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What to do this bank holiday weekend
Have a brilliant bank holiday in Cornwall with these 15 events!
From Saturday through to Monday morning, we’ve got you covered with our bank holiday special! Below you’ll find loads of things to do with family and friends over the weekend, from outdoor theatre and family fairs to secret gin gardens.
As always, this is only a small selection of the amazing events on offer in Cornwall, there are plenty more on our website. Simply search by location, date or venue to find great events happening near you, or sign up to our mailing list to receive them straight to your inbox.
Have a fabulous bank holiday!
Image: Padstock (Padstow Brewing Company)
1. Company B
Sat 24th August, 2019
Penlee Park Theatre, Penzance
Company B are a 7 piece “jump jive” band, bringing the sights and sounds of the 1940’s bang up to date with a rowdy energetic show full of swing and swagger. The band, who have built a reputation as one of the most entertaining acts in the South West, boast a rock solid rhythm section, an exhilarating horn section and dynamic vocals which veer from rowdy chant to tight harmonies. Company B play the songs of Louis Prima, Louis Jordan and others alongside their own “tongue in cheek” originals to create a hot atmosphere which is surprisingly cool to all ages.
2. Miracle Theatre: ‘A Perfect World’
Sat 24th August, 2019
Enys Gardens, Penryn
Gather your friends and family and take a journey to the end of the earth – and beyond – with Cornwall’s award winning Miracle theatre this bank holiday weekend!
A feisty young woman embarks on a voyage into a ‘Boy’s Own’ world of undiscovered jungles, treasure maps, campfires and penknives on an action-packed adventure. Leading her team of quarrelsome explorers she stumbles into a bountiful paradise, whose inhabitants seem entirely peaceful, productive and fulfilled. Is this tranquil place the best of all possible worlds? Or is it all too good to be true?
Alongside its final three performances of A Perfect World at Enys, Miracle takeover the house and gardens with FREE workshops, installations, activities and fun times. Find out more here.
3. Activities at Wheal Martyn
Sat 24th – Mon 26th August, 2019
Wheal Martyn, St Austell
Come and join in some family fun at Wheal Martyn this weekend. Create your own woodland sculptures, inspired by Cornish artists like Barbara Hepworth and Jenny Beavan or help look after the environment by painting your very own bug house. Bring your cameras along on Saturday and learn how to take the perfect photograph while exploring the Wheal Martyn site. Photographs will then be exhibited as part of the upcoming Whitegold Festival on Saturday 21st September.
4. Stones & Bones
Sat 24th & Sun 25th August, 2019
Trebah Gardens & Penlee Park
A marvellous mix of history and mystery in ancient Cornwall with Squashbox Theatre! Find out all about archaeology and fossils, say hello to one of your stone-age ancestors, hear stories of giants and wizards, see a volcano erupting before your very eyes, and maybe even glimpse a dinosaur or two… There will be thrills and spills galore, but also lots of laughs, plenty of puppets, songs, slapstick, tall tales and crazy characters – all presented in that unique Squashbox style!
5. Padstock
Sat 24th August, 2019
Padstow Brewing Company, Padstow
Padstow Brewing Company are hosting an action packed afternoon and evening of live music, fabulous food and delicious drinks in aid of the National Lobster Hatchery. Not only will you have a fantastic party in the comfort of a stunning Sperry tent, but you will also be helping to support vital marine conservation work.
6. Penryn Town Fair
Sat 24th August, 2019
Penryn Town Centre
Come along to Penryn’s annual town fair, featuring this year’s special guest ‘Titan the Robot’. Enjoy live entertainment from The Blues Brothers, Soul Sensations, Celtic Steps and Co-Act The Collective to name a few. There will also be plenty of craft stalls, bouncy castles – and don’t forget Punch and Judy!
7. The Secret Gin Garden
Sat 24th August, 2019
Scorrier Estate, Redruth
From the creators of The Great Estate Festival comes a decadent one-night soirée of tantalising beverages, live music, burlesque, DJs and fire dancing.
Nestled in a leafy corner the 240-year-old walled gardens of Scorrier House, this intimate experience immerses all those involved into a secluded world of enchanting performance and whimsical plenty.
8. AFC Fairs
Sat 24th — Sun 25th August, 2019
Wadebridge Showground
Come along to the bank holiday antiques and decorative fair in Wadebridge. This annual event, run by Antique Fairs Cornwall, will have hundreds of stalls inside and out, complemented with great artisan food and children’s entertainment. Why not come and have a browse and take advantage of the gin and prosecco bar?!
9. Circus Funtasia
Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th August, 2019
Fair Park, Bodmin
Circus Funtasia is back in Bodmin from 21st-26th August and it’s bigger and better than ever! This phenomenal live show goes beyond all your expectations, and proves that the circus isn’t just for kids.
Expect spectacular aerialists flying through the Big Top, Wheel of Death acrobats that leap dizzying heights, fearless fire eaters, gymnasts and jugglers, effortless comic moments, crazy motorbikes, The Geek, and so much more!
10. Cornwall Folk Festival
Sat 24th — Mon 26th August, 2019
Wadebridge
Cornwall Folk Festival brings some of folk’s finest to north Cornwall, and showcases great talent from across Cornwall and the South West. Wadebridge’s streets and pubs pulse with regional artists in abundance, with folk music right across the spectrum from traditional to contemporary in an intimate, ultra-friendly town-based setting. This year’s line-up will feature The Unthanks, Steve Knightley, Flats and Sharps, Midnight Skyracer and Noble Jacks headline.
11. Kneehigh: The Dancing Frog & Ubu
Sat 24th – Sun 25th August, 2019
Carlyon Bay, St Austell
This summer, Kneehigh‘s Asylum will be in an exciting new location… on the beach! Join them for a festival-tinged summer season of live theatre, music, food and drink on Carlyon Beach in the heart of St Austell Bay. The company will be presenting 2 shows this summer:
Kneehigh’s UBU!
Expect world-class buffoonery in this deliriously unhinged improvised promenade musical (surely the first of its kind!). Featuring some of the most iconic anthems of our times, given a fresh rub for their money by a belting Kneehigh band, plus an extraordinary choir of extras – you! – we guarantee this will be a rocking, rollicking riot of ridiculousness that you won’t forget.
The Dancing Frog
A delightful tale of hope, heart and hip-hoppity adventure based on the classic children’s book by Quentin Blake. Book tickets fast – they will hop away.
12. Summer Fete
Sun 25th August, 2019
Mount Edgcumbe Country Park, Torpoint
Turn back the clock and enjoy English tradition at its best at the Summer Fete, being held in the stunning surroundings of Mount Edgcumbe Country Park this August. This fabulous family-friendly day out is brought to you by Miss Ivy Events and will provide a whole host of fun and entertainment for young and not so young alike.
There will be lots to see and do, from artisan stalls, creative workshops, live music and entertainment, games as well as a charity dog show. Delicious food and drink will be served throughout the day – and it wouldn’t be a summer fete without that most British of summer drinks – Pimms, which will be available at the hugely popular Pimms Bar.
13. Fantastic Mr Fox
Mon 26th August, 2019
Sterts Theatre, Upton Cross
Sterts Theatre Company present Roald Dahl’s much loved story, Fantastic Mr Fox. Follow the vain attempts of three farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean, one fat, one short and one lean, to get rid of Fantastic Mr Fox, who outwits them at every turn as he steals food from their farms.
14. Flambards Beyoncé Tribute Act & Fireworks
Mon 26th August, 2019
Flambards, Helston
Enjoy a full day out at Flambards followed by the Fireworks Spectacular in the evening. Watch the diva in action with the incredible Beyoncé Tribute on stage in the evening. From her debut as the star of Destiny’s Child in the 90s to her endless run of solo hits, Beyoncé Knowles is rightly seen as the worlds foremost pop, soul and RnB diva. Sing along to her famous hits at this tribute performance.
15. Alice, Formerly of Wonderland
Mon 26th August, 2019
Acorn Penzance, Penzance
Time is getting on and Alice’s adventures have taken a toll. She can’t always portray that youthful innocence. As she lets slip her grooming routines, the stubble starts to show, makeup needs to be slapped on even thicker… and as the millennial kids care more about interactive worlds, Alice, formerly of Wonderland, currently slips ever more out of the limelight and tells us in an animated autobiographical way the truth of her adventures – and how she wound up here, no longer a star on the Hollywood boulevard, or London’s West End, but at the Acorn Theatre, Penzance.
Brought to you from the creative minds of four insanely talented Cornish circus artists. Their twist on the old fairy tale will have you in stitches whilst simultaneously astounding you with their inventive circus tricks, towers and tumbles.