Former Eastender and star of this year’s panto Michelle Gayle will turn the lights on and the ceremony will be followed by live music. The procession will take place as part of the annual Illuminati Festival which celebrates cultural diversity and community using light and colour as its theme.
Taking place on Thursday November 22 in Hastings Town Centre the processions starts at 5pm with 150 schoolchildren being accompanied by stiltwalkers heading from the rear of Priory Meadows, up South Terrace to the junction by M&S. After that the marchers will turn right and continue down to Queens Square to by the Cricketer. Here the Christmas lights in the town centre will be turned on.
The children will carry umbrellas lit from within, which they will design and decorate themselves in the build up to the event, working alongside local community groups, Radiator Arts, and the WRVS cultural heritage project. The umbrellas are designed to reflect cultural festivals of light and colour from around the world, such as Diwali, Tihar, Eid, Chinese New Year, Dashain, Holi and of course Christmas. Organisers are expecting a crowd of more than 3,000 people.