The Whitegold Festival, a free celebration of china clay, will be returning to St Austell town centre on Saturday (September 30).

The festival will be opened at 10.30am by renowned ceramics designer Emma Bridgewater with a welcome by Sir Tim Smit, co-founder of the Eden Project. Emma will also give a talk later in the day about contemporary ceramics design.

The festival is a day of hands-on workshops for all ages, ceramics stalls, exhibitions and displays inspired by the unique material that has shaped the landscape and culture around St Austell.

A clay oven built by Turkish ceramicist Betul Katig?z will be used to create food. The oven was built at Wheal Martyn Museum with the help of the attraction’s visitors in August.

The Whitegold project is an initiative of the St Austell Bay Economic Forum with financial support kindly offered by St Austell BID, St Austell Town Council and FEAST.

Further In-kind support has been provided by St Austell Brewery, Imerys, the Eden Project, Cornwall College, Plymouth University, Wheal Martyn museum and local artists. St Austell Bay Radio will be broadcasting live from the festival site for the day.