Golowan Festival

Golowan (sometimes also Goluan) is the Cornish language word for the Midsummer celebrations in Cornwall, UK; they were widespread prior to the late 19th century and most popular in the Penwith area and in particular in Penzance. The celebrations began on St John's Eve (23 June) with bonfires, fireworks, dancing and music, followed by a fair around the town quay on Midsummer Day (feast of St John the Baptist, 24 June) and were repeated on St Peter's Eve (28 June) and St Peter's Day.

In 2021, Golowan commissioned an exhibition which celebrated 30 years of the revived festival and explored the historical roots of Penzance's Midsummer revels. It included extensive 19th century newspaper extracts including many first-hand accounts of events across the town, including the wider context of Midsummer bonfires across Europe.

The midsummer bonfire ceremonies (Tansys Golowan in Cornish) were revived at St Ives in 1929 by the Old Cornwall Society and since then spread to other societies across Cornwall, as far as Kit Hill near Callington. Since 1991 the Golowan festival in Penzance has revived many of these ancient customs and has grown to become a major arts and culture festival; its central event Mazey Day now attracts tens of thousands of people to the Penzance area in late June.

The 2024 Golowan Festival dates are 21 to 30 June with Mazey Day taking place on Saturday 29 June.