Penzance Council has awarded more than £14,000 in grants to community organisations ahead of the festive season.

The funding will support various events and ongoing projects, including Christmas lights and a midwinter festival.

It brings the total awarded by Penzance Council this financial year to more than £60,000.

Grant recipients include Montol Festival, Newlyn Harbour Lights, PZ Studios, Treneere Team Spirit, Quiet Connections, and Heamoor Community Interest Organisation (CIO).

Montol Festival, an annual arts and community festival celebrating the midwinter solstice, Cornish midwinter traditions, and customs associated with Old Christmas, is set to receive £5,000.

Aaron Broadhurst, Montol Organising Committee, said: "A huge thank you to Penzance Council for awarding Montol grant funding again.

"In a world of spiralling costs, the money will ensure that this year’s festival shines as brightly as ever: bigger, more inclusive, and safer than before."

MontolMontol (Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live) The Newlyn Harbour Christmas Lights Switch On event, which attracts large crowds for the fireworks display over the harbour, has been awarded £6,000.

It will assist in delivering a quieter fireworks display.

Judith Goodwin from Newlyn Harbour Lights said: "Newlyn Harbour Lights Committee wishes to thank Penzance Council for once again offering us a grant to help support our annual Christmas Lights Switch On event, which will take place on Friday, December 6 at 6pm.

"Their very generous grant will enable us to fund the spectacular hybrid (a mix of quiet and traditional) fireworks display that marks the official start of Christmas in Newlyn - a much-anticipated event by the whole community and beyond."

Treneere Team Spirit has been awarded £1,500 to make the 10th anniversary of the Treneere Christmas lights a bigger and brighter display than ever before.

The money will be used for lights and decorations for the annual display.

Trudi Lobb, chair of Treneere Team Spirit, said: "We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Penzance Council for their generous donation of £1,500 towards our beloved Christmas Lights event.

"Every year, our community comes together to enjoy this festive evening, and with the wonderful support from Penzance Council and others, this year’s celebration is set to be the best one yet."

(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live) Heamoor CIO, who started their festive light displays around the village five years ago, has been awarded a £500 grant to replace some of the original lights.

PZ Studios, a group of Penzance-based artists, has been granted £998 to buy portable MDF display boards and extra lighting for a new pop-up gallery space in the Wharfside Shopping Centre.

Mayor of Penzance, Stephen Reynolds, said: "The art community is thriving in the parish of Penzance, and this new gallery has the potential to raise the profile of hundreds of artists over the next two years by offering an affordable space to showcase their work, whilst at the same time bringing footfall back into an empty retail unit."

(Image: Penzance Council) Lastly, Penzance Council awarded a grant of £254 for weekly meetups aimed at quiet and socially anxious people.

Hayley Stanton, Quiet Connections CIC founder, said: "We are incredibly thankful to Penzance Council for this grant, which enables us to provide a warm, welcoming, and understanding space for quiet individuals – those who are introverted, sensitive, shy or experiencing social anxiety – in the Penzance area."

New grant applications are encouraged from April 2025 ahead of the 2025/26 financial year.