Dates for a series of major events to be staged next year by St Albans District Council have been set.

The Alban Street Festival will take place on Sunday June 25 and will include live music, dancers and street performers. There will also be arts and craft stalls as well as many fun activities.

The St Albans and Harpenden Food and Drink Festival will be held on Saturday September 23 to Monday October 2, 2017.

This will be the tenth festival and will include a wide range of activities to showcase the District’s thriving food and drink industry.

It will end in a street finale in the city centre on Sunday October 1 that is likely to attract 15,000 people.

Around 16,000 people are expected at the Christmas lights switch-on which will be held on Sunday November 18 or 25, depending on the feedback from this year’s event.

The Council is committed to focussing on these three all three events as part of its event programme.

Details of the programme were given to a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet today.

The events are intended to boost the local economy, promote businesses, highlight the City’s heritage and help build a strong community.

This year the charity HomeStart Hertfordshire is taking over the running of the Pancake Races from the council. This is intended to allow greater opportunities for fund raising.

The council has become a partner of Herts Big Weekend, run by Visit Herts, on April 1 and 2. This offers people the chance to visit dozens of the county’s landmark buildings and other attractions for free.

It will replace Residents Enjoy St Albans which was a similar event that had been held in January when it proved challenging to attract an audience.

Councillor Beric Read said: “We had a very exciting events programme in 2016 and are pleased to be continuing with it in 2017.

“The Food and Drink Festival goes from strength to strength and should be extra special next year as it will be celebrating its tenth anniversary. That is fantastic achievement and shows how successful it has been.

“We are making a few changes to the programme, but they are positive ones and will enhance 2017’s offering. It should be another great year.”