festival City.

 

Accommodation in Falmouth - The Falmouth Hoteliers Association.

 

As the festival capital of Cornwall, Falmouth is very popular and we get many tens of thousands of people visit Falmouth every year and Falmouths abundance of accommodation providers reflects its popularity. However, with so many different accommodation venues how do you chose a good place to stay in?...Its a question we are asked many times every year and in every case we point people to the Falmouth and District Hoteliers Association's website as it covers just about every type of accommodation you could ever want and more. Along with listing accommodation venues their website also contains a wealth of information on all things Falmouth and despite their name, they cover all types of holiday accommodation from Hotels, B & B Accommodation and Guest Houses through to Self- Catering and others. You can also find information on Accommodation Special Offers, so if you are coming to Falmouth, make it your first port of call.

 

Hey, its Festival time.

 

The Falmouth Festival calendar basically goes on throughout the year from Spring onwards and includes amazing events such as the Falmouth Spring Festival, the Truro & Penwith College Fal River Festival, the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival, the Armed Forces Day, the Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week, Splash Falmouth and a whole host of smaller events including FAL 350 - which celebrates the 350th anniversary of the signing of the Falmouth royal charter, Falmouth Oyster Festival and our favourite event of all, Falmouth Food and Drink Week - ( well actually the Oyster Festival comes a very close second with us, so lets say they are our joint favourites ). And of course, along with the festivals, you also get to enjoy all the other things Falmouth has to offer, including some pretty stunning hotels and accommodation providers, not to mention some stunning restaurants, attractions, beaches and the river estuary. If you like boats and sailing Falmouth was made for you.

 

Falmouth Food and Drink Week.

 

Although not a festival in its truest sense, Falmouth Food and Drink Week is a great event. It is held in February and this year, 2013, it its second year. It enables you to sample some of Cornwall's best food and restaurants all in one place. A group of Falmouth's restaurants, cafes, pubs and delicatessens have teamed up to offer a series of deals to eat and drink for £10 or less. The event lasts for a whole week ( only ), and in 2013 this is from 9th - 17th February. Restaurants participating in this years events are Elixir - Fuel - Rick Stein's Fish and Chips - The Natural Store - 5 Degrees West - The Greenbank Hotel - Amanzi - Harbour View - Balti Curries - The Falmouth Hotel - Courtyard Deli - The Shack - The Shed - Pea Souk Cafe - Annies Kitchen - National Maritime Museum. So, come down and see what Falmouth Food and Drink Week is all about. You certainly won't be disappointed and with the food and prices on offer, you will find lots of delicious food on the menu and it won't break the bank either.

 

 

Falmouth Spring Festival.

 

The Falmouth Spring Festival marks the beginning of Falmouth's Festival season and as spring comes on, you will see Falmouth come alive. In 2013 it runs from 14th - 27th March and offers everything form the very popular Zumba Zestifal, a Folk and Cider Fayre, the famous Falmouth Run, Falmouth Spring Clean Day, Paint the Town Yellow Day, Rockpooling Sessions on Castle Beach, Brassed Up - with brass bands playing, Spring Fest Walks, Exploring Swanpool Local Nature Reserve, Lakeside Wild Food Foraging Walk, Falmouth Evening Town Walks, Nobody Rides the Unicorn - children & family theatre by PuppetCraft, Helford Passage to Falmouth, Explore Falmouth’s Lake District, Camp Theatre - presenting Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, Coastal & Hedgerow Wild Food Foraging Walk, Paths and Tracks to Falmouth - a bus ride and walk back trip, Party in the Park and a Spring Fashion show. There is something and more for everyone and the Falmouth Spring festival is a lovely way to see all that Falmouth has to offer.

 

Fal River Festival.

 

The Fal River Festival celebrates life on and around the River Fal which provides the backdrop to Falmouth and the Fal River estuary. The 2013 festival features a comprehensive range of events from the Fal Fish Festival, the Castle to Castle Swim across the estuary from Falmouth to St Mawes, the King Harry Charity Gig Race and over 150 other separate events in total including music, drama, Films and the famous ( or is that infamous ) Beer Fleet Parade. It is all run for charity and last years over £75,000 was raised for a number of good causes. It is very popular with visitor averages are usually around the 100,000 plus mark spread over the 10 day event and as there are many hotels and accommodation providers both in and around falmouth, you are sure to have an amazing time. The fal River festival runs from Friday 24th May through to Sunday 2nd June 2013, so why not come down and see us and celebrate the River Fal with us.

 

Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival.

 

The Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival is the worlds largest free festival of maritime music. It attracts thousands of visitors from across the globe and this year, 2013, we will see over 35 different groups from all over Europe come to Falmouth to sing in the festival. Sea shanties were originally sung in the 18th and 19th centuries by sailors as they carried out onerous tasks on board merchant ships, although they were never sung on any Royal Navy war ships from that period. Different songs were used that had different rhythms that were related to the various tasks like hauling up the anchors, setting the rigging and even pulling on a specific rope or mast, etc. If you think about the movies you may have seen with oars men pulling on their oars at different speeds, you get the general idea. The lead singer would start the song with a short verse and the rest of the sailors would then join in with the chorus whilst working i n time with the song. When you consider that it might take many hours to pull up a ships anchor, for example, you can see why they became a necessity. Today, groups from all over Europe sing them for entertainment and during the festival, this year, 2013 the dates are Friday 14th June to Sunday 16th June, you will hear them being sung at many pubs and venues throughout falmouth. Definitely a must see event.

 

Falmouth Armed Forces Day.

 

Falmouth has been chosen as the host town for this years Armed Forces Day and they have an action packed event for you. The one day event takes place on Saturday 22nd June and the events will be held across multiple venues. Events include Fly-by's, historic airplanes on display, naval ships in Falmouth harbour for you to visit, lots of military vehicles on display for you to see, a number of parades and a search & rescue demonstration in the harbour. Events Square is the venue for the Main Stage which will host the Opening Ceremony, various Armed Forces Displays, including Beat the Retreat and culminating in an evening concert by the Band of HM Royal Marines. Its a great day out and supports our Armed Services personnel who are bravely putting their lives on the line to protect other people.

 

 

Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week.

 

The Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week is held between Friday 9th August to Sunday 18th August and is one of the largest sailing regatta's in the South West. There are more than 300 yachts racing over eight days and with a range of events on the shore, it is one of Falmouth's premier events. For 2013, Henri Lloyd Falmouth Week offers top level competitive racing in a great, fun atmosphere. There are a number of different courses being raced during the week and lots of other great activities, prize-giving events and entertainments at a different host club every day of the event. It is extremely popular with many tens of thousands of visitors coming to watch the racing and other events, The best vantage points for watching the sailing are at Pendennis and St Mawes Castles, St Anthony Head, Castle Drive and Pendennis Point, Trefusis Point and Flushing. Even if you are not interested in sailing, there are many things going on in the event, so why not join them for a good week of fun.

 

 

Splash - Falmouth.

 

Splash is Falmouth's newest festival and it celebrates creativity in Falmouth.This year, 2013, it is being held between 13th September to 22nd September and there are many special events. These begin on 7th - 9th September with the Book Festival where you will see people like leading illustrator Michael Foreman, Michael Morpurgo and Philip Moran. Falmouth Art Gallery will also be hosting a new Surrealist exhibition which is a must see. There will also be art and photography exhibitions by leading local artists hosted in shop window and six leading South West artists have been commissioned to create light, sound and sculpture installations which will be located throughout the town. Splash will also be turning a 40 metre section of the fence along Grove Place into a huge outdoor art exhibition and there is also a range of live performance in various pubs in throughout the week showcasing Cornwall's local music scene. There will also be a series of Living Heritage walks hosted by the Scary Little Girls, who will delight you with their take on Falmouth’s artistic, maritime and literary history. So Falmouth is definitely the place to be in September.

 

The Falmouth Oyster Festival.

 

The Falmouth Oyster Festival, held on the 10th to 13th October 2013, is our most favourite events of the year. Its all about the amazing food Cornwall has to offer and whilst it is primarily about the Oysters, there are always many different kinds of food on display for tasting. The Oyster Festival celebrates the start of the oyster dredging season, the strong diversity and quality of Cornish Seafood and one of the last remaining traditional oyster fisheries where the product is collected by dredging by sail and hand punt. There is usually a master cooker class by a celebrity chef as well as cookery demonstrations by a number of Cornwall's leading chefs. At the event you will find lots of Cornish food and drink producers, local Oysters and other seafood and lots of other things like children's shell painting, sea shanties, a town parade, and live music and it goes without saying, an oyster shucking competition. There is a large marqueed area and you will find all kinds of stalls there and the beauty of the Oyster Festival is that you can both savour the range of mouth watering and delicious Cornish food and drink at the festival and also take some home with you. If you like seafood, then this is a must visit event.

 

 

Falmouth - Festival City.

 

We have covered the main events about, but there are also many others, so if you are down in Falmouth this year, check out all the local events and go along to them. If you have never been to one before you will be very pleasantly surprised and you will definitely have a lot of fun. And the best bit is that you can take the kiddies along to them as well and they can also have a riot. Falmouth has lots to offer you, not just with the festivals and events and the best part is that there are loads of hotels, guest houses, B&B's and many other accommodation providers, so why not come down and see us?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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