Cohesion Plus working in partnership with Ideas Test returned to Medway once again to deliver the ‘We Love Chatham’ Lantern Parade on Friday 10th February as part of the Medway Light Nights Festival produced by Medway Council and EEA which ran over 2 nights.

In the build up to the lantern parade working in partnership with Intra Arts, 16 local schools benefited from creative lantern making workshops, the results of which were showcased on the day itself. The lanterns were designed around the themes of community, respect, tolerance and unity.

The lantern parade which was led by Mayor of Medway Cllr Jan Aldous, started on the High Street and culminated outside Mountbatten House where a spectacular light display produced by Lucid Arts wowed the crowds.

In addition to the local schools and community partners a range of diverse artists took part including Kings of Dhol, Uzembezi African Drumming, Baja Beats and Bloco Fogo Samba. The young people were also entertained by stilt walkers and character mascots.

Gurvinder Sander MBE DL, Artistic Director of Cohesion Plus commented, “It was great to deliver another spectacular community lantern parade in Medway. I was really grateful to all the local schools and community groups who participated and took pride in their local area. I hope that working with our partners we can make the ‘We Love Chatham’ lantern parade an annual celebration bringing together the diverse communities of the area. It was a pleasure to work with our fantastic partners Ideas Test and Medway Council and as ever we are grateful to Arts Council England for their ongoing support.”