It’s time to start painting your homemade float and digging out your favourite fancy dress costume as carnival season is upon us.

The traditional summer processions will see colourful parades, carnival queens and plenty of community spirit take over our towns. Here’s your guide to this year’s Kent carnivals…

DEAL

Deal, Walmer and Kingsdown will be celebrating their 197th carnival and regatta this summer, and they’re making sure it goes off with a bang. The festivities take place all week, with firework displays, DJ sets full of floor-filler tunes, a classic car show, wingwalking displays and an ‘old skool’ party on the green.

Details: Carnival activities take place from Sunday, July 23 to Saturday, July 29, with the parade taking place on Thursday, July 27

DOVER

This traditional carnival will see elegant queens dressed up in their finest wares, colourful floats created by the local community, youth groups showing off their skills and charities from in and around Dover marching through the town centre.

Details: Sunday, August 13 from the Maison Dieu Car Park at 6pm

FAVERSHAM

Floats from the local schools, junior and senior sports teams and community groups in fancy dress will line the streets of Faversham for one of the county’s last carnivals of the season. There will also be the annual funfair in the recreation ground and traders selling light-up toys and accessories for children.

Details: Saturday, October 14 starting from Whitstable Road from 5pm to 8pm

HERNE BAY

Thousands of people turn up to this seaside location year after year to watch the carnival, and organisers are expecting this August to be no different. This year there will be a procession of princes and princesses leading the parade, as well as live music at the Clocktower Plaza and a fireworks finale over the historic pier.

Details: Saturday, August 12 at Herne Bay seafront from 6pm

GILLINGHAM

There’s a whole week of carnival celebrations taking place ahead of the big parade in Gillingham. There’s the traditional window spotting activities throughout the town, along with a treasure hunt, bingo, quiz nights, duck racing and a funfair. It all ends with the carnival procession, featuring live bands and illuminated floats.

Details: Carnival activities take place from Sunday, October 2, with the parade taking place on Saturday, October 8 from 6:45pm

LEYSDOWN

After spending a summer’s day on the beach at Leysdown, you can brush off the sand and line the streets to watch the carnival parade. There will be lots of stalls set up around the town, with an afternoon parade taking place with decorated vehicles and charity groups.

Details: Saturday, July 29 from Little Groves from 2pm

MAIDSTONE

For something slightly different this carnival season, you can head to Maidstone for this year’s free Arts Carnival. The eye-catching spectacle will have more than 350 people taking part, from dancers and street performers to students from local schools. There will also be vibrant carnival costumes and toe-tapping music from samba bands.

Details: Saturday, July 15 from Archbishops Palace to Brenchley Gardens from 2pm to 5:30pm

MARGATE

One of Kent’s top tourist destinations will be taken over by children dressed up in fun costumes, dancers and entertainers performing on the streets and a parade of floats and quirky vehicles for this year’s carnival. There will also be lots of stalls and family activities.

Details: Sunday, August 6 on Margate promenade from Palm Bay to Westbrook

WHITSTABLE

Whitstable has been throwing its annual carnival for 126 years but, this summer, the organisers are doing something a little different. There will be no traditional carnival court for the town, instead swapping the king and queen roles for a new ‘Whitstable icon’ in a bid to be more inclusive. This year will also include a Cleaner Coast theme which celebrates Whitstable’s seaside heritage while highlighting the dangers it faces.

Details: Saturday, August 5 from Tankerton Road to Saddleton Road from 5:30pm