Excitement is building in Helston this morning as preparations begin in earnest for Flora Day tomorrow.

Greenery is going up on shops and homes in the town centre, which will be decorated with bluebells, gorse and leaves in a celebration of spring.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on Helston for its annual feast day, with the forecast looking relatively dry, if not as sunny as the weekend. There could be some rain for the start of the Midday Dance, although it is expected to clear by 1pm and give way to bright sunshine for the afternoon and evening.

Falmouth Packet:

As the bells of St Michael’s Parish Church ring out at 6.30am, Helstonians will begin pouring into the town centre to stand outside the Guildhall for the first dance of the day.

With Helston Town Band gathered outside the Guildhall, a hush will fall as the town clock begins to strike 7am and with it the first boom of the bass drum, heralding the start of the Morning Dance.

This year the honour of kicking off the day’s dancing falls to father-of-two Ronnie Williams, a director of Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management’s Helston office and son of town councillor Ronnie Williams, with his dance partner Laura Frew (nee Dodd), who will be taking part just five months after giving birth to her third child.

Second lead couple will be Tom Mitchell, grandson of Flora Day steward Baden Christophers, and Amy Williams, who works for Devon and Cornwall Police.

It is also the quartet’s job to end the day’s dancing at 5pm, with the Evening Dance.

Between those times there will be a day of merriment, which continues with the Hal-an-Tow pageant from 8.30am, taking place at various locations around the town.

There is a return to dancing at 9.40am, as more than 1,500 children from the town’s three primary schools and secondary school line up in Wendron Street for the start of the Children’s Dance.

Dressed in white and wearing the colours of their schools in their ties and floral headdresses, the children will follow the slightly shortened route of recent years.

Falmouth Packet:

All eyes will once again be on the Guildhall at noon, ready for the start of the Midday Dance. First out the door will be headteacher Mark Thomas and Kate Williams (née Eddy), who has been on the Flora Day committee for the last 18 years and secretary of the Morning and Evening Dances for ten of them.

They will be immediately followed by Martin ‘Bat’ Barnett, of Helston hardware store Bowden’s, and Claire Yelland (née Barrett), who recently left working for Camborne School Mines after 12 years.

The couples will then swap positions during the break at Lismore Gardens, before returning back to the Guildhall.