There?s a wonderful programme of local events to add to your festive calendar.

A Celebration of Christmas: Carlton Male Voice Choir, local opera singer Katharine Dryden and other artists will bring their Christmas programme of festive songs and carols to the Arboretum bandstand this Sunday (18 December). The programme will start at 12.30pm and will include seasonal readings and the chance to sing along to festive classics. Hot drinks and mince pies will be available, so come along and enjoy the celebration and remember to wrap up warm.

Christmas at Wollaton:? The spectacular light trail is proving very popular and it's a sure-fire way to get into the Christmas spirit. As you walk along the path, new light installations appear, bringing a sense of wonder.? Nottingham City Council taxpayers can still get a 10% discount on tickets, subject to availability. Plus ?Ye Olde Christmas Past? experience, a self-led tour through the bowels of Wollaton Hall. This immersive experience stimulates the senses, and you may bump into Santa or one of his helpers. Ideal for the whole family!

Christmas at Newstead:? Delight in festive storybook scenes with Alice, the White Rabbit and many more well-loved characters every weekend up to Christmas. You can book this self-led walk which includes entry to the historic house. There is also a Christmas Craft Market in the Cloisters.

Winter Wonderland in Old Market Square:? You've probably heard about the amazing Sky Skate elevated ice path that lets skaters glide above the Christmas market stalls in Old Market Square. Well, grab a ticket and make it part of an evening out. Nottingham City Council taxpayers can get a 10% discount on off-peak skating.

The exciting vision for Broad Marsh has caught the attention of one of America?s major TV channels, CNN, which broadcasts around the world. In a special feature report called The Next Frontier looking at today?s architects and designers imagining the cities of the future, Nottingham?s plans for Broad Marsh sit alongside projects such as self-sustaining floating cities, subterranean cities and super high-rise skyscrapers.

The Nottingham section focuses on the Green Heart centrepiece of our council?s vision for Broad Marsh, created with the Greater Broad Marsh Advisory Group and world-renowned designer Thomas Heatherwick, which was unveiled a year ago.

In the film, Mr Heatherwick talks about the wide benefits that bringing nature into the heart of our cities can have and his desire to make ?not just any old park, but make something really distinctive and unusual, and unlike anywhere else in the world?.

The first phase of the Green Heart which gets under way next year will see an area the size of the pitch at Nottingham Forest?s City Ground located between Collin Street and Lister Gate ? previously part of the old Broad Marsh shopping centre ? covered in trees and plants, creating a natural, tranquil green space with pathways between Nottingham Station and Old Market Square.

The whole CNN feature can be viewed here, with Nottingham?s section starting at 18:05.

Are you wondering what Devolution is, and how it could affect you? Well, come along to our in-person information event next week.

Where: Nottingham Council House

When: Wednesday 21 December, 6pm - 7.30pm (doors open 5.30pm)

You can find out more about Devolution proposals for Nottingham, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Derby, learn about the benefits and put your questions to the panel.

The event is open to everyone and is fully accessible. We really want to hear from people who have limited or no internet access. So, if you know anyone who wants to find out more, please help spread the word.

Paper copies of the Devolution consultation survey will be available, with information about the wider proposal.

You can also find out more online and take the consultation survey, here:

www.eastmidlandsdevolution.co.uk/have-your-say

Today is the last day of Disability History Month and we are proud to be lighting the Council House yellow this weekend to raise awareness, observe the history of the disability rights movement and celebrate the lives and achievements of people living with a disability.

It is important that Nottingham City Council is a Disability Confident Leader. This is a national Government scheme which demonstrates our commitment to recruiting and retaining disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.

To get the status, we have had to demonstrate how we encourage our suppliers and partner firms to be Disability Confident, and how our employee recruitment processes are fully inclusive and accessible, so disabled job applicants have the best opportunity to demonstrate that they can do the job. If you?d like to find out more about Disability Confident, please click here.

As Jewish families gather to light the first candle of Hanukkah, I want to wish everyone a happy and peaceful celebration.

As our Jewish communities come together for this special time, let us draw hope from the Hanukkah message that light will always overcome darkness and that joy and peace will always overcome hatred.

Hanukkah Sameach.