Short answer: St Piran's Day is on 5 March every year, which is Friday 5 March 2027. Truro holds a city parade, Penzance has a schoolchildren's St Piran Furry dance and Redruth is billed as the biggest celebration. The 2027 programmes are not out, so use 2026 as a guide: Truro's parade set off at 1pm and Penzance's dance at 10.15am.
St Piran's Day is Cornwall's national day, and almost every community marks it. In 2027 it falls on a Friday, which suits a long weekend away. Here is what is on in the main towns, based on this year's programmes, with a note on what is not yet confirmed.
St Piran's Day is on 5 March every year, so Friday 5 March 2027. It is not a public holiday, although nine town and city councils, including Bodmin, Penzance and Truro, give staff the day off. The Cornish flag, a white cross on a black background, flies across the county. Dress in black, white and gold if you want to join in.
Piran is said to have been an Irish bishop who reached Cornwall in the early 6th century, and the patron saint of tin miners. In legend he was thrown into the sea tied to a millstone and floated safely to Cornwall, landing on a beach near Newquay. The day began as a tinners' holiday and was revived by Celtic revivalists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Truro holds a city parade. In 2026 people gathered on Lemon Quay from 12.30pm and the parade set off at 1.00pm, ending at High Cross outside Truro Cathedral, which is rated 4.7 from 3,287 Google reviews. It was the parade's 40th anniversary, and the route had been revised. There was also a shop window dressing competition judged that morning and a St Piran's market at the Farmers Market the following Saturday. The 2027 programme will come from Truro City Council and Visit Truro. See our Truro page.
In 2026 Penzance held a Cornish Concert the evening before, with a combined choir of Penwith schoolchildren. On the day, at 10.15am, hundreds of schoolchildren set off from the top of Causewayhead, dancing the St Piran Furry through the town. Everyone sang "Trelawny" in Morrab Gardens, rated 4.7 from 690 Google reviews, and each child got a saffron bun at St John's Hall. Roads around Causewayhead, Parade Street, Morrab Road and others were closed from 10am to noon. It is organised by the group St Piran in Penwith, which has run it for 21 years. For parking see our Penzance parking guide.
Redruth is often billed as having the biggest St Piran's Day celebration, with a parade, a rugby match and live music. An older article described a procession at 12 noon from Fore Street ending at the Redruth town clock, where choirs sang "Trelawny", with a craft fair and a children's town trail. The article is from 2016, so check this year's plan. See our Redruth page, Redruth parking guide and best pasty in Redruth.
The same 2016 article describes a St Piran's Day play in Perranporth, where hundreds of people walk over the dunes to St Piran's Cross dressed in black, white and gold, and actors perform his life story in three parts. We have not confirmed whether it runs in 2027 or what time it starts. If you go, remember that the St Piran's Cross is a modern concrete cross used as a marker, and reviewers say the area can be marshy, flooded after rain and home to adders in warm weather, so wear waterproof shoes. Park in the village and walk. See our Perranporth parking guide. Perranporth Beach is rated 4.8 from 5,646 Google reviews. The Perranporth page and best beaches near Perranporth and St Agnes cover the rest.
Other towns hold parades and processions: Bodmin with pipers, Falmouth with school children and St Ives with its own event, according to Wikipedia's overview. We have not confirmed programmes for 2027. See our Bodmin, Falmouth and St Ives pages.
Our page mentions a St Piran's Day play from a 2016 article. A more recent report from the Voice, published 3 March 2025, describes the Perranporth event differently. It says the procession takes place on the Sunday closest to St Piran's Day, starts at Perran Sands Holiday Park and crosses Penhale Dunes to St Piran's Oratory and the lost church. A piper leads it, an actor plays St Piran, and prayers are said at the Oratory.
If that pattern holds in 2027, the nearest Sunday to Friday 5 March is Sunday 7 March. That is our inference, not an announcement, so check before you plan. The article gives no start time, no distance, and no parking or toilet details.
For the ground, the South West Coast Path's "Perran Sands to St Piran's" circular walk is 3.7 miles (6km), rated easy with a little gentle ascent and descent, and mostly sandy underfoot. The Oratory is near the start, heading north across the dunes. The path page gives no walk-specific dog rules.
Sandy dune paths are hard going for pushchairs and wheelchairs. Our Perranporth parking guide covers the village car parks if you want to walk in from the beach.
The 2026 parade gathered at Lemon Quay at 12.30pm and set off at 1pm. In 2027, St Piran's Day is a Friday, so expect working-day traffic as well as parade crowds. Visit Truro lists the city's car parks. Two central ones are:
Park and ride avoids both. Langarth Park & Ride has 4.6 from 503 Google reviews and is listed 6.30am to 8.30pm Monday to Saturday. Reviewers mention buses every 10 to 15 minutes and a bus day ticket of about £2.50 to £2.70 (prices from 2025, so check). Tregurra Park and Ride serves the east side, but we found no times.
Road closures for the parade are usually published a few weeks ahead, and we have not seen the 2027 ones. See our Truro parking guide and Truro with a buggy guide.
Friday 5 March 2027. St Piran's Day is on 5 March each year.
No. Some councils, including Bodmin, Penzance and Truro, give staff the day off.
In 2026 people gathered on Lemon Quay from 12.30pm and the parade set off at 1pm. Check the 2027 time.
In 2026 schoolchildren danced the St Piran Furry from Causewayhead at 10.15am, sang Trelawny in Morrab Gardens and got saffron buns.
Black, white and gold, the Cornish colours, with the black and white St Piran's flag flown across the county.
The 2025 report says it starts at Perran Sands Holiday Park and crosses Penhale Dunes to St Piran's Oratory. Check the 2027 details.
Langarth Park & Ride is listed 6.30am to 8.30pm Monday to Saturday, and Tregurra serves the east side. Check times for 5 March 2027.
The paths over the dunes are sandy, so a pushchair or wheelchair will struggle. The South West Coast Path rates the nearby circular walk as easy.
The 2025 report says it is held on the Sunday closest to St Piran's Day, which would be Sunday 7 March 2027. That is not yet confirmed.
Times, prices and dates are the businesses' and organisers' to change, so check before you travel. Spotted something we've got wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
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