THE SCHOOL holidays may be over, but there’s still time to enjoy a final taste of summer in Leicester this weekend.
There’s a last chance to join the roller disco in Jubilee Square on Saturday (28 August), while lovers of craft beers will find more than 100 to choose from at Brew Beat – a three-day celebration of beer and music in Green Dragon Square from noon on Saturday.
From 10am on Saturday, Curve will continue its season of free entertainment, with workshops and live performances for children and families on the Orton Square stage, while on Sunday the Open Streets festival will provide bike-themed fun in St Martins Square, Leicester Market and Town Hall Square between 1pm and 4pm. Activities include guided rides and walks, British Cycling coaching, and arts and crafts.
Also on Saturday (28 August), a two-day street festival gets under way, bringing the Summer in the City programme to a spectacular close.
From 12 noon, marching bands and street entertainers will be joined by costumed characters – including some cheeky pigeons, a troupe of comedy cleaners and some hapless Girl Guides – to create pockets of fun throughout the city centre.
There’ll also be a chance to be a counter in a giant game of Snakes & Ladders.
Created on the pavement on Humberstone Gate, the extraordinary artwork (pictured) appears to be a 3D version of the popular board game.
The street art festival continues on Sunday (29th), when more than 80 performers will head for Leicester’s main shopping streets, bringing music, comedy and fun to every corner of the city centre.
Leicester’s two-day Street Art festival is the grand finale to Summer in the City – the city council’s programme of free and low-cost events that have been entertaining visitors to the city centre for the last six weeks.
Highlights have included open-air cinema in Green Dragon Square, a beach on Humberstone Gate, and a BMX and skate park on New Walk Place.
With public safety in mind, the city council chose to run a programme of small-scale events across multiple sites this summer that would help disperse people across the city centre.
The council also wanted its COVID-safe events to help increase footfall to the city centre – and help Leicester’s shops and businesses bounce back from lockdown.
It’s estimated that by the end of the August Bank Holiday weekend, more than 100,000 people will have taken part in Summer in the City events since the start of the festival in mid-July.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “We wanted to support Leicester’s economic recovery this summer by encouraging families to return to the city centre and enjoy our cafés, shops, cinemas, theatres and restaurants once again.
“As we continue to navigate our way back to a new normal, and businesses begin to bounce back, events like Summer in the City represent a gradual step towards a more familiar way of life in Leicester.
“By providing so many free activities during the school holidays, I hope we’ve helped make summer fun – and affordable – for families across the city.”
Summer in the City – which runs until 31 August – is supported by a grant of £115,000 from the council’s COVID recovery fund.
Details of events taking place in the last few days of the programme can be found here
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