Top names lined up for inaugural festival

Ten-day event at Lost Gardens of Heligan will focus on home and belonging, as Athwenna Irons reports

- Athwenna Irons

A STELLAR line-up of big-name entertainers and some of the world’s foremost authors, academics and thinkers has been confirmed for the first Heligan Homecoming Festival.

Homecoming will feature performances from acclaimed musicians and Mercury Prize-nominees Seth Lakeman and Gwenno, top comedians Dawn French and Edward Rowe - well known in Cornwall as Kernow King - and conversations with guests including Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and academic and author Merlin Sheldrake.

The 10-day festival will explore the themes of home and belonging and will take place in the picturesque and historical setting of the Lost Gardens of Heligan near Mevagissey between Friday, June 13, and Sunday, June 22.

Each date will feature daytime performances and activities, including beaver tours, ocean-view yoga, foraging and farm walks and an evening headline performance, with separate tickets available for each.

Heligan’s famous Lost Suppers which usually run monthly will be available on most festival days with an adventurous and exciting menu featuring ingredients from the Heligan garden.

Laura Chesterfield, managing director of the Lost Gardens of Heligan, said: “We are incredibly excited to be unveiling the full line-up for our first Heligan Homecoming Festival and privileged that so many big names will be gathering at our gardens to celebrate the theme of home and belonging.

“Homecoming will be an enriching and lively experience that will inspire thought, laughter and dancing throughout.”