A STUNNING programme has been unveiled for this month’s Illuminate Festival in historic Harwich.

Visitors will be welcomed along The Quay in the town from 6pm on Friday, March 25, with a performance from local choir Harwich Sing, while street entertainment will mingle with the crowds.

The event will then take to the skies with a spectacular aerobatic flight display from the Fireflies, due to begin at 6.30pm.

Following the aerial show eyes will turn back to The Quay where the dramatic Sparks! drummers will perform as the torch-lit procession forms up behind them to parade around the town.

As the procession returns there will be a feast of entertainment throughout the evening, from stilt walkers and the light gliders, to Sparks! and Harwich Sing.

They will all be accompanied by light projections along the town's waterfront.

Well-known radio presenters Steve Scruton and Ian Wyatt will be hosting the event, which runs until 9.30pm.

There will also be a series of food stands on and around the event site.

Alex Porter, cabinet member for leisure and tourism at Tendring Council, which is staging the festival, said the event was one not to be missed.

“Illuminate Festival is a brilliant, visually stunning celebration of Harwich’s history, and we’re so excited to bring the event back after its pandemic-forced absence,” he said.

“The festival is fun for all the family, with children encouraged to take part in the procession, so why not wrap up and spend your Friday evening in beautiful Harwich?”

The council said it is working with the Harwich Festival of the Arts, who are running lantern making workshops in local schools to form the torch-lit procession, as well as the Manningtree-based Grand Theatre of Lemmings which is providing the street entertainment.

The last Harwich Illuminate Festival was held in 2019 and saw an estimated 6,000 visitors descend on the town across two days of activities.

The festival, a celebration of the town’s heritage – and in particular its links to The Mayflower ship which carried the first Pilgrims to America – return this year after a break forced by Covid-19.