King’s Award for Voluntary Service for Camborne Trevithick Day CIC

Trevithick Day will be taking place on Saturday 25 April 2026, with festivities kicking off at 9.30am, with a procession including the mayor and Chairman of Camborne Trevithick Day CIC, and other dignitaries. They will be accompanied by Kernow Pipes and Drums, and make their way from the top of Trelowarren Street to the Town Square.

From 10, there will be live music and other entertainments across four venues in the town, and the traditional dances, winding through the streets. The Children’s Dance will begin at 10am, and the Adults’ dance at 2.30pm. There will also be a spectacular Parade of Steam, from Bassett Road up Trelowarren Street, featuring more than 20 immaculate, full size steam engines.

King’s Award for Voluntary Service

In November 2025, the organisers of Trevithick Day, Camborne Trevithick Day CIC were awarded the King’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is the first time that an organisation responsible for a single-day event has been given the award, in Cornwall. It acknowledges the work of the volunteer committee, and the positive impact the event brings to the community.

It has proved to the be case that the King’s Award for Voluntary Service has opened doors for the CIC, with local businesses being more open to sponsorship opportunities. The award gives legitimacy to the organisation, which in turn proves that business investment can bring rewards for the businesses themselves, by association.

World-wide recognition

Camborne Trevithick Day (CTD) is a world renowned and hugely popular celebration of local culture and heritage which takes place annually on the last Saturday in April – this year, the 25th. The celebration day is the cumulation of a whole year of community involvement and preparation. Its cornerstone is the celebration of Richard Trevithick – Camborne’s most famous local hero – who is internationally accredited as the inventor and creator of the very first independently steam propelled locomotive. His vehicle drove up the now-famous Camborne Hill on Christmas Eve in 1801. All other steam-powered engines and trains evolved from Trevithick’s invention.

The celebration day itself features community dances and a wide cultural offering from both community and professional artists in many fields. Roads are closed for the day, streets are decorated and stalls set up, and the fair arrives in town. The festival atmosphere builds as the community dances weave through the streets, honouring local history with traditional mining costume. The event culminates with a ‘parade of steam’ featuring magnificent engines under steam, travelling in convoy through the town’s main streets. A fully working replica of Trevithick’s ‘Puffing Devil’ takes centre stage. Many local schools, youth groups, organisations and businesses participate, and support what is the largest civic event in the Camborne calendar, noted for its free access to all.

Volunteer-run Community Interest Company

The CTD committee are unpaid volunteers, who work tirelessly throughout the year to plan and organise this annual event. The event has been run by volunteers since it was conceived over forty years ago, and it became a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2024. The current committee is chaired by Trevor Brookes, and consists of 17 volunteers, some of whom have served on the committee for more than twenty years, while others remember attending the event as children.

King’s Award for Voluntary Service

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) was previously the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, established in 2002 for the late Queen’s Golden Jubilee. It is presented to different voluntary groups each year, for those who enhance and improve the quality of life and opportunity of others in their local communities. It is the highest award that can be given to a volunteer group and is equivalent to an MBE, shining a light on the fantastic work of volunteer groups from all across the UK.

Recognition of effort

This award recognises the hard work and dedication of the unpaid volunteers on the CTD committee, past and present, who tirelessly strive to deliver this fantastic event year on year. The positive impact it has on the local community is noticeable, from young to old, lifting the spirits, and giving the people of Camborne something that they can be proud of.  The benefits and impact are year-long, for stallholders, dancers, exhibitors, performers and those who simply turn up to have fun.

 Committee Chairman, Trevor Brookes, says:

“We are immensely proud to be receiving this award, and it gives credibility and recognition of the valuable work and dedication displayed by all the committee members of Camborne Trevithick Day CIC. We hope that this continues to highlight our event, and raises the profile of Richard Trevithick, Camborne town, and the event’s community benefits. We would like to express our grateful thanks to all our sponsors and Camborne Town Council who give the Trevithick Day volunteer committee invaluable and ongoing support, which helps ensure the durability of this great and unique event.”

Cllr Bert Biscoe, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, and former Mayor of Truro City, supported the application for the award. He says:

“This is a unique and significant natural cultural expression, grown out of the roots of the town’s community, that links hundreds of years of family history in mining and steam engineering heritage. The overriding success is the fact that a most modest, undervalued, under-privileged town of simple means, comes together as a whole town community with a pride that is unrivalled in Cornwall. It is an exemplar of how a shared national heritage truly can bring a community together throughout the year, bringing opportunities for both young and old across Cornwall, forming and supporting several clubs and community groups.”

Camborne Trevithick Day CIC will receive a KAVS certificate signed by the King, together with a glass crystal trophy, presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, Col Sir Edward Bolitho KCVO OBE – appointed as the King’s direct representative. There will be a celebration at County Hall together with the other KAVS winners from Cornwall.