Short answer: The festival runs Thursday to Sunday in the first week of December. The market, harbour lights, lantern parade and fireworks are free; the celebrity chef demos are ticketed and sell out. Park at the top of town or use the park-and-ride — the harbour car parks are full by 10am.
This is one of our town-by-town winter guides — the full county picture is in Christmas and New Year in Cornwall 2026.
The Padstow Christmas Festival started as a fundraiser by the town's chefs and has become the biggest winter event in Cornwall: a four-day food festival with cookery demonstrations from names like Rick Stein and Paul Ainsworth, a big artisan market around the harbour, the Christmas Tree of Lights, a lantern parade and a fireworks display over the water. It's always the first weekend of December, Thursday to Sunday.
2026 dates: not yet announced — has run Thursday to Sunday in the first week of December every year. We update this line the moment organisers confirm.
The chef demonstrations in the marquee are ticketed and the headline sessions sell out in advance, so book on the festival's own website when they're released (usually October). There are also ticketed dinners at the restaurants. If you're going for the demos, plan the day around your slot and treat everything else as a bonus.
Padstow's harbour car parks are full by mid-morning on festival days and the road in from Wadebridge queues. Three better options:
The Saturday lantern parade and fireworks are the children's night; go early for a spot on the harbour wall. It's busy, cold and slow-moving — a carrier beats a pushchair. Dogs are fine in the market and most pubs, less happy at the fireworks; leave them home for that hour.
The Shipwrights Padstow and The Golden Lion Padstow for pints; Chough Bakery for a pasty in the queue. Our Padstow guide has the sit-down options — book them, this weekend more than any other.
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