Gentleman's Walk in Norwich city centre will be filled with the sights, sounds and smells of different countries from all over the world this bank holiday weekend.

A new World Village Market will have more than 30 stalls featuring exotic cooking, eco-friendly arts and crafts, clothing, jewellery, music and much more, starting from 9am on Friday.

It promises to bring all sorts of different cultures to the city centre this weekend, but Norwich City Council has ensured there will be a strong local presence on the market as well.

One of the local retailers adding some exotic spice to the market is Norwich Market stall Orient Express, which sells food ingredients for various Asian cuisines.

Owners Sophie Soeng and Mike Pearson will be cooking up popular dishes such as sweet and sour chicken and prawn and vegetable stir fry, but will also have less well known dishes such as Cambodian curry and Laos beef curry on sale.

Mr Pearson said: 'We will be cooking a variety of Asian foods, with a little Indian food thrown into the mix, with dishes from countries like Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam.

'The organisers have another Thai food stall already so we were happy to do some food that is a bit more unusual, such as Cambodian and Laos dishes that you won't get anywhere else.'

Another local retailer is artist Hadas Nussbaum, originally from Israel but now living in Norwich, who will be selling her polymer clay and millefiori glasswork at the market.

She said: 'Millefiori has a very textured effect and I decorate pots, woodwork and jewellery with it.

'I will also be running workshops and some demonstrations so hopefully it will be interesting for people.'

Environmentally-friendly wine merchant Reno Wine, which sells French wine in reusable bottles that can be sent back to them for refilling and are then worth �2 off an order, to reduce waste and save energy, is another local retailer involved. Owner Chris White, based at Wymondham, although his bottles are refilled in Martham, near Great Yamouth, said: 'We will have French wines which we will be sampling on the day. But the idea is that we are launching a new wine in refillable bottles and I am hoping that Norwich will pick up on the idea.'

Norwich City Council senior events co-ordinator Vicki Blake added: 'We're really excited about this new addition to this year's Easter events.

'The mix of products and activities is sure to really make the city centre an even more vibrant place to be over the weekend, so I'd urge as many people as possible to go along and see what's on offer.'

The market opens on Friday from 9am to 6pm; the same time on Saturday; between 10.30am and 4.30pm on Sunday; and between 10.30am and 5.30pm on Monday.

Are you planning a local event? Contact Evening News reporter David Freezer on 01603 772418 or email david.freezer@archant.co.uk.