Along the high street and up to the castle, people from across the UK come to dress up in their best Charles Dickens' costumes and join the parades.
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00:00 It's time to step back into the days of Christmas past, as hundreds flock to Rochester wearing
00:06 their best Dickensian attire.
00:08 The town is celebrating its annual Dickens themed festival to welcome in the holiday.
00:15 It's time to get out those Christmas carols and your best Victorian costume, because the
00:20 Dickens Festival in Rochester is back.
00:24 Let's see what's on offer this year.
00:27 The public can enjoy a wide array of activities, from parades to carols.
00:33 The Mayor of Medway herself led some of the festivities.
00:36 So this weekend here in Rochester we have the Dickensian Christmas Festival and my role
00:43 as the Mayor of Medway is to lead the parade.
00:46 So behind me in the parade will be all the Dickensian characters from the Dickensian
00:51 novels.
00:52 It's a fantastic event with loads and loads of Dickensian characters and the whole of
00:57 Medway as well as people from beyond Medway, including from overseas, have come to join
01:03 the parade and to see what all the festivities is all about and it's been such an amazing
01:08 experience.
01:09 Despite the rising cost of living crisis and near cancellation of its festive lights, Council
01:16 Leader Vince Maple says that Medway will continue to support its festivals during Christmas
01:22 present.
01:23 Well, of course we have had to take some difficult decisions already this year.
01:27 I was really grateful for those three businesses stepping forward to make sure all five Medway
01:31 towns have got Christmas lights throughout December.
01:35 We're looking at next year's budgets, we may have to make some difficult decisions, but
01:39 rest assured we will continue to work with businesses, the voluntary sector, those who
01:43 have got a particular interest perhaps in the history and heritage, we'll be working
01:47 with all of them to make sure as we move forward, despite the difficult financial pressures,
01:52 that Medway truly remains somewhere where we're proud of our heritage, proud of our
01:56 great tourism offer and proud of something which people have been telling me today they're
02:00 looking forward to next year already.
02:03 The county is determined to celebrate its Dickensian tradition all the way into Christmas
02:09 future.
02:10 Henry Luck for KMTV in Rochester.