Out on the Towans

The history of St Ives Museum

Today we speak with Andy Smith, curator of St Ives Museum, about the history of one of the town’s most cherished institutions. Andy explores the museum’s origins over 100 years ago with the Old Cornwall Society and its mission to preserve Cornish culture and heritage. He also shares stories of the building itself — once a fish cellar, cinema, and sailors’ mission — and reflects on his own journey from engineering into heritage. Over the last 4 years, the museum has been exploring the history of art in St Ives from the 1830s onwards. And the 2026 exhibition focuses on representational art from 1930 to 1960 ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Supporting St Ives businesses

Catherine Cooper from the St Ives BID talks about what BID aims to do for the town. Drawing on her background in marketing and business, Catherine explains the role of BID and answers some of the common questions people have. She also explains the idea behind the Gold Card and how it’s intended to benefit local businesses and the wider community. For more information on the St Ives gold card, visit: https://stivesbid.co.uk/projects/st-ives-gold-card-2026/ ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Meet the Mayor

Introducing the mewest member of the St Ives Local team - our mascot, Porthia, a silver-grey tabby cat with sea-green eyes, whose adventures now feature in every issue of the magazine. In this episode, Liz and Nicole sit down with the Mayor of St Ives, Johnnie Wells, to learn about his past life as a globe-trotting surfer and website design pioneer, as well as the challenges and pleasures of his present role in the heart of the community. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

St Ives in December

The St Ives in December festival has become a much-loved part of the town's Christmas celebrations in the last few years. But it was under threat until Liz Deakin stepped in to take on the role of organising the 2026 festivities. She tells Liz and Nicole from St Ives Local about the incredible support she has had from a team of hard-working volunteers - and from the RNLI, which every year arranges for Santa to arrive in St Ives by lifeboat, always a magical start to the festive season. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Out on the Towans

Who are Friends of the Towans? Founder member Dorothy Smih, and chair of the trustees Peter Brinton, explain how what began as an informal group of conservation volunteers is now a registered charity looking after the spectacular and nationally significant dune landscape between the Hayle River and Godrevy. And St Ives Local's LIz and Nicole share their childhood members of St Ives Bay's beaches. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.