FESTIVE schoolchildren have been working hard to help kickstart Newquay’s Christmas celebrations.

Seven schools have taken part in lantern making workshops organised by Blystra Arts for the Newquay Lantern Parade, which will be held at Trenance Valley on Friday, November 21 from 5.30pm. A community lantern making workshop has also been held.

The lantern procession will leave Trenance car park at 6pm before making its way to Trenance Cottages in a dazzling display through the valley.

The Trenance Cottages switch on event will happen between 6.30pm and 6.45pm. The façade of the heritage cottages will be lit up alongside the Christmas tree as well as the gardens including the foot bridge over the stream, which will be followed by entertainment from crooner Andy Marshall.

Food will be available from The Garden Café so families can make an evening of it, staying on at the café and cottages to enjoy the entertainment.

A one-of-a-kind willow train lantern will make its way through Trenance Valley as part of this year’s lantern parade.

Blystra Arts, who deliver all the creative activity related to the parade, has been working alongside Youth Art Connect, Age UK, Newquay MIND, Treviglas Academy and the general community making five willow train carriages, each one depicting a different era, story or character related to Newquay Railway station.

The willow steam train has come about after Blystra Arts linked the lantern parade with another of its 2025 projects Stories from the Station, a heritage project running in 2025 to coincide with the 200-year anniversary of the first passenger steam train journey which happened on the September 27, 1825.

The willow train will pass under the viaduct, which was completed in 1849 by Joseph Trefry, to transport minerals from central Cornwall to Newquay Harbour to then be transported to the rest of the country and the British Empire.

There will be other big lanterns to see on the night, with Newquay Tretherras and Treviglas Academy making lanterns to contribute to the parade and each of the primary school children also parading smaller more traditional lanterns too.

This year all the school and community activity leading up to the event has been funded by Experience Newquay, a Cornwall Council funded project, Coodes Solicitors, who are the main business sponsor of the event and Newquay BID, who will also be supporting with the logistics of the parade and parade management.

The switch on part of the event has been made possible with funding from Cornwall Council’s Community Chest funding.