Saturday

1. The Leys Community Market will go weekly for the first time from today. More than 30 stallholders have signed up to the market, which used to run on the first Saturday each month, and there will also be activities including a bake-off and cheerleading performance at The Barn in Nightingale Avenue from 10am to 1pm.

2. Police will stage a car theft in the Woolgate Centre car park in Witney to raise awareness of people leaving items on show in vehicles, especially in the run-up to Christmas. Police will give away crime reduction packs at the Next store and the stunt is expected to begin at 10.30am.

3. Didcot Christmas Fair will take place at Civic Hall in Britwell Road from 10.30am to 4pm. The Mayor of Didcot will judge the best stall and there will be Didcot Power Station souvenirs available. Great British Bake-off finalist Christine Wallace will also host a Christmas Bake-off.

4. The ice rink at Bicester Avenue home and garden centre will open today until January 4. It will be open from 9am to 5pm, with prices starting at £4 for children and £6 for adults. Visit bicesteravenue.info.

Sunday

5. A concert will be held to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Sheldonian Theatre in Broad Street from 7.30pm. It will include a special performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 to commemorate the laying of the foundation stone of the theatre in 1664. The concert is sold out.

6. Santa will visit Oxford Garden Centre in Nuneham Courtenay to launch the festive season. He will arrive at 11.30am to set up his grotto.

And for the rest of the week

Monday

A decision will be made on whether to approve 270 homes in Witney’s Windrush Valley. West Oxfordshire District Council’s lowlands area planning sub-committee will discuss the plans by Gladman Homes to develop land off Burford Road, which has been met by opposition. The meeting at the council’s offices in Woodgreen, Witney, will begin at 2pm.

Tuesday

A First World War play begins at the Oxford Playhouse today. Nicholas Wright’s Regeneration tells the story of poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon, who is institutionalised in an attempt to undermine his public disapproval of the war. Six performances will be held between today and Saturday . For tickets visit oxfordplayhouse.com.

Wednesday

Oxford City Council’s city executive board will meet at the Town Hall from 5pm today. Items being discussed include a proposal for the council to spend more than £1m on community improvements as part of the Westgate Centre development.

Friday

The Christmas Light Festival will begin today until Sunday. There will be free community events in multiple venues across Oxford, including the Knowledge Emporium at the Oxford Playhouse from noon to 8pm and artistic takeaway at the Old Fire Station from 5pm to 9pm. The Ashmolean Museum will have a programme of crafts, songs, workshops and tours exploring winter festivals across different cultures from 7pm to 10pm.

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