Montol Festival 2023

Montol Festival is happening on Thursday 21st of December. This annual festival is inspired by several Cornish traditions which include the donning of masks and costumes, dancing, music and of course a midwinter fire. There are three parades in total, with the first taking place at 4pm. Th main parade is at 6pm and culminates in the burning of the sun up at the Princess May Recreation Ground. The final of the three is a late-night parade which culminates in the Chalking of the Mock. This year, along with all the music, parades and fire that happen on the day there will also be a variety of workshops during the week leading up to the main event on the 21st. These workshops give members of the community the chance to really get involved with the festivities. This could be by making a fabulous mask or costume or learning some dances to join in with the dancing at the 4pm parade. There are Cornish songs to learn, along with some simple Cornish phrases, you can even make a traditional Cornish Bunch (a type of wreat on a stick with greenery and lights) to carry in the parade. In between the main parades there will be fabulous beasts of all kinds wandering the streets and you may even catch a mummers play somewhere. There will also be ‘guilds’; These are groups of people roaming the streets and pubs of Penzance making music, singing, dancing and generally causing random merriment at unscheduled times and in unscheduled venues…Why not get some friends together and form your own guild?
For more information on this year’s festival check out the official website;
www.montolfestival.co.uk Follow the Montol Facebook page to keep up to date with news and info on Montol itself and the workshops.