Throughout 2025 Blystra Arts have been lucky enough to be running a project, Stories from the Station, which has involved multiple community partners and creative activity across Newquay. The project was funded by Great Western Railway’s Customer and Community Improvement Fund. Highlights of the project included the 27th Sept celebration event, which happened on the anniversary of the first passenger train’s inaugural journey on 27th Sept 1825, (200 years ago), and the inaugural journey of the community’s very own steam train, made from willow, by the community which paraded in front of thousands of onlookers as part of the 2025 Newquay Lantern Parade event on 21st Nov 2025. The Newquay community came out in force to celebrate the start of the festive season at the town’s newest, most magical event, the Newquay Lantern Parade and Trenance Light Switch-On.
Newquay BID and Blystra Arts, supported by both Newquay Lions’ groups have joined forces in the last two years to make this event a success in its new, picturesque home of Trenance Valley with funding support from Experience Newquay, a Cornwall Council funded project, Coodes Solicitors and Newquay BID. Hundreds of school children and people from the community came to parade their lanterns which were created in sessions throughout November in Newquay’s schools and at community events. This Autumn light parade event has truly become the start of the festive season in Newquay’s annual events’ calendar.
The steam train that enhanced the parade so much this year was created by Blystra Arts alongside the community. Carriages were made and decorated with the help of Your Art Connect, Treviglas Academy, Age UK, Cornwall Mind and the Newquay community, and its journey through Trenance Valley with reflections of everyone’s lanterns shining off the water of the boating lake before it travelled back to Trenance Cottages for the Light Switch On event was truly magical. With Radio Newquay counting us down to the Trenance Cottage Light Switch On, and their dazzling light display at the cottages, it felt like an amazing event, with the people of Newquay coming together once more to celebrate the start of Christmas.
There is one more event you can attend as part of the Stories from the Station project, which is the project’s final exhibition, happening at Trenance Cottages on Sat 31st Jan and Sun 1st Feb from 11am to 3pm, where you can see the films made during the project, see the willow train up close, and have a look at some of the stories and lives we have been exploring and discovering as part of the project. No need to book, just turn up and have a look at what we’ve been up to as part of the project during 2025. The final exhibition will include contributions from multiple community groups, who we’ve been working with, so come along and check out what we’ve been up to.
Experience Newquay, the Cornwall Council funded project that’s been in Newquay for three years is leaving us to run Experience Bodmin in March 2026, so the Lantern Parade partners are looking for funding support for this event in November 2026 and beyond to make sure it stays as a regular event in the Newquay Calendar well into the future. If you’re a business owner and would be interested in being our main sponsor in 2026 and beyond, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Ellen on: info@blystraarts.org to find out more about how you can support this amazing community event.
