The launch of the Heartlands project will be celebrated with a packed line-up for the Magic, Myth and Mayhem Launch weekend from April 20 to 22.

Kicking off with a grand parade and official opening event, the weekend extravaganza will include live music performances from BRIT nominee, Newton Faulkner, Dalla, John Dowling, Bragatanga, The Viewers, Hedluv and Passman, Bagas Degol and Duchy Opera; theatre from Rogue, Squashbox, Bish Bash Bosh and CScape; dance from The Big Dance Company, InspirAsian and TR14ERs.

Other activities include special lantern, flag making and dance workshops, storytelling, face painting, aerial performances, acrobatics and much much more.

The Hearty Party Parade will begin at 10.30am on Friday 20 April as over 800 schoolchildren, local community groups, businesses and colleges formally open the site. Once open, a specially-commissioned 4m² heart blimp will rise into the sky and fly over this, the former mining heart of Cornwall for the remainder of the weekend. The Heartlands launch will be streamed live on the internet through My Cornwall TV.

Malcolm Moyle, Chair of the Heartlands Trust said: “There’s a real buzz in the air as we countdown the days till launch. We are so pleased the local community and Cornwall as a whole is taking Heartlands to their hearts. The team has been working around the clock to get things ready for opening and we can’t wait to show this wonderful new free cultural playground off to the world”

Heartlands became a reality in 2007 when it was awarded a £22.3 million grant by the Big Lottery Fund, the biggest grant BIG has ever given to a single project in England. It was one of four projects in the UK to receive the grant under BIG’s Living Landmarks scheme. Additional funding was provided by Cornwall Council, Home and Communities Agency (HCA) and the European Union to reach £35 million.