TORPOINT’S celebrations of our monarch’s remarkable 70 years on the throne begins with The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacon Lighting on Thursday, June 2, in Rendel Park at 9pm.

The Platinum Jubilee Beacon is the first community event of the four-day Jubilee weekend. Beacons will be lit across the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and UK Overseas Territories. Torpoint’s ceremony will open with a parade and music from the Torpoint Sea Cadet Band (TS Ramehead), with the youth Unformed Services in attendance.

In the official Torpoint press release on the event The Cornish Time’s were told: ‘We are proud to be part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons and Associated Activities on Thursday, June 2, 2022.

‘The Beacon is one of thousands being lit in the UK and the Commonwealth, and forms part of the official programme announced by Buckingham Palace for the Jubilee Weekend.

‘The Beacon will be lit at Rendel Park and it will be one of over 2,022 lit by charities, communities and faith groups all over the UK.

‘In addition, Beacons will be lit in all 54 Commonwealth capitals and the Principal Beacon lighting will take place in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening. This will take the form of a lighting installation with The Queen’s Green Canopy ‘Tree of Trees’ sculpture and projections onto the front of Buckingham Place. This innovative new way of taking part in the beacon lighting will reflect the Royal Family’s long history of championing environmental causes.

‘Torpoint Town Mayor, Cllr Rachel Evans BEM said: “We are proud to be part of this momentous celebration. It is only appropriate that this unique milestone in history is marked with beacons and music. We are honoured to be part of this special event for Her Majesty, The Queen’s 70th year as our Monarch and Head of the Commonwealth on her Platinum Jubilee.”

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Beacons and Associated Activities have been conceived and organised by Pageantmaster Bruno Peek and his dedicated team, building on a long tradition of lighting beacons to mark significant royal celebrations.’

The next day, Friday, June 3, will see Torpoint’s Platinum Jubilee Festival taking place in Thanckes Park from noon. 

This will be a free, fun-packed fun day for all the family. While the park will be open from midday, the first performance will be at 12.30pm, with the official opening taking place at 1pm. 

The festival will finish with a firework display at approximately 10.50pm. During the afternoon and evening there will be children’s entertainment, a free bouncy castle and you will be able to purchase from food stalls, crafts, a licensed bar and lots more.  Volunteers are needed to help at Torpoint’s Platinum Jubilee Festival on June 3, so if you can help please contact the Town Clerk on 01752 814165 or email [email protected]

On Saturday, June 4, the Torpoint Jubilee event organisers will be having a well-earned rest day, so they suggest watching the Platinum Party at the Palace event due to be screened on TV by the BBC.

However, Torpoint’s own programme of events resumes on Sunday, June 5, with The Jubilee Big Lunch at the Council Chambers in York Road.

Town Mayor Cllr Rachel Evans and Torpoint Town Council will be hosting a Jubilee Big Lunch for 70 residents aged over the age of 70. If you are over 70 and reside in Torpoint, you can apply for a ticket by contacting Torpoint Town Council on 01752 814165.    

As with Saltash and a number of other towns, Torpoint is hosting a ‘Sir Barnaby Beacon’augmented reality trail, celebrating The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Starting at Bénodet Park, those taking part will discover seven QR codes around the town. Each code has a digital stamp to collect and is looked after by different virtual characters all the way from Buckingham Palace.

Players will be guided by a character called Sir Barnaby Beacon and will get to learn about each decade of Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne.

Upload your photos using #Torpointbeacontrail

The trail will be live until Sunday, June 12, 2022, and has been kindly sponsored by Torpoint Town Partnership and Torpoint Street Markets.

The scenario goes like this: 

‘Once upon a time, Queen Elizabeth II was just a little girl, praying to have a brother because that would mean she wouldn’t have to be Queen! It didn’t take long for her to get used to the idea though and when she was 21 years-old, in a radio broadcast (before mobile phones or even colour television!), she said: “I declare before you that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of the great imperial commonwealth to which we all belong.”

‘It turns out that her life has been very long indeed and she has stuck to her word, serving the commonwealth for seventy years!

‘At each stop, you’ll be given a few facts from each decade of her reign, from the 1950’s, right up to today.

‘A Royal Day Out: The Story So Far...

‘On this particular morning, Sir Barnaby Beacon was getting ready to have one of the most important days of his life. They were lighting his beacon in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee! He couldn’t have been more excited, but there was still lots to do to get ready for the celebration. Sir Barnaby was quite busy getting himself ready, when his friend, Cherry Chandelier came in and asked him for help setting up the party. He told her that he was rather too busy getting himself ready and wouldn’t be able to help at all! Cherry looked quite upset and left without another word.

‘A little while later, Sir Barnaby was looking for Cherry to find out where to go for the party, but much to his surprise everyone had already left! What a disaster! He’d been so busy that he forgot to ask where the party was. He was about to run out after them when he spotted a note pinned to door. It read, ‘I’m getting ready for the Jubilee, but you won’t be able to celebrate without me! I’ll be waiting for you at the beacon’s end, you’ll find me by speaking to a friend. Cherry.’

‘He was very confused by this! There was nothing else he could do except walk into town and look for ‘a friend’.

‘Why don’t you come along and join Sir Barnaby on his stroll. Let’s get to the bottom of this!’