This week sees one of the Island’s biggest celebrations of art and history.

This year’s Sheppey Promenade Festival will be spread across a fortnight, making it the biggest one yet.

The theme will be Monsters, Myths and Mermaids, with activities including workshops, art shows, drama performances, music and tours exploring the Island’s seaside and maritime heritage.

A free-to-attend launch will be held on Friday, July 24, from 3pm to 7pm at Rose Street Cottage Museum, Rose Street, Sheerness.

The centrepiece of the festival, however, will be the parade through Sheerness at noon on Saturday, August 1.

The High Street will be closed to traffic all day as market and craft stalls will fill the road.

Street performers will include whimsical dancing duo Trixie and Tilly Go Cycling, while there will also be a ukelele concert and a Big Fish Arts performance called A Mermaid’s Tale.

Other highlights will be the UK Paper Band giving a free open-air concert at Beachfields, Sheerness, on Saturday, July 25, from 5pm and a magic lantern show at Rose Street Cottage on Thursday, July 30, from 7pm.

Organisers are hoping even more people will get involved this year, and to kick things off, a workshop will be held for children to make monsters and mermaids for the parade at Rose Street Cottage on Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19, from 11am to 2pm.

To take part in the festival, or for more information, call Chris Reed on 07775 712306 or email chrisonsheppey@aol.com

For a full programme of what is going on, go to www.sheppey promenade.org