Flora Day 'more important than Christmas' for town

Residents of a Cornish town say its annual Flora Day festival, which dates back centuries, is "like Christmas and birthdays rolled into one".

Helston's Flora Day has remained virtually unchanged for more than 200 years and these days about 20,000 to 25,000 people fill the town every year.

The town council said its origins lay in celebrating "the triumph of spring over winter" but for many Helstonians its true importance is the sense of joy and togetherness it brings to all generations of the community.

During the day thousands of formally dressed dancers promenade their way in and out of homes and shops which have been decorated with spring flowers, following the beat from a brass band.

Lisa Pascoe, 41, has danced Flora Day since she was six.

She said: "It's about friends and family, seeing the town lovely and pretty and being proud of being a Helstonian and Cornish.

"It's also about seeing everyone back - if they can't make it for Christmas they'll come to Flora Day."

She added the scent of bluebells and lily of the valley across the town was especially evocative for her.

Having danced at Flora Day for 40 years, her mother Jacquie Pascoe, said she had "an attic full of dresses and hats".

Describing the day, she said: "It feels like Christmas and birthdays all rolled into one as people are so happy - the whole of Helston comes together.

"For me, the party atmosphere starts the evening before when you walk through the town and all the shops are being decorated and everyone comes out and talks.

"You get a real buzz in your tummy."

Sean Johnston is in his 40s and said his family has taken part in the celebration for more than 50 years with his father being a band master and one of his cousins a drummer.

He said: "A lot of things come and go, but because it's multi-generational it's here to stay.

"It's as important or more important than Christmas Day because it brings the people of the town together.

"The excitement you have as a kid for Christmas Day - you get the same as an adult about Flora Day."

Helston Flora Day is celebrated every year on 8 May, unless the date falls on a Sunday, the Sabbath, or Monday, Market Day, in which case it is held on the preceding Saturday.

The celebrations begin at the Guildhall at 07:00 BST with the Early Morning or First Dance which was, in times gone by, the dance for workers and servants.

At 09:50, more than 1,200 pupils from Helston's four schools start dancing their way from Wendron Street in the Children's Dance - which was first included in the programme in 1922.

At 12:00, the Midday Dance starts and ends at the Guildhall and sees couples dance through homes and businesses along Meneage Street and some of the town's gardens.

At 17:00, the Evening Dance sees the same participants of the Early Morning Dance return to retrace the route of the Midday Dance.

Adding pageantry to the day, there are are seven performances of Hal-an-Tow around the town.

This is a dramatic telling of Helston's history featuring Robin Hood, St George and St Michael, the town's patron saint.

The ladies dancing in the Early Morning Dance and Evening Dance wear brightly-coloured dresses with short gloves, while the gentlemen wear black trousers, white shirts and the Helston Town green and white striped tie.

Every child is dressed in white for the Children's Dance, with the boys wearing their school ties and the girls wearing floral headdresses featuring their school's flower.

Sisters Polly, 13, and Kitty, 10, both go to school in the town and said they had danced "since we could walk", and will be doing so once again this year.

Polly said: "My great-granny danced in 1924; I dance, my mum danced and my granny danced - so that's over 100 years of dancing in one family."

St Michael's school pupils wear cornflowers and lily of the valley in their hair, while Parc Eglos wear red poppies and yellow buttercups, Nansloe Academy wear daisies and Helston Community College wear forget-me-knots.

Pupils start learning the steps in March.

The dancers of the Midday Dance wear formal afternoon dress.

The ladies wear floor-length gowns, complete with hats and long gloves; while the gentlemen wear suits with waistcoats, top hats and gloves.

As well as following the dress code for the individual dances, every dancer wears a buttonhole of lily of the valley - one of the town's floral symbols.

The men and boys wear them on the right-hand side of their chests, with the flowers facing upwards, and the women and girls wear the buttonholes on their left with the flowers facing downwards.

As the town bell chimes 07:00, Helston Town Band's bass drummer Ashley Chinn strikes the first beat that sets off the dancers.

He told BBC Radio Cornwall: "The first note, it's the big important one!"

The band leads the dances playing the furry dance, an iconic tune that has never been shared on paper but instead has been passed down from player to player, according to the town council.

The dance steps incorporate a promenade and a twirling polka, and remain the same throughout the day - as does the music.

The Helston Flora Day committee runs a formal application process for people who want to take part in the dances.

Applications to dance the Midday Dance have to be submitted in writing in January and the Early Morning and Evening Dances in February.

The criteria for all the dances is strict with applicants having to give their full name, address and date of birth along with their address at the time of birth.

Only people with a Helston address when they were born are allowed to lead the Midday Dance.

Nigel Pascoe is the chairman of the 50 to 60 stewards that organise Flora Day.

He said the event now attracted between 20-25,000 people with about 2,650 dancers throughout the day.

It costs about £13,000 to run, paid for by subscriptions from businesses and donations from the public and the dancers.

Mr Pascoe said: "It's a lovely time when the people of Helston come together and it's a time when Helston people from all over the world come home."

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