History, culture and community are the themes of a festival in an island setting.

The Sheppey Promenade Festival, this year called War and Peas, will see islanders dress up in First World War costume for the re-enactment of a recruitment parade in the town centre this Saturday, September 20.

Families are encouraged to get into the spirit and join in with the free parade from McDonald’s at Beachfields Park in Sheerness at 11am.

The town centre festival runs from 10am to 4pm and to end the fun on Saturday there will be a free concert by the UK Paper Band at 7.30pm at Barton’s Point Coastal Park off Marine Parade.

Elsewhere, the Sheppey Little Theatre will stage a drama My Friend the Enemy at 7.30pm on Friday, September 19, and the theatre will be the venue for illustrated history talks on Sunday, September 21, at 2.30pm.

There’s also a pop-up arts exhibition along The Leas, a guided walk around Halfway Cemetery with war grave readings, and the Barbed Wire Festival at Blue Town Heritage Centre.

People can also take a trip down memory lane by visiting the photography exhibition, Now and Then, in the Healthy Living Centre Café, Sheerness.

Chris Reed, chairman of the Sheppey Promenade Festival, said: “It’s a celebration of Island life and of the rich history of Sheppey, which not many people know about. It will be there to be discovered.”

For full details and times visit website www.sheppeypromenade.org