A dry and bright morning dawned in Helston for Flora Day and the start of the Morning Dance.
In what was one of the best starts to the event, weather wise, for many years as crowds gathered outside the Guildhall for the first strike of 7am and with it the first beat of Helston Town Band’s famous bass drum.
This was a particularly ‘chime’ to get Flora Day going, as it was the first official use of the Guildhall’s new bell, installed only last week – and fittingly named ‘Flora’.
With the bells of St Michael’s Church ringing out in celebration, there was an air of excitement in the town.
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As people glanced repeatedly at the Guildhall clock to watch the hour hand tick ever close to 7am, a hush fell over the town.
You can watch the start of the dance in our video below:
With that all important first drum beat, the day had begun. Before the dancers appeared, however, the band remained stationary to play the famous tune of the Flora Dance, in honour of former long-serving musical director Edward Ashton who passed away last year.
Then it was time for the dancers to emerge, led by this year’s leading four: Tom Mitchell, Amy Williams, Andrew ‘Andy’ Toy, and Melanie ‘Mel’ Toy.
First out the Guildhall doors were Tom, a teacher at St Keverne Primary School, and Amy, who works for Devon and Cornwall Police in admin.
They were followed by brother and sister paring Andy and Mel.
All four spoke of their delight and honour at being invited to lead both the Morning Dance and again for the Evening Dance, at 5pm.
The Morning Dance is the longest out of all the day’s dances, taking in a large proportion of the town centre including as far as Spar at top the Meneage Street, up to Godolphin Road and down to St Johns before making its way back to the Guildhall.
See below for more Packet photos of Helston Flora Day Morning Dance 2024 and in our gallery at the top of the page.
*Due to a camera memory card malfunction, we have been unable to access 2,500 images taken. For this we apologise.
More photos can be found in the picture gallery at the top of the page.
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