CULTURAL

Easter is almost as late as it is possible to be this year, with Easter Sunday not until 20 April 2025, which means Shrove Tuesday, aka pancake day is this year is also later than usual, celebrated on 4 March.

St Piran’s Day, the national day of Cornwall, is celebrated each year across the county on 5 March. Saint Piran was the patron saint of tin miners. Traditional ways of celebrating included parades and processions, with almost every community marking the day in some way. Bude, Falmouth, Bodmin, Perranporth, Launceston, Penzance, St Ives and Truro are among the bigger parades – check locally where you are if you want to watch one – like Helston’s St Piran’s Lantern Parade, which takes place a couple of days later, on 8 March.

Don’t miss the Trelawny Shout, an annual tradition where the county unites in harmony to recite the Cornish national anthem, at 9pm on St Piran’s Day – look out for gatherings in pubs across the county. Also on Weds 5 March is the Alverton’s Taste of Truro evening, a five course tasting menu to raise a glass to St Piran.

As St Piran was the patron saint of tin miners it’s a good time to explore Cornwall’s tin mining past in the new Tolgus Mill interactive exhibition at Cornwall Gold, Redruth, and then try panning for gold yourself. Little ones will enjoy the dress-up section to become a Tin Miller or a Bal Maiden, and be fascinated as the Tolgus Tin Streaming Mill smashes rock into tiny pieces, removing the tin ore from the stone, and then employs a host of inventions to separate the valuable tin.

International Women’s Day, 8 March

International Women’s Day Cabaret, The Acorn, Penzance, (8 March) – The legendary charity cabaret marking International Women’s Day takes place live and is their 14th, returning with another jam-packed evening of wicked acts to entertain and delight you while raising money for charities supporting vulnerable women and girls here in Cornwall and globally. See more IWD events across Cornwall here.

WELLBEING AND OUTSIDE

Spring at the lost gardens of heligan locals week sat 1 to sun 9 March

To celebrate the arrival of spring, The Lost Gardens of Heligan is opening its gates from Sat 1 to Sun 9 March and inviting all residents of Cornwall and Devon to visit completely free of charge for Heligan Locals’ Week. The week offers local residents the chance to experience the arrival of spring at Heligan, coinciding with the opening of Heligan’s renowned national collection Camellia and Rhododendron trail. It is set to be a jam-packed week with a whole host of activities on offer from goat grooming to daily garden tours.

Just over the border from Bude, the annual Spring Flower Show, RHS Rosemoor, Torrington (Sat 8 – Sun 9 March) is full of floral beauty.

The final lecture in the Cornwall Garden Society’s series is Richard Stone and Pen Polglase – firstly, on the subject of change in Cornish historic gardens and secondly, on why it is important to research and record them in order to protect them for the future. Catch them on Tues 11 March at The Alverton, and Weds 12 March at Peventon Park Hotel.

Between Sat 15 and Sun 23 March, National Lottery players and a guest can enjoy a free visit to the Eden Project with any National Lottery ticket! Tickets are limited and get snapped up fast, so pre-booking is essential.

Daffodil Weekend, Trelissick, Feock, (Sat 15- Sun 16 March), sees an array of daffodils are showcased from some of Cornwall’s finest breeders and growers in Trelissick’s annual Daffodil weekend. Admission charges apply, free to National Trust members.

Fancy a run? Plenty of options from Saturday Parkruns through to one off organised events. The Polruan Shuffle, Sat 1 March, is an unsupported, self-navigation 12 miler along the coast path with one manned checkpoint with fluid and sustenance along the route, four miles in. All runners will receive a medal!

The Looe 10-miler, Sun 2 Mar, raises money for Cornwall Air Ambulance and takes in an undulating course through West Looe including the coastal road to Talland and incorporates three climbs and a steep descent to the finish at Millpool Centre on the seafront. The race starts and finishes in the Millpool Car Park next to race HQ with numerous water stations dotted around the route on miles 3, 6 and 9. No registration fee to enter the Looe 10 Miler, min £60 to raise in sponsorship instead. Over in Truro at Trelissick National Trust, there’s a 5km ‘Bark run‘, with or without a dog, to raise money for Mind.

Falmouth Half Marathon, Sun 16 Mar, is arranged and managed by Cornwall Hospice Care in collaboration with the Falmouth Road Runners, and then the Cardinham 5k and 10k are on 29 March as well as Par Dualathon, ‘The Hare’.

Silent Disco Yoga in the Cathedral – on Saturday 29th March 2025 at 5:30pm take a FLOW YOGA journey like no other – Silent Disco Yoga in Truro Cathedral! Then, follow this at 7pm for a sublime MEDITATION session, both under the roof of this architectural masterpiece.

WORKSHOPS

On Sat 1 March, Trevow Helston have a workshop opportunity for creatives and practitioners working in the performing arts led by Peter Cant, Artistic Director of the Hooligan Art Community, a theatre company of Ukrainian, British and German artists.

InTheSaltSpace at Crantock is a series of immersive, creative days by the sea at Crantock, in a partnership between InTheSaltSpace and the National Trust (Tues 18 and Thurs 20 March). Women of all ages are invited to spend a day sharing gentle and accessible creative activities, climate conversations and more, in a small all-female group setting facilitated by local arts practitioner Laura Frances Martin. Everyone is welcome; no artistic experience is necessary.

On Sat 22 March, artist Gemma Lessinger is holding a Waves of Wellbeing event at St Moritz Hotel, Nr Polzeath, which includes yoga, a nature walk, and painting. And on Sun 23 March, The Good Side Guide x Free People have a wild swimming event and lunch at Delphy Pool in St Breward.

ART & EXHIBITIONS IN CORNWALL

mineral gallery Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery Truro

New this month, in Truro, Cornwall Museum & Art Gallery (formerly Royal Cornwall Museum) opens on Sat 1 March with three exciting new gallery spaces to explore. Prepare to dive right into a packed Exhibitions & Events programme with something for everyone. Soak up the nature-rich canvases of Kurt Jackson’s Biodiversity. Enjoy a collaboration between artists and storytellers, in Withy Lore. A variety of artforms celebrate and share the unique craft and heritage of withy pot making (traditional lobster lots) on the Cornish coast. Plus try making your own pot in the workshop. Drop in for a spot of children’s theatre or a film screening at the new-look museum and art gallery. View the spectacular Mineral Gallery.

Ithell-Colquhoun-Between-Worlds Tate St Ives

Over at Tate St Ives the main exhibition looks at the life and works of Ithell Colquhoun, (1906-1988) an important, but often overlooked figure in British Surrealism. Ithell Colquhoun: Between Worlds is a new exhibition of her work showcasing over 170 artworks and pieces of archival material including painting, drawing and writing, many of which have never been publicly exhibited. Once the exhibition closes on 5 May 2025 in St Ives, it moves to the Tate Britain from 12 Jun – 19 Oct 2025.

The exhibition traces Colquhoun’s artist evolution. From her earliest work numerous pieces show her engagement with the surrealist movement (if you’re thinking what’s surrealism, think of works by Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí or Paul Nash?). Later rooms consider Colquhoun’s fascination with the intertwining realms of art, sexual identity, ecology, magic and mysticism.

In Falmouth, the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition has arrived from Salisbury. From a worldwide submission of contemporary drawings, 94 drawings by 88 artists were shortlisted for the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2024 exhibition, and 21 drawings by 20 practitioners were shortlisted for the Working Drawing Award.

In Penzance, community-curated exhibition, The Shape of Things: Our place in a changing climate explores the effects of climate change in Cornwall, and drawing on historic artworks and photographs from the collections at Penlee House, local environmental groups, such as Sustainable Penzance, the RSPB, Growing Links, Cornwall Climate Care and Mount’s Bay Marine Group, have selected works for inclusion in the exhibition. (Ends Sat 26 April)

New later this month is Kurt Jackson’s Sea Flower, which opens down in St Just on Sat 22 March (until 10 August). This new exhibition transfers the focus from Jaskson’s usual capturing the threshold between land and sea, sea and sky farther toward the viewer, to a point often overlooked, where life thrives this side of the precipice.

New from Fri 28 March is SURF!, the next major exhibition from National Maritime Museum Cornwall, Falmouth. Celebrating a century of surfing in Cornwall, it reveals how the county has become a global stage for surf innovation, activism and a trailblazer in blue health. It explores how Cornish surf culture has influenced music, film, fashion and art with unseen works by leading contemporary artists including Damien Hirst and Abigail Fallis. Through 100 surfboards, the exhibition uncovers the hidden histories of once unknown female surfers, reveals the 1920s pioneers who led the way and spotlights the surf champions made here today.

MUSIC, COMEDY, FILM, STAGE AND THEATRE

Public Service Broadcasting play Hall for Cornwall on 18 Mar, meanwhile Falmouth Pavilions host Gentlemen’s Dub Club (7 Mar) followed by Turin Brakes and John Bramwell (of I Am Kloot) who have teamed up to bring a special evening stripped back to basics, announcing 10 joint dates across the UK in spring 2025 (8 Mar). Peter Knight’s Gigspanner roll back into Cornwall as part of their tour mid-March, playing various venues including St Endellion (19 Mar), The Acorn Penzance (20 Mar) and Falmouth Poly (21 Mar).

WHITE HORSE – which has taken five years to develop – will run exclusively at The Regal Theatre, Redruth from 28 Feb – 8 March 2025. Michael Morpurgo’s famous novel has been reimagined, featuringe Edward Rowe in his first production following Hall for Cornwall’s Jack and the Beanstalk, and renowned film and theatre actor Mary Woodvine alongside a talented Cornish or Cornwall-based cast and creative team and directed by Olivier Award-winning director, Simon Harvey.

Comedy superstar John Bishop is getting Back At It – doing what he does best – with a new UK stand-up tour including Hall for Cornwall (28 – 29 Mar). Meanwhile in Launceston, attributed to Mark Twain, humour is defined as Tragedy Plus Time. Come and join Ed Byrne as he tests that formula by mining the most tragic event in his life for laughs in his show (19 March).

Stephen Daldry’s multi award-winning National Theatre production of JB Priestley’s classic thriller An Inspector Calls returns returns after a record-breaking, sell-out tour in 2022 (11 – 17 March).

Mother’s Day, 30 March

Here’s your reminder to do something for the women or caregivers in your life – here’s our afternoon tea round-up and some events on the day too.

LOOKING AHEAD

EASTER 5 – 21 April

The state school Easter Holidays in Cornwall don’t start until 5 April so you’ll be wanting our dedicated guide but outside of those dates there’s still family fun to be had.

Alice Kilpatrick Dance of the Merry Maidens Newlyn Art Gallery 4 April to 7 June 2025 Cornwall

New at the Newlyn Art Gallery’s The Picture Room in April is The Dance of The Merry Maidens by Alice Kilpatrick. A series of devotional paintings in honour of our maternal ancestors. Channelled through our ancient granite landscape that held them – inspired by her own journey into marriage and motherhood. (Fri 4 April – Sat 7 June).

BOOK AHEAD FOR

Cornwall Luxury Readers Retreat in Padstow

Cornwall Luxury Readers Retreat in Padstow - women on a sofa reading books

Love crime novels? Then this luxury reading retreat near Padstow might be of interest. With plenty of time to read, the retreat also includes talks with best-selling author Orlando Murrin – who was a semi-finalist in Masterchef, as well as C.L. Miller who worked with her mother the late Judith Miller (of The Antiques Roadshow) on her novel series, The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder.

All food and drink including wine with meals and cocktails is included, along with a murder mystery evening and guided walks, as well as transport from the station. Fri 9 – Mon 12 May 2025. Muddy readers save £150 when they quote MUDDY when booking.

Twelfth Night, various locations

For 2025, Miracle is back with Twelfth Night – to deliver a bold, fresh, accessible take on Shakespeare’s comedy, blending their playful spirit with the Bard’s wit. Expect plenty of belly laughs, heart ache, gloriously outrageous characters, and a contemporary twist proving once and for all, proving once and for all that affection isn’t about appearance it’s about connection.

Tickets will be going on sale by 1st April with performances starting at The Minack Theatre on 9 June until 12 June, and then touring until late August.

What’s on in Cornwall in March 2025?

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