This year’s Whitstable Oyster Festival will be the biggest and best yet, according to organisers.

For the first time, the event will have its own entertainment base at Whitstable Harbour – called The Shuck – and will have a campsite housing families on the edge of town.

Starting today with the blessing of the water, the festival will last nearly a fortnight before it comes to a close on Sunday, August 2.

Entertainment highlights include big names such as a DJ set by Coronation Street star Craig Charles, comedy from Marcus Brigstocke and musical performances from The Cuban Brothers and Tim Edey.

Event coordinator James Penfold said: “We’re all really looking forward to it. There’s still all the community events everyone loves and we are adding something extra and better this year.

“It’s a growing event. Even though I think it’s such a well-loved town and place in history, it’s still growing every year.

“There was talk of doing a campsite last year but we wanted to put a mark on it this year and make it the best yet.”

Councillors had earlier feared the campsite – named The Oyster Bed – could be disruptive to nearby residents but organisers say it will make it easy for families wishing to visit the town during the festival.

Hot showers, a kids playground, a cafe, small grocery shop and a communal BBQ will be all be available to campers at the Church Street playing fields site.

Mr Penfold added: “It’s been a good uptake. It’s been very steady and we are looking forward to it being a mainstay for years to come because that’s what we would like it to be.

“It’s something your grandparents used to do; they would go to the coast for the weekend, and hopefully it will be something like that. It’s a family event, it’s not a music festival.”

To help ease any traffic issues over the main weekend, from Saturday to Sunday, July 25 to 26, organisers will run a park-and-ride service from the Church Street playing fields.

Mr Penfold, a former music tour manager, said: “We do everything we can to move traffic away from the town so there are no parking problems.

“We also try and keep it as normal a weekend as it can be.

“From what I know there are a lot of problems with the traffic in the town in general so if there’s anything we can do to help subside that we do our best. It’s a community event that people love with something a little extra added in with The Shuck.”

For a further Oyster Festival preview, see this week’s What’s On supplement in any KM paid-for paper