Wiganers can say Christmas is coming now the Light Night Festival has brightened up the borough with stunning art displays. Wigan Pier’s dazzling mural projected across its historic walls left bypassers in awe as they moved along the night time trail on Friday many braved the weather for.
The Light Night extravaganza returned for a second year after a successful run last year along the canalside and has now included the Trencherfield Mill this year. This is something organisers hope to make an annual tradition to lure people into the heart of the borough and experience the culture they have to offer.
The event kicked off on Friday night with the light trail - which a whopping 8,000 people had signed up for over the duration of the weekend - and culminated in the lantern parade in Leigh which featured performances from WigLe dance.
The ‘Magic Carpet’ from acclaimed artist Zarah Hussain that dominated the side of Wigan Pier was a stand out feature of the light trail alongside Mick Stephenson’s canal boat inspired masterpiece that featured children’s artwork from across the region.
The latter was the biggest crowd draw of the event - with children getting up close to see if their work had featured and proud parents equally eager. The artwork instalment and the event itself took organisers six months to put together, but Wigan Council hope that this, alongside their Christmas lights switch on, will be the indicator for residents that the festive period has begun.
Councillor Chris Ready, cabinet member for communities and neighbourhoods, said:“We got so much reaction from the public last year that we wanted to bring it back bigger and better. It is a combination of working with all our community groups, our artists and this is part of our cultural strategy.
“The canals and the infrastructure is so important to the people of Wigan and this just brightens all that up and makes a big difference. We want more people to come into the town centre and we have 8,000 people signed up this year.
“The lights mean Christmas is almost here and I would like to thank all our volunteers and cultural section who do make a difference and make this such a success. With it being November people are getting ready for Christmas, lights mean Christmas, and naturally it was embraced by the people of Wigan.
“I think people need a bit of cheering up nowadays with everything going on in the world and the politics at a national level. They need a distraction and something they can laugh and smile about with their families.”
Coun Ready went on to explain how last year’s event had led to more people using the canal towpath through the summer. This is something that they want to build on this year.
Read more of today's top stories here
READ NEXT:
-
Council 'could have bought Man United' with the money lost through budget cuts
-
Shisha bar accused of ‘operating unlawfully’ after police called out after hours
-
'I delivered pizzas during the pandemic – now I work in tech for Deliveroo'
-
The list of sites in Manchester where new affordable homes are set to be built
-
Manchester council braced for budget cuts and 3 pc council tax hike to plug £96m gap
