Rochester’s traditional Christmas lights switch on heralds the start of the Christmas festivities in the High Street.

This year the Mayor of Medway Cllr David Carr will be switching on the lights at 3pm on Saturday, November 29.

The mayor will be joined by local baritone Matthew Crane, Rochester’s popular King of Jazz Donn Barcott and Father Christmas.

Street entertainment will start from 12.30pm with performances from the Medway Lion Dance Team and the Medway Baton Twirlers.

Matthew Crane lives locally and was an X Factor boot-camp contestant in 2007. He is now a regular face on TV and often appears as a support artist for Katherine Jenkins. He is patron of Cerebral Palsy Care and is sponsored by Gillingham Football Club Manager Paul Scally.

Donn Barcott lives in Rochester and is know as Medway’s King of Jazz. His monthly band nights in Gillingham are a delight to his army of fans.