The second annual Nansledan Arts Festival has been hailed a huge success with organisers already looking ahead to next year’s festival.
With nine days of events under the inspiring theme “Flourish!” (with festival artwork created by 13-year-old Viktoria Chernenko), the festival brought together artists, businesses, residents and visitors in a celebration of local talent, creativity, and community spirit.
This year’s festival, which built on last year’s inaugural theme of ‘Connections’ drew over 650 visits and saw nearly every Nansledan business involved – whether as Art Trail hosts, workshop sponsors, or donors to the Cornwall Mind raffle, which raised £640. The festival’s welcoming atmosphere and creative programming earned high praise from attendees and organisers alike.
“This year’s festival was truly a celebration of what makes Nansledan special – community, creativity, and connection,” said Nicola Craddock, Festival Chair. “We were thrilled with the numbers of people taking part from right across the community and I’d like to thank everyone who supported this year’s festival either as visitor, participant, sponsor or supporter. We’re already ready looking ahead to next year’s event so if anyone wants to get involved please find us through our website.”
The Arts Trail, featuring 96 works from 30 local artists, transformed the windows of shops, the Nansledan Community Centre, and a vacant unit in the Mermaid Building – provided by Morrish Homes – into a public gallery. Visitors admired everything from stone carvings to oil paintings and photography, including “Faces of Nansledan”, a series of portraits by Hugh Hastings capturing the community’s rich diversity.
This year’s programme saw a major expansion in workshops for both adults and children. From sustainable tin can sculptures to a hugely successful Nansledan Pop-up Choir led by local choir leader Jo Eddy, opportunities to create and collaborate were everywhere.
Workshops for young people were held for the first time. Around 50 youngsters did manga drawing with Keith Sparrow, formed scratch bands with musicians James & Issy Brown, and even donned forensic-style suits to produce their own street art installations on school grounds.
In another first, the festival introduced scarecrow and garden trails, with the Kelly family from Lergh Jubile winning a cream tea for four at Ladyvale for their scarecrow “Scaregull.” Glorious summer weather made exploring these trails all the more fun.
The Cornish Comedy Showcase proved a major highlight, selling out the Nansledan School hall with performances from Harriet Dyer, Kev Mud, Mimi, Kernow King, and rising star Hayley Ashton, reflecting one of the festival’s aims to promote new artists. Music from Bagas Crowd and an enthusiastic audience set the tone for a rollicking evening full of local humour: ‘What do you mean you’ve NEVER been to Trago?!!’
Sunday’s Community Day featured a buzzing craft fair with talented local artisans, inspiring talks from artists including Diane Griffiths, and family-friendly workshops from Blystra Arts, who helped children build carnival sea creatures from recycled materials to feature at Newquay Carnival.
The “Raise the Roof” musical afternoon raffle featured local choirs, including the hours-old Pop-up Choir, and a soulful closing performance by Nansledan’s very own indie-folk duo Our Atlantic Roots.
The festivities continued into the night with the Festival Finale, a family Nos Lowen (festive night) led by Salt & Sky, paired with music, fish & chips, and laughter.
Keep an eye on the festival website for details of future events: https://www.nansledanartsfestival.org.uk/
Photos by Graham Hutchinson and Hugh Hastings.
