PEOPLE will have a unique opportunity to come together for a rousing flag-waving celebration of the Queen's Golden Jubilee when Maidstone's Whatman Park hosts a pageant, picnic and promenade concert on Saturday.

The event will feature top national musicians and the best of local artists and young people, plus a fireworks finale.

Thousands of people are expected to flock to the tranquil setting of the park, one of the attractions of Maidstone Millennium River Park, for the afternoon and evening extravaganza.

The event, which is being organised by Maidstone and sponsored by the Kent Messenger, will start at 4pm when the audience begin to assemble and are entertained by street entertainers and a falconry display.

At 5pm there will be a welcome by Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Pat Marshall, followed by a light-hearted pageant entitled An Incomplete History of the Queen. The pageant, a sequel to An Incomplete History of Maidstone which was commissioned to mark the borough's 450th anniversary in 1999, was written by freelance actor and director Jamie Wilson. Once again the emphasis will be on entertainment, music and laughter rather than historical accuracy.

Past and present members of Maidstone's Hazlitt Youth Theatre are performing the pageant with help from groups of pupils from six schools across the borough.

The schools taking part will be performing music and dance spanning the decades throughout the Queen's reign. They are St Michael's CE Junior School, Allington Primary School, Kingswood Primary School, Bellwood Community School, Maplesden Noakes School and Senacre Technology College.

After the pageant, which will last just over an hour, people will be able to enjoy their picnics while being entertained by Kent Youth Jazz Orchestra and the street entertainers.

The Last of the Proms-style concert, featuring The Locrian Ensemble and The Tallis Chamber Choir, will follow at 7.30pm.

The programme will include a host of traditional favourites including Summer from Vivaldi's Four Seasons, the Radetzky March by Strauss, the Dambusters March by Eric Coates, Rule Britannia by Arne, Jerusalem by Parry, and Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March: Land of Hope and Glory.

The Locrian Ensemble is a group of top classical musicians who have also supported the top names in the pop world as well as playing on the soundtracks to films such as Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Full Monty.

The conductor and compere for the concert will be Justin Pearson. The soprano for the evening will be Tone Braaten, trumpet soloist Mark Bennett, harp soloist Jean Kelly, and oboe soloist Matthew Draper.

The concert and the day's celebrations will conclude with a fireworks display.

People attending the event will not be permitted to have barbecues or erect tents. Parking will be available on the day at the old Maidstone Barracks site off James Whatman Way and at all other town centre car parks.