Maldon High Street will be celebrating Christmas this year with an evening of fun for all the family, including a range of acts that will provide live music for attendees.

The acts set to perform at the festival, on Thursday 25 November, include Elvis tribute artist Michael Glaysher, Terry Batt as Buddy Holly, John Wiffen as Jerry Lee Lewis and the Sun-Rayz band, who will provide backing for Louie B as compere.

Community choir the Big Sing will also provide live music, alongside Dave Norwood, Ash, Sunscreen and the jukebox from radio station SMC Today.

Councillor Michael Pearlman, the chairman of this year's festival, said: "We have pulled out all the stops this year to welcome the reopening of the High Street and put us all in the Christmas spirit.

"This year, there will be tonnes of entertainment stretching from West Square to Butt Lane.

"Besides the late night opening of the High Street shops, there will also be over 40 stalls offering a wide variety of crafts, food and drink."

The Christmas lights will be switched on by Councillor David Ogg, the town mayor, at 5pm outside All Saints Church.

There will be plenty of entertainment for the children during the evening, too, as it will feature a Punch and Judy show, Santa's grotto, live reindeer and Frozen characters.

Organisers were forced to cancel the event last year due to the pandemic.

It is usually held annually on the last Thursday evening of November.

Councillor Pearlman said that he "promises a great evening" for its comeback.

"Don't miss this exciting event - come along and enjoy the evening," he added.

The festival will begin at 4pm and end at 9pm.

There will be a free shuttle bus into the town centre from Morrisons.

This year, the road closure will only extend from West Square to Wantz Road.

For more information, you can visit the Maldon Christmas Festival Facebook page using the link here.

The Keep it Local campaign is being launched through Maldon District Council's Sense of Place initiative, with funding from the Magnox Decommissioning Fund.