Mazey Day

Mazey Day

Mazey Day, launched each year by the Mayor of Penzance and the Mock Mayor of the Quay, is the centrepiece of the Golowan festival, in which artists, schools and other community groups fill the streets with music and giant sculptures in a series of parades.

Mazey Day is part of the Golowan Festival in Penzance, a celebration that goes back hundreds of years! It began as a midsummer tradition to mark the Feast of St John, when people lit bonfires and danced to welcome the longest days of the year. Today, Mazey Day keeps that spirit alive with a big community celebration full of colour, music, and fun. The streets are filled with parades of giant sculptures made by local schools, dancers, and bands. People decorate the town with flowers and greenery, and there are stalls with tasty treats and crafts. It’s a day for everyone to come together, celebrate our Cornish heritage, and enjoy the summer in our beautiful town!

Mazey Day 2025 - The Newlyn Bucca

Story of the Bucca:

There are many Cornish folklore tales which tell stories of sea spirit mermen coming to shore to inhabit coastal communities during stormy weather. The Tale of the Sea Bucca describes the being as having the dark brown skin of a conger eel, and a mound of seaweed hair. Legend suggests that he was once a human prince who was cursed by a witch. He helped local fishermen by driving fish towards their nets, and in return, the fishermen would leave fish on the beach to placate him. Throughout the 19th century, these offerings were particularly common in Newlyn and Mousehole.
One such beach used for this purpose was the area of Newlyn known formerly as Park an Grouse (‘the field of the cross’ in Cornish) where a stone cross was allegedly once situated. Similar offerings were recorded on the beaches of Mousehole and Newlyn ‘Town’ (the area which is now known as Newlyn Cliff). It is likely that it is from this observance that the common nickname of ‘Newlyn Buckas‘ was derived:

‘Penzance boys up in a tree,
Looking as wisht* as wisht* can be;
Newlyn buckas as strong as oak,
Knocking them down at every poke.’
(*haunted)

The Bucca is said to have had two forms, good and evil; Bucca Widn (White Bucca) and Bucca Dhu (Black Bucca). Now known as Bucca Boo, parents have used the evil version of the spirit as a ‘bogeyman’ to encourage their children to behave better! In the nineteenth century a new road was built between Penzance and Land’s End, the Tolcarne River in Newlyn was bridged and the area was named ‘Bucca’s pass’.

Scan the QR code below to see our parade - with the Samba drums filling the streets of Penzance with joy and rhythmical chanting all performed by our fantastic children, led by Miss Judge!