THE LAST band to play at the Acorn Arts Centre before its closure after two decades of hosting live entertainment said it was an honour to be part of the "closing ceremony".

The Penzance theatre was full to capacity for the final gig on Saturday night with fans of the ten-piece Latin band Kabasa joined by hundreds of the venue's well-wishers.

And as the doors closed for the final time, lead singer and guitarist Andy Lowe echoed the hopes of many Acorn supporters who are keen to see the building saved and put to community use in the future.

Mr Lowe said there was an overwhelming feeling of support from the gathered crowds, some of whom had to be turned away at the door as the venue was full.

He told The Cornishman: "It was great to see such support for the venue. The fact that it was packed was great. There were quite a few salsa dancers who were there for us but there was also a lot of people who were there for the Acorn.

"It was an honour to play there. It was nice to be able to be part of that closing ceremony but all the time with the hope that it was not actually closing, it was transforming into another kind of venue.

"It was a capacity crowd and everybody ended up stamping their feet."

Cornishman columnist Fi Read, who has worked at the Acorn for around 10 years, said she felt it had not sunk in for a lot of people that the venue was closing.

"The hardest part about it was people asking if it was really closing," she said after spending her last shift behind the bar on Saturday night.

"It was sad and it was nice to have the support from people that came who did not necessarily come for Kabasa, they were there because they felt it was an important thing to do.

"But it was not until the gig had finished and we had a few bottles of Champagne and we as staff said our farewells and gave a bit of a toast that it really sunk in."

Despite a huge groundswell of support, with more than 3,400 people joining the Save The Acorn Arts Centre Facebook group, it is now closed, with five members of staff made redundant this week.