Winter may not yet have taken hold, but thoughts have already turned to Falmouth Spring Festival which will once again boast the University of Exeter as its main sponsor.

Organised by the Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID), the festival will run from March 15 to April 2, and invites visitors and residents to celebrate and experience Falmouth’s multi award-winning green spaces, inspirational coastline and exciting open-air venues. Next year’s event will see even more daffodils distributed, more volunteers engaged, more sites spruced up and more ciders on offer than ever before.

Setting off the blossoming variety of activities will be the much-loved and community-inspired Paint the Town Yellow Day on March 15 when around 150 children from local primary schools will work alongside students and staff from the University of Exeter to hand out an amazing donation of around 40,000 freshly-picked local daffodils by Greenyard Flowers in Penzance, to businesses and passers-by.

On March 16 and 17, the award-winning Spring Clean Days will once again see 200 volunteers rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty, painting, cleaning, planting and landscaping numerous areas around Falmouth.

Working with Cormac and Falmouth Town Council, a series of coastal and town centre landscaping and planting schemes, as well as numerous clean and tidy sweeps are planned. Discussions are also in place to arrange an underwater litter pick by Atlantic Scuba, a local diving centre and an ocean plastic scoop by paddleboard, courtesy of WESUP Gyllyngvase Beach.

The spring festival organisers are also pleased to announce that the dates of the Spring Flower Show, an institution in Falmouth for over a century will also coincide with the celebrations. It wasn’t possible to include it in the 2017 line-up due to operational challenges presented by a late Easter, but that has been amended for 2018, meaning that the Flower Show will run on March 24 and 25.

BID manager Richard Wilcox, said: “Falmouth Spring Festival 2018 has a fantastic schedule being planned - the biggest yet - and we’re excited to have the University of Exeter sponsoring the event for a second successive year. We’re co-ordinating a range of lovely activities, so whether you’re visiting Falmouth from another part of Cornwall or further afield, we hope you have a fantastic time and enjoy the festival.

"I’d also like to thank the huge numbers of volunteers and businesses who have offered to support once again, as well as organisations including Cormac, Falmouth Town Council, Better Leisure, Falmouth Bay Residents Association, Fathoms Free and the Falmouth District Hotels Association. The festival really is testament to the strength of community spirit that exists in our special town.”

Ruth Grimmer, head of professional services at the University of Exeter, added: “We are delighted to be sponsoring the Falmouth Spring Festival for the third year running. It has become an important part of our annual community calendar and gives us the opportunity to celebrate the start of spring with the community we are proud to be part of. Our students and staff love to participate in the town’s activities, especially the spring clean, which always generates a crowd of willing volunteers.”

More information on the Falmouth Spring Festival activities will be posted at falmouth.co.uk.