Latest news with #ViDempster
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Riverside Festival returns to Leicester for 2025
Leicester's free Riverside Festival is returning to the city on Saturday and family-friendly event will take place around the River Soar's mile straight and will include boat rides, kayaking, dragon boat races, live music and performances, craft markets, food and drink and a pop-up art will also take place at Bede Park, Castle Gardens, Western Boulevard, and De Montford University, as well as The Newarke Houses Museum, which will be part of the festival for the first Montford University's Cultural eXchanges Festival, which is organised by students, has also been merged into the festival for the first time and will include dance, performances and workshops. A dedicated family zone will be set up in a tipi in Bede park and will include mini discos, bubble parties and entertainment from noon to 14:00 BST on both days. Live music will also be performed by local artists across both days on the Piazza Stage, with acoustic sessions held in Castle Gardens nearby. A 17th Century living history camp will recreate the Siege of Leicester during the civil war in 1645, with a re-enactment at The Newarke from 14:00 to 15:00 on both Vi Dempster, assistant city mayor for leisure and culture, said: "Like all our festivals, the aim of the Riverside Festival is to bring people together."It's also a chance to showcase the diversity of our communities and enjoy the food, music, dance and arts that make Leicester so special."I hope that the weather will be kind to us and we can look forward to a fun-packed Riverside Festival that will offer something for everyone."The event will take place from noon until 18:00 on Saturday and noon until 17:00 on Sunday.
BBC News
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Leicester's Roman forum built from cardboard in a day
Rome wasn't built in a day - but Leicester's cardboard forum Saturday a Roman forum building was created entirely from cardboard and sticky tape in Jubilee brown building will come tumbling down today as part of a free Old Town Festival in the city centre on Saturday and attractions for visitors to the city include learning to march like a Centurion, mosaic making in the Guildhall, morris dancing and meeting a fire-breathing dragon to mark St George's Day. Assistant city mayor Vi Dempster said combining traditional St George's Day celebrations with the Leicester's 2,000-year history made for "an exciting festival with something for everyone".
BBC News
22-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Leicester's Saffron Lane Estate called 'paradise' in exhibition
A new exhibition which looks back at the history of a city centre estate has been compiled to commemorate 100 years since its first residents moved Saffron Lane estate, known locally as "The Saff", was first large-scale housing development built in the city after World War One and welcomed its first residents in exhibition at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery features oral histories which tell the story of the estate in the words of the people who lived there. They include one tenant who likened their home to paradise, with running water, a bath and a separate bedroom for the children. Another resident who moved to The Fairway in 1926 remembered churned-up mud surrounding the houses before roads were built and the Midland Red bus stop being a long walk away at the top of Saffron exhibition shows residents had little in the way of amenities when they first moved in. However, the oral histories do recall a milkman who travelled in from Countesthorpe, a dairy in Cyprus Road, a mobile greengrocer, baker with a basket of hot cross buns and Tommy Newby's, the grocer - where a cat sat on the bacon which serve the community today are also featured in the exhibition, including a locksmith that has been trading in Leicester since city mayor Vi Dempster said: "This brilliant new exhibition shines a light on the people and businesses that help to give Saffron Lane its strong sense of identity and community."I'm very grateful to everyone who has donated items to the exhibition and given their support to this project. "Thanks to their generosity, our museum staff have been able to bring the story of The Saff to life in an exhibition that I'm sure will be popular with visitors."Popping to the Shops: Saffron Lane opens at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 22 March and runs until 31 August. Admission is free.
