Josh Francis

Lincoln Christmas Market kicked off on Thursday afternoon, so we went to find the best stalls you should visit.

Let us know in the comments which was your favourite stall after you get chance to visit the market.

The Original Candle Power Steam Boats

This stall sells small toy boats which are powered by steam and can move around on their own. The boats can be tailored to your needs.

Grass Pets

At this stall, you’ll find small toys that if watered will grow hair out of their backs, suitable for children over the Christmas period.

John Hermansen Pottery

Sauce and preserve pots coming from Derby, they offer hand crafted pottery including various flavours of sauces including lamb and strawberry.

Executive Lizards

You’ll find items that cater towards children and adults with various colourful stuffed toys and ornaments.

Mulled Wine and Spiced Cider

Located by the entrance of the market in Castle Hill they offer tasty seasonal beverages from wine to cider.

House Signs While You Wait

Located in the Castle courtyard, this stall offers a service in which they’ll create beautiful or funny signs with anything you want written on it.

Inspiration Gifts of Distinction

This stall has some great items suitable to be given for gifts, including crystals, clocks and other crafty handmade gift wares.

Farrar’s at Christmas

A selection of Christmas ornaments are on this stall, including snow globes of nativity scenes and classic Disney characters.

Spicy Monk Cider

Made in Lincolnshire, this stall sells a blend of orange liqueur and spiced cider and mulled wines.

The Sawley Kitchen

Located outside the Castle, this stall offers various pastries and tasty treats from Yorkshire.

Wildside Riot, a fusion of local musicians, is set to put the fun back into performing after they have been signed by a prominent record label.

The lead vocalist is Rocky Shades from Birmingham, while the band’s local members include guitarists Joss Riot and Jimmy Gunn, drummer Gaz Wilde, and bass guitarist James Crofts.

Gaz explained how the band came together, what could be seen as a “super group”.

“It all came about when Mr Shades was in a famous band a few years ago and he’d meet a few people in some famous bands, so he put together a super group. As with bands, some people come and go, and I hooked up with them and knew few others — and that’s how we got to here.”

Rocky Shades was in Wrathchild, an English heavy metal band, and described his time with the band as being “dangerous”.

“We were considered the UK Motley Crew, but we were ahead of the Motley Crew because of the dangerous pyrotechnics we used in our shows. We were considered one of the most dangerous bands on the planet.”

Wildside Riot consider their style of music to be heavy fun-time rock and roll.

“If you came to one of our shows you can’t help but have a good time. Since we get along so well and are up on stage having fun you’ll probably think ‘if they’re having a good time, why don’t we?'”

The band have recently signed with Cargo Records, the label which was responsible for the bringing acts such as Blink 182 to the UK. Shades explain how they got signed:

“In the business it’s about knowing people, and if you’ve built a respect for people behind the scenes, then they’ll do stuff for you.

“We’re talking to our contact at Cargo Records about the band, and we sent him some demos and on the strength of the demos alone the wanted to handle distribution of the product, and it just went from there.’

The band will be on the main stage for Hard Rock Hell festival this year as well.

To get a taste of their music, visit the Wildside Riot website.