Published February 15th, 2019
Local charities, schools and community groups received almost £8,000 of donations at a celebration evening in Padstow on Wednesday.
The list of recipients included six schools from the Padstow area, as well as eight local community clubs and groups.
The funds were raised through events held by the Friends of Padstow Christmas Festival during 2018.
The annual Christmas festival, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the harbourside town, is one of the largest of its kind in the country, and was conceived from a collective desire to make the town a year-round tourist destination, and generate a much-needed out-of-season boost to its towns, shops and cafés.
The event plays host to more than 100 food, drink and craft stalls, and features cooking demonstrations from local and celebrity chefs. Other highlights include a fireworks display, lantern parade, and Cornwall Hospice Care’s Santa fun run, which raised a record £7,225 at the 2018 festival, with more donations expected.
“The local community supports the festival brilliantly every year, so it’s really important to say a huge thank you to them,” said festival organiser Tina Evans.
“It’s always so great to hear how charities and local groups use the money raised at the festival for different projects.”
The Front Line Emergency Trust raised more than £900 through collections taken during the four-day event, and was donated a further £150 at the celebration evening. The money will be used to provide vital equipment for Cornwall’s emergency services.
Padstow Primary School, which took part in the children’s lantern parade at last year’s festival, received £500 from the Friends of the Padstow Christmas Festival.
Head of Padstow School, Kate Whitford, said; “The children are always so excited to create a lantern and be involved in the annual parade.
“Money donated by the festival has been used to purchase 30 new laptops for the school, and has enabled us to teach the new computing curriculum, which was not possible before.”
The celebration evening was also a chance to thank the 50-strong group of volunteers who help with all aspects of the festival, and ensure it runs smoothly.
Tina Evans explained; “Having volunteers is critical to everything we do. We couldn’t run the festival without them.
“They do so much, from selling merchandise, to manning entrances and exits and handing out programmes.
“They’re real ambassadors for the event.”
This year’s Christmas festival runs from 5 to 8 December 2019.
The charities benefiting from donations are:
Padstow Under 9s Football Club
Padstow Girls FC
Padstow Girl Guides/Brownies/Rainbows
St Petroc’s Senior Citizen Club Padstow
Padstow Pre School
Padstow School
Trevisker Pre-School
St Merryn School
St Merryn Pre-School
St Issey School
Front Line Emergency Equipment Trust (FLEET)
Padstow Kernow Players
Padstow Sea Cadets
Camels Mini Rugby
The Memorial Hall
St Eval Cub/Beavers
The Memory Centre Padstow
Padstow Christmas Lights
Padstow Tourist Information Centre
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