Following the Cornish Festival Trail

From buskers in Bude to crowd surfing at Boardmasters, the Cornish festival scene remains as colourful and vibrant as ever.

If you’re planning a Cornish holiday with Toad Hall Cottages, here are some festival dates to also bear in mind…

Porthleven Food & Music Festival (20^th –  22^nd April)

Porthleven Food & Music Festival is a smorgasbord of food stalls, street food and music all staged in one of Cornwall’s most stunning harbour towns. This well-established event is a must of foodies and musos and is looking forward to its tenth year.

Bude & Stratton Folk Festival (25^th – 28^th May)

Described as a ‘friendly mix’ of folk events, this annual shindig is held on the late May bank holiday and offers a compelling line-up of music, song, dance and storytelling.

“Just back from Bude & Stratton Folk Festival – what a wonderful weekend. Made lots of new friends, sang loads, tapped our feet – even danced… life is good.” – Ali Rowe

Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival (22^nd – 24^th June)

Expect a hearty welcome when you visit one of the biggest maritime music festivals in the whole of Europe! Hundreds of seas shanties will be sung in the build-up to the special gala concert. Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival is staged at various venues across the town with the main stages on Custom House Quay and Events Square.

Ale & Anchor, Mousehole (29^th June – 1^st July)

Set in the beautiful gardens of The Old Coastguard, Ale & Anchor is a biannual garden party with an impressive line-up of musical artists and a laid-back, summer vibe.

Food Jam, Enys Gardens, Penryn (7^th – 8^th July)

A family-friendly festival with inspiring talks and demos, wild food, live music and plenty of gorgeous local fare. Food Jam is set in the flower-filled gardens of Enys House.

Tropical Pressure Festival (13^th – 15^th July)

“Friendly, intimate and perfectly formed”, Tropical Pressure is a colourful event set on a beautiful and contained 42-acre, organic eco-park, overlooking the sea at Porthtowan on the north Cornish coast. Three days of live music, dance workshops, yoga, storytelling, healing treatments, play and craft sessions and world music films.

3 Wishes Fairy Festival, Mount Edgcumbe (15^th – 17^th June)

Family-friendly fairy fun, hundreds of free talks and workshops and three days and nights of live music. 3 Wishes Fairy Festival is a wonderfully creative event with vegan and vegetarian foods, a variety of stalls, a healing area, fairy village and fairy and pirates bars.

“Loved every minute and didn’t want to come home, best camping experience ever. I took my daughter and it was her first-time camping and we cannot wait to come back next year!!” Judy via Facebook

Stithians Show, Penryn (16^th July)

The largest one-day agricultural show in Cornwall, Stithians’ Taste of Cornwall Marquee is a stage for some of the county’s most delicious food and drink. There’s absolutely loads to keep the whole family occupied at this historic event.

Port Eliot Festival, St Germans (26^th – 29^th July)

Set on the stunning grounds of the Port Eliot Estate – with its woodland gardens and open lawns – Port Eliot Festival is a magical weekend where you can be at one with nature. Come and ‘rock out’ with the rhododendrons on a starry night.

“It’s like falling from the sky into a magic garden where you will be constantly surprised and delighted; where you can drink, dance, discuss, dress up, camp, explore, get lost, fall asleep under the stars.”  Port Eliot Festival

Boardmasters Festival, Watergate Bay (8^th – 12^th August)

The Chemical Brothers, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Kano, Rag ‘n’ Bone Man, Annie Mac, George Ezra, just some of the sensational acts set to star at this year’s Boardmasters Festival, set on the clifftop overlooking Watergate Bay. Meanwhile, Fistral Beach will be transformed into a bustling surf festival, complete with a pro surf competition, skate and BMX competitions, art installations and more live music.

Cornwall Folk Festival, Wadebridge (23^rd – 27^th  August)

Latest news from this year’s Cornwall Folk Fest…the Eddi Reader band and Ninebarrow are set to take centre stage on Saturday, while Sam Kelly and his Lost Boys are just one of the exciting acts helping to sign off what promises to be a memorable bank holiday weekend for Cornwall’s longest running festival.

Taste of Scilly Festival (1^st – 30^th September)

An exhibition for island-based producers and their magnificent food and drink, Taste of Scilly is a wonderful way to discover this unspoilt archipelago and the Scillonian hospitality that comes with it.

Sea Ilfracombe Maritime Festival (September 2^nd)

A sea-themed festival packed with food, music and family entertainment now in its ninth year. Sea Ilfracombe is a nautical knees-up guaranteed to tickle your taste buds and have you up and jiving.

The Newquay Fish Festival (7^th-9^th September)

Celebrating its 16^th year and set to the backdrop of the town’s historic harbour, the Newquay Fish Festival attracts top chefs from across the region and showcases the very best of Cornish seafood.

The Little Orchard Cider & Music Festival, Penhallow (14^th – 16^th September)

A charming festival with a laid-back vibe, Little Orchard is gearing up for its sixth annual gathering where you can expect big live bands, a groovy silent disco, the BBC Introducing stage, secret cider walks and cider tasting. Perfect for camping and glamping.

Cornish Bluegrass Festival, Newquay (14^th 15^th & 16^th September)

Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike, White Top Mountain, Flats and Sharps, Thunderbridge Bluegrass Band, The Farwells and The Goat Roper Rodeo Band, just a handful of acts already confirmed for this year’s Cornish Bluegrass Festival.

Looe Music Festival, Looe (21^st – 23^rd September)

Expect to find acts on every street corner, in every bar and restaurant, around the harbour and down on the beach as Looe transforms into a festival arena for three days of superb live music and entertainment.

“Looe Music Festival was amazing. That crowd at Looe absolutely blew us away. Probably one of the best settings we’ve ever played at, looking out from stage at a massive crowd and the sea next to it is gorgeous” – Ken, Ferocious Dog

Lowender Peran – Celtic Music & Dance by the Sea, Newquay  (1^st – 4^th November)

Lowender Peran is a popular Celtic festival that celebrates music, arts, dance and culture from all around the British Isles. It promotes vibrant, living traditions for people of all ages and backgrounds.

After a long day of sampling sea food and singing sea shanties, or dancing well into the night, return to the comfort of one of our Cornish holiday cottages.