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Week-long festival every year at the end of June. The festival is part revival of ancient midsummer customs practiced in the Penzance area (and throughout Cornwall) and part arts festival. The two busiest days are Mazey Day and Quay Fair Day where many streets are closed to traffic and the town fills with tens of thousands of people for the processions, traditional dance, and musicians from many Celtic nations.
Golowan is the Cornish language word for the Midsummer celebrations in Cornwall, UK; they were widespread prior to the late 19th century and most popular in the Penwith area and in particular in Penzance. The celebrations began on St John's Eve with bonfires, fireworks, dancing and music, followed by a fair around the town quay on Midsummer Day and were repeated on St Peter's Eve and St Peter's Day.
The Newlyn School was an art colony based in nearby Newlyn from the 1880s to the early 20th century. They sought naturalistic scenes of fishing and harbour life, their leaders being Stanhope Forbes and Walter Langley. Penlee House is a Victorian mansion adapted to showcase their work. Though the "School" no longer exists as an art movement, Newlyn continues to inspire art - see that page for classes and its own gallery.
A fine example of a sub-tropical public garden, opened in 1889. "Morreb" is Cornish for "besides the sea".
A village was made up of stone-walled homesteads known as 'courtyard houses', found only on the Land's End peninsula and the Isles of Scilly, dating from 100 BC-300 AD.
An abbey, then fortified home on an island offshore. At low tide, you can walk across a causeway. At high tide, frequent boats will take you across for £2 each way (£1 for children).
For those interested in all things book-related, Penzance has an excellent private library consisting of more than 60,000 volumes, archives and photographic collections. Think floor-to ceiling book cases, leather chairs, and sea views. A book-lover's paradise. Day membership available at £3. The library is in the Morrab Gardens.