The winner of Dartford Borough Council’s Christmas colouring competition will help to switch on Christmas lights with stars from the Orchard Theatre pantomime on Saturday (November 19).
Kayne Ajo, 11, was selected by the council and will be turning on the Christmas lights with Orchard Theatre pantomime stars Bobby Davro, Regan Gascoigne and George Shelley from Union J to light up the town for the festive season.
He was chosen after the council poured through entrants from 10 different schools across Dartford.
Kayne and the panto stars be joined on stage by the worshipful the mayor of Dartford, Cllr Paul Cutler, Father Christmas to turn on the lights at around 5:20pm.
Visitors will also be able to see Britain’s Got Talent finalist Tom Ball sing live, while Netflix’s Heartstopper actor Robbie White will also be performing, along with Madness tribute band Los Palmas 6, and a Taylor Swift tribute.
The entertainment begins from 10am with an array of street performers courtesy of event partners Cohesion Plus performing in the High Street, at the Orchards Shopping Centre and at the Priory Shopping Centre.
Stilt walkers, musicians, balloon artists and magicians will all be performing, plus Show Globe, an interactive life-sized snow globe, will all be entertaining crowds.
The Orchard Theatre’s choir and ukulele group will also be performing in the shopping centres and on stage in Brewery Square.
Performances will begin on stage from around 2:30pm. The full programme for the day is as follows:
- 2.30pm David Ribi
- 2.35pm Robbie White
- 3.10pm Cohesion Plus Dhol Drummers
- 3.25pm Taylor Swift Tribute
- 4.00pm The Los Palmas 6 (Madness Tribute)
- 4.30pm Tom Ball
- 5.00pm Orchard Theatre Panto Stars
- 5.10pm The Worshipful Mayor of Dartford
- 5.20pm The Big Christmas Lights Switch On
A spokesperson for Dartford Borough Council said: “We would like to thank the following organisations who have generously supported this year’s Big Christmas Switch On: Dartford Borough Council - Orchards Shopping Centre - The Priory Shopping Centre - The Orchard Theatre - Sainsbury's - Lollipops – Dartford Markets – Dartford Messenger – Aldi - Cohesion Plus.
“The Big Christmas Switch On kicks off Dartford Borough Council’s festive calendar.”
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