CELEBRATIONS for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics will be included in Chatteris’ Historic Festival next year.

Fundraising is set to start for the event after plans were unveiled to expand the festival into a memorable weekend of fun for the town.

The festivities will run from June 1st-4th and will include a Party in the Park, an Old Time Music Hall and an It’s a Knockout contest.

The entertainment, financed and organised by Chatteris Town Council and Fenland District Council, will be put on with the help of volunteers from the community.

Popular elements of the historic festival, including re-enactments, the dog show and strawberry teas, will all return on the Sunday while the town band has already agreed to entertain crowds at Furrowfields Recreation Ground.

Fenland’s bands, singers and dancers will visit Chatteris for Party in the Park on the Saturday. Teams are also being sought to take part in the It’s A Knockout challenge, which will be held on the Bank Holiday Monday.

Anyone willing to volunteer as stewards for the event should contact Joanna Melton at Chatteris Town Council on 01354 695166 or e-mail: chatteriscouncil@btconnect.com

The event plans will be discussed at an open meeting held at the Chatteris council chambers, in Church Lane, on Wednesday November 16 at 7pm.

Fundraising for the event begins on Sunday, when The Sportsman, in Chatteris, will host a Christmas Fair and pamper afternoon from 2-6pm. The pub will also host an evening of clairvoyance the following Sunday.