BOSCASTLE was blessed with sunshine over the weekend for the annual food, arts and craft festival.
Residents and visitors from far and wide descended upon the village to sample some of the best in local produce.
At the centre of the activities was the main festival marquee, which hosted demonstrations by a number of chefs, and a food court with a huge variety of local produce.
There was also an arts and crafts area, and a ‘green scene,’ which focussed on all things environmental.
This year, there were a number of workshops and activities located throughout the village — at the harbour, in various gardens and primary school to name a few.
There were circus skills demonstrations by Swamp Circus, including juggling, stilt walking and plate spinning. There were even some stilt walkers spotted roaming around the village!
A number of buskers provided some musical entertainment.
Representatives from Surfers Against Sewage and the British Divers Marine Life Rescue were also in attendance to highlight the work of the two groups.
Articulate Collective, the company behind the winter lantern parade in Truro, gave demonstrations and worked with children to help make their own pieces of art.
The open gardens, photography and art workshops proved very popular.
Committee member Mike Stickney said everyone was delighted with how the weekend had gone:?“We usually tend to get around 4,000 people and we seem to have sold more or less the same number of tickets this year.
“This is the first year that we’ve invested in Articulate and the Swamp Circus to bring another aspect to the festival.
“There were many more activities throughout the village, rather than it being just a food festival. We got so many more people in and around the village.”
The weekend was brought to a close with the choir concert on Sunday evening, featuring the voices of the Plymouth Military Wives’ Choir and the Boascastle Buoys.
It was here that the group presented a cheque for £4,000 to Cornwall Hospice Care from donations collected at their concerts.
The festival is non-profit making and a small amount of money is kept back to kick-start the funding for next year, with the remainder being divided between local causes.
Mr Stickney added: “We’ve raised over £80,000 over the last nine years.”
If anyone would like to help with the planning of next year’s festival, please contact chairman, Michael Parsons on 01840 250625.
Mr Stickney added: “As always it’s down to the volunteers at the end of the day. We’re always looking for people to help, in all sorts of ways.”