By Harry Rogers

The Wheel of Light was finally opened to the public on Friday in Jubilee Square, kick-starting Leicester’s annual Christmas festivities programme.

Standing at 110 feet high, the wheel is a prominent feature of Christmas in Leicester, remaining open until January 8.

To ride the wheel, it costs £4 for a family ticket, (two adults, two children) offering a skyline view overlooking the whole of the city centre.

Graduate Project Officer at Leicester City Council, Shahanna Sheikh, in charge of promoting the wheel, said: “Promoting the Wheel of Light is done through several media outlets, so we have our Facebook page, twitter page and website where we create the event (Visit Leicester).”

Leicester City Council has organised a range of events over the Christmas period including a Christmas Market, the annual lights switch on and a new ice rink, which will also be opening in Jubilee Square.

The ice rink will be constructed with real ice and a roof to ensure that people can skate regardless of the weather.

It will also be able to accommodate 170 skaters as well as skating aids for children.

The ice rink opens on December 9 and like the Wheel of Light, will remain open until January 8.

Ticket prices start at £6.50 with discounts on offer for groups of more than four people.

Mrs Sheikh added: “Around the Christmas period we try to promote events all over Leicestershire.

“This year in particular we want people to be involved with the Jubilee Square ice rink and Leicester’s Christmas market as we don’t usually have these events happening.

“We are really excited for people to get involved with this as it is a unique and great opportunity.

“We also want people to get involved with the lights switch on as it’s a great way to kick off the festive season.”

The annual lights switch on will take place at Humberstone Gate on November 23 at 6:30pm.

The day will have live music, the pantomime cast from De Montfort Hall’s Beauty and the Beast and the Lord Mayor, who as always will be switching on the lights.

You can find the whole Christmas programme and more information about the Wheel of Light at visitleicester.info.

By Matthew Earth

The tenth anniversary of an international sketchers’ group was celebrated in Leicester at the weekend when about 40 people gathered to capture the local scenery.

The Leicester branch of Urban Sketchers, a worldwide group of sketch enthusiasts, met in the city’s cultural quarter as part of its ‘Let’s Draw’ event, which saw participants spread throughout the city as they compiled their images.

Alex Douglas, who was taking part in the sketch crawl, has been attending Urban Sketchers events for more than a year and a half and said the events are open to everyone, regardless of their ability.

“The sketch crawls are for people of any age, no matter how good they are. We try to advertise to Leicester’s student population as well,” Mr Douglas said.

Urban Sketchers was formed in 2007, when Seattle-based journalist Gabriel Campanario created a blog encouraging the public to share their sketches of the towns and cities in which they live.

The non-profit organisation consists entirely of volunteers, and states its mission is to “raise the artistic, storytelling and educational value of on-location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world.”

The ten-year anniversary is being celebrated internationally with events such as classes and a 24-hour sketch walk.

Saturday’s Leicester meet-up began at 10.30am outside the Curve Theatre, and participants met for breaks in venues such as the Cosy Club and the Tourist Square.

A group photo of the sketchers was taken outside the Curve at midday.

The event ran until 4pm, when the sketch enthusiasts gathered at the Exchange bar, in Rutland Street, for drinks and to share their work for the day.

Mr Douglas, who composed a sketch of the Athena theatre, said the Leicester Urban Sketchers branch aims to meet up every two weeks.

“Most of the time we do a sketch crawl, where we spend a few hours sketching. We will draw anything we see,” he said.

Participants shared their work after the event on the branch’s Facebook page, which consists of more than 100 members.

Information on the group’s future events and meet-ups, as well as previous sketches made by participants, can be found by searching ‘Urban Sketchers Leicester’ on Facebook.