Crowds flock to Penzance for first Mazey Day events since 2019

It's the first time the event has been held for three years because of the pandemic

Crowds have packed the streets of Penzance in Cornwall for Mazey Day celebrations to mark the climax of the Golowan Festival.

It is the first time in three years the midsummer event has been held because of the pandemic.

There were fireworks on Friday night and music and performances all day on Saturday across the town.

Celebrations are due to finish on Sunday with the quay fair along the promenade.

Festival chief Alan Shepherd said there was a "tremendous amount" of pride and a "tangible" sense of community in Penzance.

Mr Shepherd said: "What I've always found in this place is there's a tremendous pride in this town, and there's a tremendous tangible sense of community in this town.

Mr Shepherd said he remembered the first time he attended the Golowan Festival.

There were fireworks on Friday night and music and performances were scheduled all day on Saturday

"My jaw literally dropped, you could taste the sense of community," he said.

Mr Shepherd added: "That was on a normal year.

"This year, they're chomping at the bit because they're back and it's changing, there's a lot of positivity around, the town is on the up, and the fact that Golowan is back will give a real input as to that I'm sure."

Chris Nixon, from the Golowan festival team, has been helping to get the Mazey Boats built by local schools ready for the parades.

Mr Nixon said: "They have to be transported, and then they get assembled here, they're designed so that they will go down through the street, so they won't injure anybody, and they need to be carried in a safe way."

Community groups have been working with artists to produce the parade models

This year's theme, Golowan goes - Back to the Future, has seen schools and community groups working with artists to produce the parade models reflecting a varied range of nostalgic and futuristic images.

More than 60 bands and solo performers were commissioned to perform through the town with theatre, dance, song, and children's entertainment.

On Sunday, for quay fair day, the whole of Penzance's renovated promenade will host entertainment from Jubilee Pool to Wherrytown.