The modern St Ives September Festival dates back to 1978, making it one of the oldest community arts festivals in the country.
Poetry in Norway Square
I did, in fact, wonder if it dated back to 1953 when a festival was staged in the town to tie in with the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
“As St Ives’ contribution to the Coronation year, [Barbara] Hepworth and her fiend Priaula Rainer, a South African-born composer, initiated a Festival of Music and the Arts,” Michael Bird writes in his book The St Ives Artists, a Biography of Place and Time, published by Lund Humphries.
“Based on the music festival that had been founded by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in 1948 in another small seaside town, Aldburgh, in Suffolk, it boasted support from a comprehensive round-up of Cornwall’s great and good, testimony to Hepworth’s extensive social-personal connections within the county.
“The young queen herself agreed to be patron, while Britten and Pears advised on musical matters. The programme was directed by Michael Tippett, a composer beginning to make his name, whose first full-length opera, A Midsummer Marriage, would be premiered at Covent Garden the following January with set designs by Hepworth.”
The modern festival may not have quite such grand patronage, but there’s a definite air of excitement in the air as the two-week event gets under way.
And there was sunshine, glorious sunshine, to greet the first street performers on Saturday, pulling in crowds all around town. A great bonus if you’ve booked a holiday as the main summer season ends.
On Porthminster beach families were creating complex sculptures for the festival sandcastle competition, with mayor Johnnie Wells in attendance. At the top of The Terrace, Phil Barnett BEM was a sparkly-suited auctioneer as the Edward Hain’s open day auction pulled in some high bids for their funds.
As the sun set, music struck up at various venues around town, in the parish church, in the Arts Club, in Penwith Gallery, and at various bars and bars.
And plenty more to come. Check out the full festival listings here.
