Falmouth rings in the spring with an 18-day festival encompassing everything from spring cleaning to a half marathon, walks, talks, food and live music

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Falmouth rings in the spring with an 18-day festival encompassing everything from spring cleaning to a half marathon, walks, talks, food and live music

When it comes to celebrating the arrival of spring, nobody does it better than Falmouth. Cornwall’s unofficial festival capital begins its packed calendar of events for 2016 with this 18-day event that really does feature something for everyone.

Funded and organised by the Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID), the Falmouth Spring Festival straddles the Easter holidays and celebrates Falmouth’s coast and open spaces through a host of music, dance, sporting events, walks and spring clean activities at a range of different venues.

The festivities begin with a Paint the Town Yellow Day (10 March) which will see the town’s primary schools help decorate the town with 15,000 donated daffodils from Cornwall-based Winchester Growers alongside students from this year’s event sponsor the University of Exeter who will be working with the town businesses to brighten up the town for the start of the Spring Festival.

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The Spring Clean Days (11-12 March) set the scene with volunteers gathering to make the beaches clean. There will also be urban landscaping and garden tidy-ups - designed to get Falmouth ready for the spring and summer. Get yourself fit for summer by taking part in Run Falmouth (13 March) which will once again be organised in partnership with Cornwall Hospice Care - if you need a further incentive to help raise funds for this vital charity - 2016 celebrates its 25th birthday. If something a little slower is more to your tastes, get out and about and blow away the cobwebs (and learn something new) with a series of walks coordinated by walkitcornwall. The festival will also see new themes added to the guided walks programme – highlights include Poldark’s Falmouth, Ghost Walks and Seashore Foraging.

For lovers of live music and liquid refreshment - head to the hugely popular Folk and Cider Fayre which runs over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend (25-27 March). Expect to see a great range of bands throughout the three days on Events Square and make your way though 50 ciders from across the West Country. Events Square will also host a marquee full of food and craft stalls.

Lovers of all things floral should head to the Princess Pavillion (19-20 March) for the Spring Flower Show which has been around for more than a century. Explore rare and exotic flora and fauna on display, buy specialists plants, and view the ever-popular photography competition.

Spring Festival activities are intended to be diverse, engaging and eclectic, and 2016 will see a creative mix of new and established activities to hopefully attract many more visitors,’ explains Richard Wilcox, manager of the Falmouth BID, the not-for-profit company which represents more than 400 businesses in the town. The festival aims to celebrate Falmouth’s special environment in as many innovative ways as possible.’

Plan your festival activities at falmouth.co.uk