MORE than 200 community volunteers and 25 town organisations ensured that the Falmouth Spring Festival, organised by the Falmouth BID and sponsored by the University of Exeter, got off to the brightest start possible.

Typical early season weather, namely sunshine, strong winds and showers greeted the opening of the event, but this didn’t deter the army of helpers and supporters who worked alongside the Falmouth BID, to ensure that springtime well and truly got under way in Falmouth.

The 10-day festival, which started on Thursday, runs through until Sunday, March 24.

There were two Spring Clean Days on Friday and Saturday, when a record-breaking number of volunteers donned gardening gloves, overalls and wellies to tackle numerous street, garden and coastal areas in what turned out to be the biggest volunteer cleaning and gardening effort in the festival’s history.

And in true Falmouth style, Falmouth’s business, residential and student communities supported and worked alongside the BID, including the University of Exeter, Cormac, Falmouth Town Council, Cornwall Council, Falmouth Bay Residents Association, Falmouth District Hotels Association, Greenbank Hotel, Santander, Falmouth University, Plastic Free Falmouth, Falmouth Civic Society, Rick Stein’s Fish, Falmouth Vineyard, Boscawen Fields Action Group, The Poly and The Falmouth Hotel.

Rounding off the weekend were two more free events.

A Sunday rockpooling session on Castle Beach, led by Professor Chris Laing and his team of bio-scientists saw nearly 60 people discover some of the abundance of wildlife that inhabits the Cornish coast in this hands-on workshop. The second activity was games and fitness on The Moor, where Ships & Castles, Freefall Dance and Dirt Bike School laid on a range of activities for all ages.

Richard Wilcox, Falmouth BID manager, said: “The opening weekend’s success is a credit to the Falmouth community who have supported the festival so well. It is terrific that so many people of all ages and walks of life have given up their time to ensure that the activities have run smoothly and generated a positive impact for the town. "There’s much more to come as well, with an exciting guided walk programme co-ordinated by WalkitCornwall, plus the brilliant Science in the Pub sessions.”

Ruth Grimmer from the University of Exeter added: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Falmouth Spring Festival again this year. I personally love walking through town and seeing all the daffodils and how it unites people – such a simple gesture but one which has such a lovely impact on everyone.

"The event sees Falmouth come to life with such vibrant colour to celebrate the start of spring. As part of the community it is wonderful to see so many volunteering across a range of initiatives and the different events and activities that people have been involved in. It is great too to see events taking place at our Penryn Campus, which is open to all.”

Other Festival highlights include:

Monday, March 18, to Friday, March 22 – Science in the Pub

Monday, March 18 to Sunday, March 24 – guided walks programme

Saturday, March 23, and Sunday, March 24 – Falmouth Spring Flower Show

The Spring Festival schedule plus viewable Spring Guide can be viewed here at www.falmouth.co.uk/falmouth-events/falmouth-spring-festival