After more than two years planning one of Maldon's biggest celebrations takes place next week.

From Monday a week long programme of events and exhibitions known as Maldon 2000 will kick off.

The theme is Maldon's past, present and future and hundreds of people within the community have joined together to mark the occasion after the project was launched by Maldon Town Council and a working party formed.

The week starts with the unveiling of a mosaic for Maldon constructed by pupils from the town's primary schools and the first performance of A Song of Maldon composed and sung by David Hughes.

Funding from the Millennium Festival has helped towards the event and Jackie Good from Maldon Town Council said: "The whole aim of the project is to involve as many people as possible and there's something for everyone from children, artists, historians, locals and visitors."

On Monday All Saints Drama Guild are performing in All Saints Churchyard at 7.30pm and on Tuesday June 20 Wickham Bishops Drama Club is performing a short play at the way the rivers and seas have formed Maldon's history at Downs Road Recreation Ground at 7.30pm.

The upper Plume School is the venue on June 21 at 7pm for a play about how schools have changed over the past 100 years and at the town hall there is a classical music recital organised by Maldon Culture Company. Tickets are limited.

There is seaside fun at Marine Lake at 7.30pm on Thursday with the Maldon Promenaders and a folk evening at the Bewick Suite, Swan Hotel.

Friday night sees a monologue by West End actor Stuart Rayner at the Swan Hotel before the whole week culminates in the historic street fair when Maldon's characters past and present entertain in the High Street.

The whole of the High Street will be closed to Victoria Road from 3pm to 6pm for a street fair,

"This will be followed at 5.30pm by a parade of people in different costumes from ancient Britons to modern man to the Hythe where there will be the story of the Battle of Maldon," said Marion Wells, Maldon 2000 director.

Then from 6pm to 10pm there will be music and dancing to Latin American and steel bands in the middle High Street.

Ms Wells added more than 300 people are participating in the street fair day and a video and souvenir brochure will be produced to record the week for prosperity.

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