Gorsedh Kernow announces host town for 2023
Gorsedh Kernow and Padstow Town Council are pleased to announce that Padstow will be the host town for the annual Esedhvos and Gorsedh ceremony in September 2023.
“On behalf of the bards of Gorsedh Kernow, we are excited and delighted that the Gorsedh is coming to Padstow” said Grand Bard Mab Stenek Veur, Pol Hodge. “Our last visit was in 1951 and it is wonderful to be coming back again in 2023. Padstow traditions are at the heart of Cornish culture, and it is very fitting that the Esedhvos should be held in the town.”
At a recent meeting, Padstow Town Council supported the visit of the Gorsedh to Padstow in 2023. Mayor, Councillor James O’Keefe said that “It is a great delight and pleasure to be invited to host the annual Cornish Gorsedh celebrations here in Padstow in 2023. This is a once in a generation event for towns and villages to host throughout Cornwall. We look forward to working with Gorsedh Kernow and with their support we hope to make this event a huge success for them, and for the town of Padstow.”
A local committee is being formed which will work to help organise the event. The Gorsedh ceremony takes place on the first Saturday of September and is preceded by the Esedhvos Kernow, a celebration of Cornish culture and of the host town.
Further information on Gorsedh Kernow
Gorsedh Kernow exists to maintain the national Celtic Spirit of Cornwall and to give expression to such spirit. It supports and promotes Cornish cultural activity, including the study of Cornish history and literature, the
Cornish language, Cornish art, music, dance and sport and encourages links with other Celtic countries. The Esedhvos festival includes the annual awards for adults and young people.
Gorsedh Kernow’s Esedhvos Festival of Cornish Culture, which includes the bardic ceremony where new bards are initiated, will be held in and around Padstow in the first week of September with the main bardic ceremony taking place on Saturday 2 September 2023.
For further information about Gorsedh Kernow please visit the website www.gorsedhkernow.org.uk
Launch of Gorsedh Kernow Awards 2023
The Gorsedh Kernow Awards celebrate and honour those who demonstrate the Celtic spirit of Cornwall in creativity or community work and it is open to anyone to nominate. The scheme caters for all ages, with Young People’s’ Awards up to age 18, and Adults’ Awards and Certificates of Recognition. Last year saw a record number of nominations and submissions. This year’s deadline of 23rd April gives plenty of time to nominate someone, or submit work, this year. Last year saw Awen medals awarded at a special evening at the Hayle Esedhvos for an impressive array of creative and community work across Cornwall. Winners included Mary Ann Bloomfield and the community of St. Just for the splendid staging of the Ordnalia, Helen Tiplady and the Hall for Cornwall Youth Theatre, and Roger Gool for a lifetime’s dedication to the Padstow carols. Certificates of Recognition were given for new creative work – from poetry to song- in Cornish and English, on Cornish heritage, and for new films. Who will be honoured this year?
These awards are agreed by a panel whose judgments are informed by specialist adjudicators but candidates are nominated by the public. If you have been inspired or impressed by an outstanding contribution to Cornish community or culture made by an individual or group you can nominate them for a Gorsedh Kernow Award. This may be someone, or a group, whose creative or community work has promoted, embodied, or demonstrated the Celtic spirit of Cornwall for a considerable time or in an exceptional way. Winners will be awarded the prestigious Awen Medal, specially designed and made from Cornish tin.
You can also enter your own work for recognition by Gorsedh Kernow’s specialist adjudicators. Successful submissions will be awarded a Certificate of Recognition and may, in exceptional circumstances, be awarded an Awen medal. Adults can submit work in Cornish language writing, Cornish dialect writing, Cornish study, and Creative Work which enables individuals or groups to submit evidence of their own project (such as an exhibition, new song, craft or performance). Published books should be submitted instead to the Gorsedh Kernow Holyer an Gof Awards scheme.
Details of how to nominate someone for an award, to submit your own work for recognition, and of the Young People’s awards, are available on the Gorsedh Kernow website at https://gorsedhkernow.org.uk/awards/.
All winners are invited to a presentation evening, with entertainment, and exhibition at the September Esedhvos Festival of Culture, this year to be held in Padstow.
If you would like more information on the Gorsedh Kernow Awards, please email awards@gorsedhkernow.org.uk.
Gorsedh Kernow Proclamation 22.04.23
On Saturday 22 April Gorsedh Kernow held the Proclamation.
A small procession of Bards went from the Church Room into St Petroc Church for the Celtic ceremony.
