Angels, a very cool pig and Santa Claus brought smiles to children’s faces while snowflakes fell and adults sipped mulled wine.

Throughout the weekend, the annual Festival of Angels placed statues in their traditional home in the Cafe Quarter between Low Petergate and Davygate but also expanded to include ice-sculpting exhibitions in King’s Square and statues in Stonegate.

Children felt the statues to convince themselves that they really were made of ice and adults took photos of the various designs, most of which were angels, but which included a reindeer and other designs.

An ice pig stood proudly at one end of Swinegate while Minster Lions parked Santa’s sleigh at the other end for Father Christmas to meet a never-ending queue of children on both Saturday and yesterday.

Shops and businesses in the area provided festive food at outdoor stands including an ice bar, mulled wine, festive cider and hot dogs. Some placed artificial snow machines in their upper storeys and pumped snowflakes into the sky to bring a winter feel to the entertainment.

The festival, now in its 13th year, paid tribute to York’s 800th charter celebrations by encasing a copy of the charter in a carved block of ice.

It was run by City of York Council and retailers in and around the Café Quarter.