Organisers of a town’s popular oyster festival have insisted this year’s event was never in doubt, despite only confirming the dates last week.

Preparations for the Whitstable Rocks Oyster Festival are continuing to be “fine-tuned” and the firm behind the eagerly anticipated event says it will be a full programme of family entertainment.

Concerns had been raised over the absence of details for the long-awaited event casting fears it would not be taking place in 2024.

Now in its third year since being re-invented following the pandemic lockdown, it was The Event Umbrella which took on the challenge to revive the tradition and celebration which provides the town with an economic boost.

“It was never in doubt but we only revived the festival three years ago and are still fine-tuning the event from what we have learned so far,” said operations manager Victoria Hazell.

“But we couldn’t do it without the support, knowledge and expertise of the Whitstable Oyster Festival Association which is the driving force behind it and whose volunteers put on many of the free family events,” she added.

The three-day celebration of Whitstable’s historic oyster industry will include a food and drink festival and various events on September 14, 15 and 16.

It will also feature numerous stalls as well as the traditional ‘first catch’, Landing of the Oysters and Blessing of the Seas ceremony on Long Beach at 10.30am on Saturday, September 14.

A rousing parade will follow led by the colourful Samba Pelo Mar steel band to East Quay for feasting and celebrations at The Grading Shed festival hub.

A packed programme of entertainment and activities is being planned, including the stomach-challenging oyster eating competition where entrants are tasked with eating six oysters and downing half a pint of beer in the fastest time.

Another favourite spectacle is the mud tug-o-war contest where teams are tested for their strength and endurance on the muddy shores of Long Beach.

Activities for children and families feature strongly in the programme, including pirate pottery making, treasure hunts, kite flying and chalk drawing on the sea wall on Saturday and Sunday, with timings still to be confirmed.

Also popular is the ‘big splash’, a huge community swim at high tide on Sunday afternoon followed by a spectacular finale fireworks display in the evening.

The Grading Shed venue on the harbour’s East Quay is the festival hub from where the music will be staged and feature a variety of local bands and solo artists.

Mrs Hazell says the aim is to keep the festival family-orientated and for the community, rather than try to grow it commercially.

The history and traditions of the Whitstable Oyster Festival stretch back to the Roman Empire when Julius Caesar invaded Britain and the Roman soldiers discovered a taste for the Kentish delicacy.

The town’s oyster heritage was further celebrated in Norman times, with fishermen feasting in the name of St James of Compostela, the unofficial patron saint of oysters.

In 1830, Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was at the cutting edge of public transport technology, carrying seafood and passengers from Whitstable to Canterbury on the affectionately known ‘Crab and Winkle Line’.