A town councillor has once more been chosen as chair of the committee responsible for Maldon Christmas Festival.

This will be the sixth year of Councillor Michael Pearlman organising the popular festival, which takes place on the last Thursday of November each year.

Councillor Pearlman, who represents Maldon North, said: "This will be my sixth year of being chairman and I am very excited to make it even more special than normal.

"This year, I intend to make it a real celebration of Christmas."

The big Christmas lights switch-on is typically hosted by the town mayor outside All Saint's Church, which kicks off the celebrations in the town centre.

Businesses along Maldon High Street stay open late for the hundreds of residents who attend, with a range of artisan stalls also on offer.

Attendees enjoy live music and festive entertainment, such as the Punch and Judy show, Santa's grotto and Frozen characters which kept crowds busy at the return of the festival last year, after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic.

Music tribute acts who performed include Michael Glaysher as Elvis, Terry Batt as Buddy Holly, John Wiffen as Jerry Lee Lewis, the Sun-Rayz band and the Just Us quartet.

Further details on this year's festival will be announced at a later date.

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