More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Visitors to Rochester have had the best of times this weekend with thousands turning out for the annual Dickens Festival.
More than 20,000 arrived on Saturday as the town basked in glorious sunshine and event organisers were expecting similar numbers on Sunday as the weather stayed fine.
"It's going great," said events operations manager Vern Sanderson, speaking from the festival today. "Yesterday was lovely and the weather was extraordinary - people really loved the entertainment, and there's lots of people in character and costume.
"At the moment I'm in the High Street where the costume competition is going to be held - they all look splendid. We get a lot of steam punks, and people in character like Miss Havisham; lots of people in splendid costumes.
"I'm guessing we'll have had about 40,000 over the weekend."
He said the event had been a great community celebration, with no trouble despite the large crowds.
"It's all been extremely peaceful," he added. "There's no anti-social behaviour, people just come for a good family day out. There's so much entertainment and street theatre, and so much to see and do for all the family.
Alongside the usual Dickensian parades and street theatre there were also Dickens themed craft sessions for children at Rochester library.
Cllr Howard Doe, portfolio holder for community services at Medway Council, said: “The Dickens Festival is much loved by people of all ages from Medway and further afield. It was another fantastic festival with thousands of visitors enjoying the weekend’s festivities. Rochester High Street was transformed into a Victorian scene with a spectacular parade of Dickensian characters and people dressed in Victorian costumes. The catwalk competition was another firm favourite and people of all ages took part.
“The Dickens Festival is one of more than 30 free festivals and events held in Medway each year. If you missed the family-fun activities this weekend, we hope you’ll be able to join us at the Cycling Festival on Saturday, 15 June or at the River Festival on Sunday, 16 June.”
See more pictures in this week's Medway Messenger.
