There was never any organization to the live music and dancing by Tate Hill Pier, yet every year many locals gathered there on the Sunday evening of the Regatta. There would always be some who carried musical instruments, and soon there would be a group of them playing jigs, reels and other tunes and the young and old alike would dance on the Tate Hill sands. Fires would be lit on the beach and people would roast apples and other foods they had brought from home, or sit around the fires and catch up with friends.
 
Many tourists who could not or did not want to pay for the event at the Angel Hotel would be drawn to the pier instead to watch and soon participate in the spectacle. The more enterprising locals would prepare pies, sandwiches, lemonade and other foods and drinks at home and sell them to the buoyant visitors. Their bolder neighbours would sell alcoholic beverages unlicenced whenever there were no constables around.
 
This evening some fishermen had brought chairs as well as instruments from home and were already seated on the pier to play. They were currently accompanying a young couple that sang a local love song. A crowd had gathered around them to listen, while others danced nearby.