Feast week involves a number of events within the town, including a fun day, historic exhibitions, talks, music and entertainment. One of its highlights is the gargoyle parade, which features people dressed in costumes to look like the grotesque and frightening stone figures that appear on medieval churches and cathedrals. The feast also contains a furry dance, which is a Cornish tradition half between a procession and a dance. The most famous furry dance takes place every year in Helston as part of Flora Day.
St Austell Feast is named after Austol, a Welsh Christian who spent much of his life in Brittany. The traditional date of his feast day was the Thursday after Whitsun, which is the seventh week after Easter.
