By Elliot Leadbetter

Leicester StoryFest is a festival looking at all aspects of the art of storytelling, celebrating 50 years of BBC Radio Leicester.

The event is completely free and begins on Friday 3 March at 10am, with workshops being held at Leicester Cathedral and BBC Leicester which will continue through until 8pm on Saturday, with many professionals attending the event to talk and get involved.

David Hayward, lecturer in Investigative Journalism at De Montfort University and a former BBC producer, is one of the festival organisers, alongside Fran Acheson from the BBC Academy and Kamlesh Purohit of BBC Radio Leicester.

He said: “I think storytelling is fascinating and I think there is a real art to it which everybody should be able do.

“This event is a celebration of stories from the 50 years of BBC Leicester to the great story of the Leicester Cathedral.

“A whole range of things are being covered such as telling stories through the art of music.

“There will also be a number of professional BBC journalists, such as Hugh Sykes, who is a well-respected journalist, discussing how to tell stories through the radio.”

Friday 3 March

• 10am-12 Cathedral stories at Leicester Cathedral – creative writing workshop for children
• 11am-4pm Stories of Leicester Food Fair, BBC Leicester – sample the tastes and tales of the best Leicestershire food, from cheese to pies, bread to cider and preserves to Gujarati specialities
• 1-2pm Smart Phone Stories, BBC Leicester – bring your smart phone to learn how to capture the best video stories
• 2.15-3.15pm Sound Stories, BBC Leicester – award winning radio journalist Hugh Sykes talks about weaving stories for radio
• 3.30-4.30pm Sneaky Tales and Undercover Stories, BBC Leicester – BBC investigative internet expert Paul Myers shows how to track and trace stories and secrets on the internet

Saturday 4 March

• 10am-4pm Every picture tells a story, Leicester Cathedral – children’s activities including dressing up as a Roman soldier and studying the stories in the cathedral windows
• 10am-4pm Peregrine Scavenger Hunt, Leicester Cathedral – find out about the peregrine falcons hidden in the cathedral gardens (bring your binoculars!)
• 10am-4pm Name the painting, Leicester Cathedral – local artist Kirsteen Thomson is seeking suggestions for a title for her painting of King Richard III, which will be on display for one day only
• 11-11.45am & 1.30-2.15pm How to bury a medieval King, Leicester Cathedral – Canon Pete Hobson tells the inside story of the reinterment of King Richard III
• 11am-4pm Stories of Leicester Food Fair, BBC Leicester – sample the tastes and tales of the best Leicestershire food, from cheese to pies, bread to cider and preserves to Gujarati specialities
• 11am-12 Smart Phone Stories, BBC Leicester – bring your smart phone to learn how to capture the best video stories
• 12-4pm Virtually real stories, BBC Leicester – Drop in on the VR film experts from the National Space Centre and experience the new story telling medium of all-around vision and sound
• 12.15-1.15pm Stories Without Words, BBC Leicester – Mark Ashford, head of guitar at Birmingham Conservatoire, leads a guitar masterclass and explores how the art of storytelling can add resonance to music
• 2.30-3.15pm A Leicester Story: Joseph Merrick, the ‘Elephant Man’ by new author Joanne Mungovin, at Leicester Cathedral
• 3-5pm Drop in to the story of Leicester City, BBC Leicester editor Kamlesh Purohit goes behind the scenes for a live broadcast from a Foxes match. Session runs throughout the broadcast, so just turn up!
• 7.30-8.30pm Toward Stillness concert, Leicester Cathedral – the cathedral choir, DMU Gospel Choir, Vickers Bovey Guitar Duo and DMU Demon Theatre Society join forces for a concert telling stories, in words and music, about evening

Despite all events being free of charge, please register and book sessions on the Eventbrite web page to help organisers plan for how many people will be attending.