A warm welcome for our visitors from Newfoundland

Had a great meeting today at the Town Hall with Don Coombs, the Mayor of Harbour Grace in Newfoundland. Don has been staying here in Leicester with his wife, family and 55 football players from Newfoundland and Labrador all enjoying training, playing and watching football in and around Leicestershire. Don was telling the Lady Mayoress and I how much they were all enjoying their stay in the city. The group liked the shopping and were full of praise for the quality of the food in various restaurants.

Now of course and in its twentieth year, we have the Castle Park Festival underway with a whole variety of events and activities on offer. I was delighted to perform the launch ceremony at Newarke Houses Museum last Friday evening and recommend a visit to the Castle Park Festival website.

Looking forward to festival season

I still continue to receive letters daily from people from all over the United Kingdom telling me how much they enjoyed the Special Olympics. It was certainly wonderful to talk to so many people visiting Leicester for the first time last month. Now we prepare for a fresh influx of visitors this weekend as people arrive for Summer Sundae, an event that has gained national and even international recognition in recent years. Once again we welcome all visitors to Leicester including the many who have come here to stay with families and friends. And of course looking ahead to the following weekend, we have the Castle Park Festival which I am looking forward to launching on Friday August 21st at the Newarke Houses Museum.

Welcoming visitors from UK and abroad

The past couple of weeks has seen record numbers of visitors to Leicester with the Special Olympics quickly followed by the Caribbean Carnival and the Rathayatra Festival. During these events, I met people from every corner of the UK here in the city, as well as visitors from Canada, India, New Zealand, Hungary and the United States. They all told me how much they were enjoying their time here and what a warm welcome they had received from local people.

Don't forget that if you are visiting Leicester or having visitors to stay, I shall be happy to meet you during a tour of the Town Hall which takes place on the first Wednesday of each month starting from 2pm. And it is absolutely free!