Each year since its inception five years ago, the Gyllyngdune Tea Festival in Falmouth has grown in size and popularity and last weekend's event was no exception.

"Last year we had 2,000 attend and this year there were definitely more," said Jacqui Owen, visitor and community engagement officer for Falmouth Town Council in partnership with Cormac. "We have not downloaded the exact visitor numbers yet, but it was busier. People who came last year were saying there were so many more people this year."

In its 100 year history the Princess Pavilion and Gyllyngdune Gardens has had a strong connection with tea. Once owned by Frederick Horniman, a Victorian tea trader and founder of the Horniman Museum in London, the venue has hosted thousands of tea dances and served afternoon teas for visitors to enjoy.

The event on Sunday attracted people of all ages who soaked up the atmosphere and took part in the many activities on offer. These included screen printing workshops with Johnny Fuller and the Craft-TEA tent where Sarah Scott and Tony Johns from Falmouth Art Gallery helped youngsters make floral headdresses and Mad Hatter crafts. The Children's Centre also held workshops where children could decorate their own tea cups.

Visitors could take part in a tea tasting experience with Curious Tea, Sally Trully demonstrated hand-thrown pottery and the raku technique and Nature Sparks gave demonstrations in handmade baskets for shopping, picnics, foraging and storage.

In addition to the demonstrations, workshops and stalls, entertainment was provided by the Story Republic in the quarry garden and by students from Falmouth School and Penryn College who performed acoustic sets under gazebos at the seafront entrance and at the top of the quarry. There were also dance performances from Cornwall Dance School and tea dances led by Tee J Randall and The Foxytrotters.

The festival is now a joint venture between Falmouth Town Council, Cormac and Tempus Leisure with teams from all three organisations working flat-out to ensure its success. It's main coordinators were Jacqui and Sara Baistrocchi, but they received massive support from the Cormac's gardens team who spent four days decorating the gardens.

The effort was all worth while though. "It was a real success," said Jacqui. "It was a real community effort with so many people from our locality involved in it. It is definitely gaining in reputation - the word is spreading.

"The thing I love every year is that the garden is just full of smiles and people of all ages are just enjoying themselves. I have never had this before, but people I had never seen before were queuing up to thank us for such a fantastic event."