Children enjoy half-term arts activities at Highcross in Leicester

By Azim Saiyed

Children across Leicestershire got involved in half-term activities after the Leicester City Council organised a pop-up museum at the Highcross shopping centre.

During the half-term holidays, there was a wide range of activities from stencil writing to virtual reality sessions for young children to enjoy.

Half-term fun: Children get involved in stencil writing session

The events were organised by Metro Boulot Dodo, Graffwerk and Arts Council England so the children could enjoy and express themselves through creative arts.

The workshops were held daily from Tuesday (15Feb) to Sunday (20Feb).

Other half-term events held at Leicester museums included a Railway Day at Abbey Pumping Station and a Frosty Fun Day at Guildhall.

For more information about events held at Leicester’s museums, visit: www.leicestermuseums.org.

Well-known comedian set to come to Leicester for exclusive event at Highcross

By Samuel Gill

Comedian Gary Delaney, who is well known for his one-liners and past appearances on Live at the Apollo, will return to Leicester for a special show in conjunction with Highcross Shopping Centre at the end of the month.

Delaney, who has also appeared on Mock the Week and is married to another famous comedian in Sarah Millican, has been touring around the UK as part of his ‘Gagsters Paradise’ tour and will be performing a routine in the Directors Lounge of the Showcase Cinema De Lux on Sunday, February 23.

Highcross were giving those who wanted to attend the opportunity to win pairs of tickets for the show which includes drinks and canapes before Delaney graces the stage.

Leicester is of course well known this time of year for the Comedy Festival and this will bring the ever popular event even more to life in a familiar venue.

Jo Tallack, general manager at Highcross Leicester, spoke ahead of the event and is looking forward to hosting the well-known comedian as part of the Comedy Festival.

“Leicester Comedy Festival is one of the city’s most highly anticipated events and we’re delighted to be hosting Highcross’ first ever comedy show at the luxurious Director’s Lounge at the Showcase Cinema de Lux.

“The show is set to be an unmissable night of comedy and we’re excited to welcome stand-up star and Mock the Week funny man, Gary Delaney, as our headline act.”

Tickets for this show are unfortunately no longer available but click here to view the full programme for this year’s Leicester Comedy Festival which starts this week and lasts all month.

Leicester’s peaceful-protestors raise animal rights awareness in time for #BigCatAwarenessWeek

Untitled.png

Written by Mollie Mansfield

Animal Rights campaigners were demonstrating in Leicester city centre on Saturday, raising awareness for their cause.

The campaigners were focusing on animal cruelty towards lions and other big cats, in preparation for Big Cat Awareness Week, which starts today.

Leicester Animal Rights (LAR) campaigner Kerry Sedgewick, 28, said: “We just want to help create awareness on behalf of the animals, because they have no voice to do so.”

The promoters were also focusing on broader animal rights topics such as zoo farming, the fur trade and veganism.

Their stall included an array of animal rights campaigning leaflets, alongside business cards, posters and placards.

The non-registered charity, founded in 2013, was also previously part of an anti-fur demonstration, targeted towards Cruise, Pilot and Sports Direct.

The activists have also been heavily involved in championing big cats previously – following the killing of Cecil the Lion they hosted an awareness stall on trophy hunting.

LAR aim to hold their outreach awareness stalls every other weekend, when they are not partaking in demonstrations.

Kerry added: “Starting on Monday is Big Cat Awareness Week, but because it’s in the week and all of us work, we’re just doing this this weekend before the demonstration on Saturday.

“We’re here to create awareness, we’re not telling people what to do, we’re just saying “are you aware?””

Leicester Animal Rights activists also have plans for another demonstration on Saturday February 6, starting at 11am on Silver Street.

For any further information on the organisation and their future plans, visit its Facebook page.