Jarvis Cocker, the former front man of huge 90s band Pulp, is heading to Chalkwell on Thursday (24th) to officially re-open Chalkwell Hall.
The run-down building, right in the middle of Chalkwell Park, was taken over by Metal - an international arts organisation - and has been transformed into a low carbon space which aims to be a powerhouse for arts not just in Southend but the whole of the East of England.

Southend's biggest free arts and music festival takes place on Saturday (26th) as Village Green returns to Chalkwell Park.
The 11-hour event, run by Metal, features a huge number of groups, artists and exhibitors all displaying the diverse range of talent in the borough.
It starts at 11am and Longpier.

Hello and welcome to Longpier.com's coverage of Southend's biggest free arts, drama and music festival - Village Green at Chalkwell Park. You've arrived at the live video page (below).
Check out the LIVE BLOG and the LIVE PICS from the event. And CLICK HERE for the event schedule.

Longpier.com will be at two special events over the next couple of days.
Firstly, tonight (Thurs 24th) we'll be at the re-opening of Chalkwell Hall in Chalkwell Park. It's an invite only event, but we have special access to the event and will be taking you on a tour of the refurbished building, which is now home to arts group Metal.

Southend is putting together an ambitious bid to become the UK's first ever City of Culture.
The year long accolade - beginning on 1st January 2013 - would enable the winning location to host big ticket national cultural events, as well as putting on a year-long programme of their own.