The reinvention of a popular seaside festival will return for a second year with a packed line-up of live music, food and activities.

The Whitstable Oyster Rocks Festival, which replaced the famous Whitstable Oyster Festival, has revealed its plans for this year’s celebration, which will take place from Friday, September 15, to Sunday, September 17.

The spectacle, which historically took place in July, returned last year after being absent in 2020 due to the pandemic and going ahead without the food festival the following year.

Mark Thomson, chair of the Whitstable Oyster Festival Association, said: “Our aim is to help make the festival enjoyable for locals and visitors alike and to help celebrate the history of oysters and the town.

“We are also keen that local families and children can enjoy some fun activities without having to shell out every five minutes.

“We know that our local traders and businesses have been particularly hard-hit over the last few years and so it’s great for Whitstable to have an event which brings visitors to enjoy our oysters, shops, bars, hotels, B&Bs and our town. “

This year the free family events planned include a mud tug, children’s pottery workshops, a crabbing competition, kite-flying, the ‘chalk up’ and the blessing and landing of the oysters.

There will also be the opportunity to learn to build a grotter, a small structure built with oyster shells and lit with a candle.

On Saturday and Sunday evenings there will also be ticketed concerts taking place at the East Quay’s new venue the Grading Shed.

The Cuban Brothers will be headlining the Saturday event, while renowned DJ Norman Jay will perform on Sunday.

The weekend’s festivities will end with a fireworks finale.

Canterbury City Council in 2019 estimated that the festival provided £1.3m in additional income for Whitstable’s businesses and traders.

A spokesperson for the organisers said: “The festival will follow the same format as last year, and aims to bring together the very best in live music, fun, food and, of course, Whitstable oysters themselves.

“There will again be a real focus on free community events that are open to all - be they residents or visitors - and will bring people together.

“Oysters are the delicacy on which the town’s reputation is built. These delicious and nutritious shellfish are sustainably farmed on the Whitstable Oyster Company’s world-famous oyster beds.”

The Whitstable Oyster Rocks Festival will take place in and around the East Quay Venue. It is free to attend.