By Isle of Wight Observer
East Cowes will be celebrating 200 years of the RNLI, with a weekend of events held from Friday, May 24 to Sunday, May 27.
There will be a procession through the town, exhibitions and a film, live music and stalls, RNLI sea rescue drills, and guided tours of the RNLI works.
Artist Daev Welsh has started painting a 40-metre (130ft) mural along the East Cowes Heritage Centre in Clarence Road, celebrating the life, boat-building and shipbuilding history of the town.
The events start on Friday, with an invitation-only Service of Thanksgiving at the East Cowes Inshore Lifeboat Centre at 12.30pm.
Two hours later, Daev, who has painted other murals in the town and has worked together with local historian David Hill, Cllr Karl Love and Town Mayor, Tracy Reardon, will officially unveil his latest work of art.
On Saturday, the exhibition opens in the town hall at 10am, while the procession starts at noon, moving from Sovereign Gate in York Avenue to The Green at the Esplanade, where a series of fun events will be held throughout the afternoon.
A further day of celebrations, starting at 10.30am, will be take place at the Inshore Lifeboat Centre on Sunday, including the naming of the new D-Class Lifeboat, with music from the Slipshod Singers, Cowes Concert Band, Medina Marching Band and Ukelele Band. There will also be Coastguard displays and guided tours throughout.
