Gravesham Town Centre once again played host to the beloved Gravesham Festival of Christmas Lights Parade and Switch On, which took place on Friday 18th November.

The lantern parade was established by Kent Equality Cohesion Council over 10 years ago to coincide with the Cultural Olympiad and since then has gone from strength to strength. Now linked to the Christmas Lights Switch On, this year’s event was produced in partnership with Cohesion Plus and Gravesham Borough Council and was part funded by Arts Council England.

The parade was the biggest to date with 16 schools taking part from across the borough with an estimated 2000 people walking in the parade alone.

The celebrations were attended by local dignitaries including Deputy Lieutenant of Kent Bhargawa Vasudaven, The Mayor of Gravesham Peter Scollard, local councillors and representatives from various faith and community organisations.

Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I am really proud of what we have achieved with the lantern parade in Gravesham over the past 10 years. This event is a great example of our work in action, bringing together the diverse communities from across the borough to celebrate as one, creating shared experiences and promoting cohesion and understanding. As ever, great credit to all of our partners for working with us to create such a special event.”