The Pirates of St Piran at the festival
When: 16th – 18th June 2017
Where: Falmouth, Cornwall
£: Tickets for the Gala cost £10.80. The festival is free but the event raises money for charity, so all donations are welcome.
What is it?
This year’s Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival will take place over the weekend of the 16th to 18th June, filling the town with singing and merriment.
The festival was originally devised as a novel way of raising funds for the RNLI and this year’s event will see more than 60 shanty groups taking part across 25 venues.
Groups come from far and wide to perform the shanties. Some dress in seafaring outfits such as The Pirates of St Piran, who dress appropriately enough in pirate costumes, and groups sing songs such as the Drunken Sailor and A Drop of Nelson’s Blood.
RNLI’s Stormy Stan with Betty Stogs at Customs House Quay
This year’s festival kicks off on the evening of Friday 16th June, with the opening ceremony at 6.45pm in the Events Square. The singing commences at 2pm and finishes just after 10pm, with acts including The Barnacle Buoys and Swinging the Lead. The shanty singing will then continue on the Saturday and Sunday, and performers over the weekend will include Short Drag Roger, The Longest Johns, Wellington Wailers, Rum and Shrub and The Vagrants Crew.
Events will be taking place at various venues around Falmouth including a stage at Custom House Quay, the Watersports Centre, the Seaview Inn and the Prince of Wales Pier.
This year’s event will once again feature a ticketed Gala Concert on Saturday night at The Princess Pavillion, as well as the many free performances. This year’s event will also feature an open day at Falmouth Lifeboat Station on the Saturday, a chance to learn how to play a traditional instrument called ‘The Bones’, and a Pirate Trail for children.
The event raises vital funds for the RNLI, and Skinner’s Betty Stogs will be there helping to raise money for the charity. More than £60,000 has been raised for the RNLI so far.
More info: www.falmouthseashanty.co.uk and www.facebook.com/falmouthinternationalseashantyfestival