RESIDENTS and visitors are getting set for bucket-loads of old-fashioned fun at Clacton’s Seaside Revival Day this weekend.

The retro event is taking over the town’s West Greensward, Marine Parade West, on Sunday, May 26, from 10am to 5pm

It is part of a two-year project designed to celebrate the heyday of Essex’s Sunshine Coast, from Harwich and Dovercourt to Walton, Frinton, Jaywick Sands and Clacton.

The grand finale of the project is Sunday’s free, family-friendly Seaside Revival Day.

Organisers promise “a bucket-load of good old-fashioned fun” for all those looking to relive the great British seaside experience.

The project is bring run by Essex County Council and Tendring Council with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It is alsosupported by Brightlingsea Museum, Clacton Local History Society, the Clacton VCH Group, Frinton and Walton Heritage Trust, Jaywick Martello Tower, the Harwich Society and Walton Community Forum.

Tendring’s coastal resorts played a key role in establishing the seaside holiday, which grew in popularity from the late Victorian era.

With the construction of the piers at Clacton, Harwich and Walton, the coast became pivotal to the area’s development, enticing tourists with the promise of golden sands.

Pleasure boats operated off Clacton Pier too - such as The Viking Saga which was built by Wallasea boat yard in Essex in 1947 - ferrying passengers along the coast.

Visitors to the Revival Day will have the opportunity to float back in time by buying a ticket to ride on the original Viking Saga.

Britain’s only remaining professional singing Pierrot troupe, the New Follies will entertain the crowds, alongside cockney singalongs, escapologists and seaside spectaculars from Princes Theatre Youth Group, West Cliff Theatre Youth Group and Clacton’s Mad About Theatre Company, as well as the essential Punch and Judy show.

The Grand Theatre of Lemmings will present a treasure trove of Clacton’s secret seaside novelties from the past at the Marvellous Museum of Coastal Curiosities, and the retro fair offers storytelling, swing boats and cork shooters.

Youngsters can have a go at clowning, crafts and puppetry at the free workshops.

David Finch, leader of Essex County Council, said: “This wonderful event, which showcases the timeless appeal of the Essex Sunshine Coast, supports the project’s aims to boost the area’s tourism and reignite local pride.

“We hope families will come along in force to forge a fresh generation of new seaside memories on the Essex coast.”

Other Resorting to the Coast celebrations on this weekend include a Conference and Local History Fair with the University of East London at Walton, and the launch of two new town heritage trails at Frinton and Clacton.