A touch of Christmas sparkle was brought to Herne Bay over the weekend, with the big lights switch on in the town centre.

More than 1,000 people enjoyed the festive celebrations and the entertainment from crooner Martin Farbrother, a Michael Buble tribute act, and children’s magician Reg E Mental.

There were a number of children’s characters such as the Minions from Despicable Me, Peppa Pig, Spiderman, Mickey Mouse, and the Princess from Disney’s Frozen.

The lights were turned on by 5-year-old Connor Olsen who suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy. His life expectancy is greatly reduced, and there is no known cure for his condition at the moment.

Town Partner Gideon Scott was one of the event organisers, who thanked Owen Electrical contractors for donating Christmas Tree lights free of charge.

He added: “Herne Bay has again showed its very strong community spirit and what we can do when the local voluntary groups get together to organise an event for the townspeople.

“There was a lovely carnival atmosphere and many braved the cold to join us in kicking off the Christmas season here in Herne Bay.”

Meanwhile on Saturday there was a Christmas Fair at Briary Primary School, and on Sunday there was a Winter Wonderland at Hampton Primary School.

Herne Bay is also looking forward to another big lights switch on tomorrow (Wednesday) on the seafront.

The Neptune Harbour lights will be switched on. The Friends of Herne Bay Clock Tower will be hosting a Christmas party together with the harbour lights at their information centre at 6.30pm.

There will be a double page spread in this week’s Herne Bay Gazette for the lights switch on event, and there will also be a page from Briary and Hampton. So make sure you grab your copy this Thursday!