A CASTLE, high street, brewery and swimming pool will all be lit up this weekend.

Landmarks across Lewes will be bathed in original lighting displays for the Lewes Light Festival.

The festival will highlight the town’s industrial, commercial and trading past and brings to life lesser known stories and the people who have transformed and influenced the town over the centuries.

Festival director Graham Festenstein said the event, now in its third year, was gaining international recognition for being the only event of its kind in the world as well as becoming a beloved fixture within the community.

He said: “Lewes Light demonstrates the impact that lighting can have on public spaces.

“It increases understanding of the environmental issues of lighting, particularly in the context of the Dark Skies reserves, like the South Downs.

“Many festivals contain truly beautiful, specially commissioned artworks, but whilst some of these installations may be site specific, few are created to elucidate an historical context.

“On the other hand, the large scale, more commercial lighting events concentrate on entertainment.

“Our aim is to achieve more.

“Lewes Light 2017 will include magnificent artworks, created by an even greater number of artists and designers than in previous years, many of whom are of the highest order and also have local links. Each installation is inspired by the context of Lewes, and contributes to a narrative about the town, its history and its people.

“We can deliver much more by way of story-telling, to engage a wider audience, particularly younger people, in a stimulating and exciting way.

“Lewes is compact and walkable, and lends itself to an illuminated trail.”

He added that the event was unique in combining an arts event accessible to the general public with some of the world’s leading lighting technicians.

Award-winning lighting design firms behind schemes at Selfridges, Madison Square Gardens and Glyndebourne will be exhibiting their work to cast Lewes’s landmarks in a new light.

Students from Sussex Downs College, the University of Brighton, and Northbrook and Plumpton colleges have also contributed designs to the event.

The illuminated tour through the town centre, beginning at the town hall will start at 7pm tonight, tomorrow and Sunday.

The festival will also include a range of workshops and talks on the town’s industrial history.

For more information and the full programme of events visit LewesLight.co.uk