st agnes bolster festival

The St Agnes Bolster Festival is centred around the traditional Bolster Pageant, which tells the tale of the Giant Bolster, who having ravaged the locality and terrified the locals is finally brought his comeuppance by a fair village maiden.

The festival starts on Friday 30th April and continues through to Monday 3rd May with a varied programme of activities throughout the weekend. Visitors and locals alike have the opportunity to involve themselves in the proceedings, and be entertained by a myriad of performers. From traditional sea shanties, to the village’s own ukulele band; from folk to rock, the village will be alive with music throughout. There is a Beer Festival for those with taste for real ale, and street performers will delight with their stilt walking, juggling and fire dancing antics. Many of the pubs will be putting on Bolster special menus, and several of Cornwall’s top artists will be displaying their works around the area, some in the strangest of places.

On the Saturday evening a lantern procession leaves Churchtown at the centre of the village, heading for the highest point in the locality, The Beacon, where a bonfire is lit to fire clay houses that local children have made. These houses are then taken to the cliff side and symbolise the villagers’ homes, as part of the pageant. On returning to the village after enjoying the food and music, there’s the opportunity to enjoy live music in the village’s pubs.

The pageant itself starts at 12.00 noon on Sunday May 2nd, when the Village Mayor, joined by the brave Knight Sir Constantine and the hard done by Mrs Bolster, parade the hostelries of the Village, gathering support for their cause in defeating the Giant. Dancers, a drum band and life sized puppets set the scene for the pageant that takes place later in the day, at 4.30pm at Chapel Porth beach.

Members of the public are welcome at all of the event’s proceedings, and there is no charge. For those that want to get really involved they can get themselves made up in traditional fashion, in preparation for the day’s festivities.
More information can be found at:
Bolsterfestival.wordpress.com