The Pirates of St Piran at the festival
When: 22nd – 24th June 2018
Where: Falmouth, Cornwall
£: Tickets for the Falmouth Packet Shanty Concert cost £10. 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 from Friday 22nd to Sunday 24th 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 20 venues, including pubs and special music stages.
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 will kick off on the evening of Friday 22nd June, with the opening ceremony at 5pm in the Events Square.
The singing will commence at 2pm and finish just after 10pm, with acts including Sloop Groggy Dogs, Barnacle Buoys and Swinging the Lead. The shanty singing will then continue on the Saturday and Sunday, and performers over the weekend will include Fishguard Folk Singers, Vagrants Crew, Nauti Buoys, Pirates of St Piran, Acapella Moonshine, The Oggymen, Monkeys Fist, The Longest Johns, Five Men Not Called Matt, Navy Lark and Captain Cat & The Sailors.
Events will be taking place at various venues around Falmouth, including a Seasalt Stage at Custom House Quay, Skinner’s Stage at Events Square, The Grapes, The Star & Garter, the Watersports Centre, and the Games Room.
This year’s event will once again feature a ticketed shanty concert on the Saturday night at The Princess Pavillion, as well as the many free performances. As well as the shanty music there will be tours of the Falmouth Lifeboat Station, a visit from an historic tall ship, markets to browse and the Beat Betty competition.
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