A mini music festival is to be held in Felixstowe’s seafront gardens to celebrate the completion of the £4.8million restoration project.

Three stages will be set up for four hours of music from different decades – with the public invited to bring a picnic or just wander and enjoy the gardens and the performers.

The event is to be held on April 24 from noon to 4pm, when there will also be celebrations to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday.

Felixstowe Forward change director Helen Greengrass said there would be a stage in the Long Shelter gardens – next to the The Hut – showcasing music from the rock ‘n’ roll era of the 1950s and swinging 60s; the Spa Approach would have music and dance from the 1920s and 1930s; while the Town Hall Gardens will feature modern music from young people in the town.

She said: “It will be a free event and the aim is to celebrate the whole gardens project with an afternoon of music.

“The restoration of the gardens has done so much to really bring Felixstowe to life. This will be an opportunity to say thank you to everyone who was involved and to the community for its support and for everyone to come along, bring a picnic if they want, and see the great result we now have.”

Restoration of the eight gardens – the main areas stretches from the Spa Pavilion to Bath Hill – were completed by contractors Breheny in December when the new arts-and-crafts style shelter was unveiled in the South Cliff Gardens next to Felixstowe Town Hall.

The gardens’ features include refurbished historic shelters, waterfall, ponds and walls, new lighting, planting of low-maintenance grasses, shrubs and trees, and a heritage trail telling their history.

The work to the gardens – designated Grade II on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest – was jointly funded by the HLF and Suffolk Coastal, which intends to obtain Green Flag status from the Civic Trust.

A 10-year maintenance plan has been drawn up to ensure the gardens are looked after. Planting is already starting to flourish and the designers say there should be more colour with each passing year as the plants bed in.