Lafrowda Festival

The Lafrowda Festival is a registered charity (Charity number 1090446) and a community arts festival held annually in St Just in Penwith, Cornwall, England. It is dedicated to promoting arts and culture, particularly within the St Just area, while benefiting the public and fostering community participation.

Objectives and Activities

The charity's primary objectives are to advance education in art and culture and to promote the arts for the general public, especially the residents of St Just in Penwith. Central to this mission is the organisation of an annual festival of arts and music that celebrates local creativity and cultural heritage.

Lafrowda Festival includes a variety of events throughout the year to support its activities, such as:

• The February Film Fest featuring weekly evening screenings and a children's matinee with homemade cakes and popcorn.
• The May Fair in the Plain, offering traditional games, stalls, and entertainment.
• A Christmas Ceilidh, a family-friendly event with live music and dance instruction.
• The Moving Meal, a popular communal gathering.

The flagship event, Lafrowda Day, takes place on the third Saturday of July and is preceded by a fortnight of activities for all ages, including knitting groups and dance shows. Lafrowda Day features live music, community parades with withy sculptures, a torchlit procession, and dedicated family spaces such as The Plain-An-Gwarry.

Funding and Organisation

The festival is funded through a combination of local authority grants, advertising and sponsorship, contributions from stallholders, donations, and street collections. Fundraising events and community involvement play a vital role in sustaining the festival’s operations.

The Lafrowda Festival committee is composed entirely of unpaid volunteers who handle all aspects of festival planning and execution. They actively seek new members with skills in areas like funding bids, school workshops, and technical production to support future editions of the festival. In 2025, the festival took a planned hiatus to focus on fundraising efforts, aiming to secure approximately £50,000 for subsequent events.

Community Impact

Lafrowda Festival stands out as a uniquely Cornish celebration of community arts, deeply rooted in the cultural life of St Just in Penwith. It fosters local pride, creativity, and participation, making art and music accessible to a broad audience while preserving and enhancing the cultural identity of the region.

Lafrowda Festival is recognized as an important cultural institution in Cornwall, promoting arts education and community involvement through its vibrant and diverse programming.[1][3][5]

[1] https://www.lafrowda.co.uk/index.php/about-lafrowda/ [2] https://www.lafrowda.co.uk [3] https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3979529 [4] https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/3979529/contact-information [5] https://www.instagram.com/lafrowda.festival/