THIS Tuesday (November 27) will see the opening of the new £7million Winchester Discovery Centre.

The Centre will open its doors to the public, for the first time, at 10am and everyone is welcome. This will be the first opportunity to explore one of the city's newest cultural venues at the heart of Winchester's expanding 'cultural quarter'.

Visitors will benefit from over 53,000 books, plus 42,000 items in store.

This includes over 1,500 CDs, 1,500 DVDs and games, 28 public computers, two galleries, a performance hall ready to host an array of artists and a café bar.

Executive member for Recreation and Heritage, Councillor Margaret Snaith said: "The opening day is set to mark a very special time for Winchester. I hope the Discovery Centre will stretch the concept of an educational building to the limits, with literacy, history and the arts all combined in one space."

Winchester City Council's portfolio holder for Culture, Heritage and Sport, Councillor Patricia Stallard, added: "I hope that our own programme of local arts and heritage displays in the City Space will help to reinforce the Discovery Centre as a particularly special place for residents of the Winchester District. But it is certain to be a draw for visitors from much further afield in years to come."

On opening day the Performance Hall has a packed schedule starting with the colourful cast from the Theatre Royal's pantomime, acting out scenes from 'Jack & the Beanstalk'.

Children from Westgate School will be performing 12 stylishly executed monologues at 11.45am. Westgate School will be 'walking the boards' for a second time at 2.10pm as they put on a vibrant performance of Sondheim's 'Into the Woods'.

Young people from some of Theatre Royal Winchester's resident contemporary dance and hip hop groups will also be performing work they have choreographed themselves at 4.30pm.

Throughout the day the Café Bar will be brought alive with the sounds of soulful acoustics from local artists. The line up includes: Ryan O'Reilly, renowned for his country and blues sounds, classically trained pianist Nina Schofield, the blues tinged rock music of The Ashbies, the understated vocals of Philip BareBones, the amazing vocals of Alex J Dunne and finally the folk and indie rock sounds of Owen Tromans.

The service boasts a library with over £300,000 of new stock on top of current stock. 'Fast back' service, express check out and returns... special spaces for children and young people, plus comfy seating for reading and relaxing. Internet access, Wi-Fi and online learning with meeting rooms, study areas and refreshments.

The upstairs gallery will be showcasing the history of the Centre building, which has had many lives and transformations. In the ground floor City Space, meanwhile, visitors can take a trip through time to explore the 'Faces and Places' of its surroundings in Jewry Street. There will be objects from the City Council's reserve collections, archive footage and activities for families.