Round up: Arts on the Beach 2024

Making waves at Watergate Bay, the second year of our two-day free family festival drew over 4,000 people to celebrate on the sand for Arts on the Beach 2024.

2024 full weekend timetable

The beach bounced with action on 15&16 June as Watergate Bay welcomed flocks of festival-goers to watch, play, dance and get stuck into two days of sea-themed, sustainably-minded festivities.

Whale theatre

Families lined up eagerly awaiting a voyage in Circo-rum-Ba-Ba’s life-size 60-foot inflatable whale. Climbing inside, the stage was set for an underwater odyssey, right there in the whale’s belly. This briny tale brought to life the cycle of a leatherback turtle, inspiring minds young and old to think about the role we all play in protecting the ocean.

Eko the sea giant

Last year’s crowd-pleaser Eko, a 13-foot sea giant summoned from the imaginations of Autin Dance Theatre, returned again to the shores. Sharing his heartwarming performance, Out of the Deep Blue, and mesmerising onlookers.

It’s really put the flag in the Cornish summer calendar for our ocean-loving festival.

“Our first Arts on the Beach was a real hit, so it was great to see its second year roll out with thousands of people having a brilliant time across the weekend,” says Laura Smith, our events manager. “The sun shone and we were able to welcome more people than last year, with visitors from the local community and guests from further afield coming along to join in the fun. It’s really put the flag in the Cornish summer calendar for our ocean-loving festival.”

Performance dance

Giant parasols twirled as Hikapee Theatre delivered aerial acrobatics in their performance Everywhere’s a Beach; H & T Creative shone a spotlight on reducing plastic waste with No Time to Waste; and the Hall for Cornwall Youth Theatre dance troupe showcased their new piece, Jack – whetting appetites for the full performance at The Hall for Cornwall later in the year.

Artist in Residence

Throughout the weekend, Watergate Bay welcomed not one, but two Artists in Residence to the sand – Georgina Peters, who channelled the spirit of the weekend into a collaborative abstract piece, painted in real-time. Meanwhile, family of artists Beach4Art gathered beach-found materials and collaborated with festival-goers to create a lobster mural to celebrate National Lobster Day.

Silent Disco

Dance moves were made on Saturday evening, as headphone-clad dancers rocked to a sandy silent disco, supported by Korev.

Discovery Zone

In partnership with Watergate Bay Hotel, Land Rover Discovery supported the ‘Discovery Zone’, where talks, workshops and crafts were a real draw, keeping the theme of protecting the ocean and the environment front and centre.

Food & drink

Food and drink partners kept spirits high, with offerings from My Mum Makes Thai and a Wax beach barbeque dishing out flame-fired burgers until the last coal burned out.

Truro City of Lights & Weapons of Sound

The weekend drew to a close with a fancy dress parade of flags in honour of National Lobster Day, with City of Lights Truro holding their lobster lantern high – a creation fashioned throughout the weekend with the help of children and their families. As the procession snaked through the crowds, Weapons of Sound (billed as the UK’s most eco-friendly junk band) let their imaginative instruments sound out contagious beats, before the dipping sun signalled the end of the weekend.

Summer 2025

Hot on the heels of this summer’s sandy spectacle, we’re already itching to do it all over again.

Our free creative family festival lands on the weekend of 5&6 July 2025, when the tides peel back, revealing the stage for two more days of live theatre and music, dance, workshops, and a motley crew of beach-loving performers.