Masks and fancy dress outfits of all descriptions were the order of the day on Saturday when 3,000 glammed-up revellers enjoyed Porthleven Masked Ball at Beacon Crag.

The event, now in its seventh year, raises money for charity as well as proving that no one knows how to throw – or enjoy – a party quite like the Cornish.

Throngs of party-goers donned their dancing shoes and got down to a selection of more than 60 local and national DJs and bands.

However, the Masked Ball is famed as much for its production values as for its music line up – and this year there were some real surprises in store.

A black ‘rabbit hole’ led guests through a maze-like tunnel to an Alice in Wonderland themed dome, complete with giant rabbits, Mad Hatters, actors dressed as playing cards and circus performers.

Beyond that was a UFO – a themed venue shaped like an enormous flying saucer. A 1980s-themed disco tent, complete with mirror balls and an underlit Saturday Night Fever dance floor appropriately named Disco In Kernow was another star attraction.

Balls Deep was a dance area accessed by a slide into a marquee full of inflated balls, with the DJ area protected by chicken wire – another one of the surreal encounters that has made the Masked Ball an event attracting revellers from as far as London and beyond.

Festival favourites like The Cuban Brothers, Adamski, DJ Yoda and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs kept happy dancers glued to the dance floor. This year, the festival site had been improved to accommodate the extra party-goers, with hot showers in the campsite, a café and tepees for hire.

Organiser Kelvin Batt told The Packet: “I'm lucky enough to say the place rocked all weekend – the credit should go to the amazing crowd, who make it a pleasure to put on the Masked Ball.

“Also the event wouldn't be possible without the solid team that work so hard behind it. And I'm proud to say we've managed to donate a considerable sum to our charities – Surfers Against Sewage, Pants Cancer Charity, Porthleven Christmas Lights and St Keverne Christmas Lights.”

The night finished on a high with the Bill Withers’ classic Lovely Day and everyone traipsed off to their campervans and tents, exhausted yet happy.

On Sunday, two marquees cranked up their sound systems again for Super Sunday – another sessions of music for those who wanted more, but on a smaller scale.

For many it was time to begin recharging their batteries ahead of the Halloween Masked Ball, on the Lizard Peninsula, on October 26.