Cornwall Parties on the Pier

Feb. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Three Cornish piers will be taking part in a major celebration of piers in the British Isles, to launch British Tourism Week 2011.  34 piers across the UK will be taking part in the first ever Party on the Pier on Saturday 12th March. Looe, Newlyn and Falmouth will be hosting parties of their own, celebrating the heritage of the pier in unique and fitting ways. In Looe, banjo players will be strumming and entertaining locals and visitors alike on the celebrated Banjo Pier, Newlyn’s Old Harbour will be filled with boats, artists, heritage and activities and Falmouth is set to have a day to creatively capture what the Prince of Wales Pier means to residents.  

Patricia Yates, Co-Chair of British Tourism Week said: “We are delighted that Cornwall is joining in to celebrate Party on the Pier. Cornwall is an extremely important tourist destination to the UK both domestically and internationally. Having parties across Cornwall will raise the awareness of the area locally, regionally and across the world.”

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Looe’s Banjo Pier, built in the nineteenth century acts as a breakwater to protect East Looe from heavy seas and inherited its name from its interesting shape. On the 12th March it will be filled with the aptly rousing sound of music as banjo players demonstrate the instrument that the pier is named after. Alongside this, the popular Pier Café will be showcasing an exhibition of photographs showing the pier throughout the ages. The massed banjos will be on the pier between 12pm and 1pm, during what is set to be a great day out for all the family.

Newlyn is renowned for its prolific artists and fishing industry and both will be fittingly brought together on the famous Old Harbour. A collaboration between local artists and National Historic Ships will bring alive a day of boats and painting. Locals and visitors are encouraged to bring their easels, sketchpads and cameras to join in this stunning spectacle. There will also be guest appearances from the Mayor of Penzance and the Chairman of Newlyn Pier and Harbours Commissioners, as well as further activities to be confirmed.

The Prince of Wales Pier in Falmouth will also be hosting an event between 1pm – 2pm on 12th March to help improve the pier that has become one of the key maritime gateways of the town. Activities aimed at gaining new insights into the significance of the pier will run alongside the launch of a new group “Friends of the Pier”, which is set to transform the structure in the short and long term.

Malcom Bell, Head of Tourism at VisitCornwall, the Cornwall Development Company tourism service, comments: “As one of the country’s lead tourism destinations, Cornwall is delighted to be taking part in VisitBritain’s British Tourism Week celebrations by hosting three of our very own Parties on the Pier. Our coastline is the longest in Great Britain and this is an excellent opportunity to showcase the diversity of our coastal scenery and maritime heritage.”
For more information see www.britishtourismweek.com

Notes to the Editor:
Issued on behalf of VisitCornwall as part of VisitBritain’s ‘British Tourism Week, Party on the Pier’.  

For further information, supporting images or interviews please contact:
Tom Cowle 07815 122950 or Tom@excessenergycomms.com  
Georgia Pitt 01637 852130 or Georgia@excessenergycomms.com


VisitCornwall is a service of the Cornwall Development Company, a local authority company controlled by Cornwall Council.

VisitCornwall undertakes the destination marketing function for Cornwall and promotes the areas distinctive qualities to the domestic market and key international markets through targeted marketing campaigns.

About Party on the Pier: Party on the Pier will kick off the fifth annual British Tourism Week on Saturday 12th March 2011 with simultaneous parties hosted on seaside piers, harbours and jetties around the coast and on inland rivers, canals and lakes ‘. It will be a national celebration of Britain’s piers and their heritage, and the biggest nationwide event on Britain’s piers since Year of the pier in 1996. Piers have entered our collective psyche as an integral part of the authentic British seaside experience, and the recent outcry over the tragic fire at Hastings is a clear sign of the esteem in which these coastal icons are still held. To date, 34 of the 55 seaside piers still in existence have expressed an interest in getting involved, as well as a number of other piers and harbours around our coastline and on our inland waterways.

Newlyn Archive will be putting on a photographic display of the 14th century Old Harbour and its boats in its heyday. For those with bygone memories, someone will be on hand to record them.

Party on the Pier is in partnership with the National Piers Society and the support of other organisations including the British Resorts and Destinations Association, British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions, and the Tourism management Institute.

British Tourism Week: British Tourism Week aims to raise local, regional, national and international awareness of the size, value and importance of Britain's £115 billion visitor economy it will run from the 12th – 20th March 2011. BTW 2010 saw over 230 events take place across the country to demonstrate the contribution made by businesses large and small, public and private in making tourism the fifth largest industry in the UK, an industry that employs directly or indirectly around 2.6 million people.
During the Week, MPs, Welsh Assembly Members, Members of the Scottish Parliament and local councilors will also be invited to visit tourism businesses in their constituencies to better understand the importance of the tourism industry in their area. Jobs in tourism account for 10% or more of total jobs in over 130 constituencies of Members of Parliament.