HERITAGE events and activities will take centre stage in the city this weekend during Leicester’s regular Open Streets event.
Visitors to the city centre on Sunday 25 September from 1-4pm will be able to try their hand at a range of traditional activities such as basket-weaving, pressing apples or wood-carving. Demonstrations of blacksmithing and traditional walling and roofing methods will be taking place, while the Redcoats and Revolutionaries historical re-enactors will roam the city centre, bringing the past to life with costumes and re-enactments from the 18th century.
The event links in with Heritage Sundays, where people can gain free access to historically significant buildings they wouldn’t normally get a chance to see. This Sunday, there’s the chance to explore the historic cluster of buildings and spaces around Leicester Castle and Newarke Houses Museum.
In addition, all of the regular features of the city’s Open Streets event will be on offer – including bike-themed games and crafts from Cyclone Works, street art from Graffwerk, free bike fixes and a mountain bike show. And visitors to the city centre can grab a free rickshaw ride to move between the areas where activities are taking place - at the Clock Tower, Beta X, Green Dragon Square and Town Hall Square.
Everything is free and family-friendly, and is designed to demonstrate how easy it can be to get around Leicester by bike or on foot – as well as showcasing some of the city’s beautiful, and often overlooked, heritage.
Deputy city mayor for transport Cllr Adam Clarke – who is also heritage champion for Leicester – said: "This month's heritage-themed Open Streets takes place just a few days after World Car Free Day, so it's the perfect Sunday to explore and enjoy free activities on foot or by bike in some of our most pleasant public spaces.
“Thanks to Heritage Action Zone funding to improve Granby Street and Church Gate, which followed the previous five-year lottery-funded transformation of the Greyfriars area, our unique built historic environment has become an attractive proposition for shoppers, developers, retailers and other employers. Increasingly, the city centre has become an attractive place to live in, too.
"This, coupled with our complementary public realm improvements – including the ambitious £8million scheme to enhance and extend the pedestrianised streets around the historic Clock Tower - demonstrates a determination to protect and enhance Leicester city centre for everyone that lives in our city, as well as those who visit it and invest in it."
More information on Open Streets is at: https://www.choosehowyoumove.co.uk/leicester-open-streets/
ENDS