Royal picnic plans for Bognor Park

The regal celebration will take place on June 3 on the special Queen’s diamond jubilee bank holiday weekend.

Town councillors are eager to stage the event after the success of last April’s royal wedding celebrations there.

The jubilee event will again have a big screen which will show the Thames Pageant with the ‘Big Lunch’ being staged around the country that day.

The town council will be helped to put on the once in a lifetime commemoration by the Hotham Park Heritage Trust volunteers.

They are not holding their popular country fair in the park next year.

The excitement will continue on June 4 when the seafront beacon will be lit to mark the Queen’s time on the throne.

A band will be booked to provide some singalong patriotic music for the crowd.

The lighting will be followed by the release of 60 eco-friendly lanterns – one for each year of the Queen’s reign – by the winners of a children’s poetry competition.

Classic car lovers around Bognor Regis will be able to show off their vehicles at their own show.

The town council has agreed to stage a showcase of the lovingly restored and maintained four wheelers next May 26 and 27 at West Park.