| A brand new festival is coming to Leicester on 26 & 27 April, brought to you by Leicester City Council ensuring strong support for the arts and community engagement with partners, BID Leicester, Global Streets, Arts Council England, Highcross Leicester, Haymarket Shopping Centre & Hidden Histories. The two day festival is the first of it’s kind to come to the city with a huge lineup of events for all ages to enjoy. The Old Town Festival will incorporate traditional festivities for St George’s Day and celebrate the city’s fascinating Roman heritage. Hands-on archaeology, Roman theatre, craft activities and Morris dancing will also be on offer, along with face-painting and a dress-up booth so that young festival-goers can become gallant knights, fearsome dragons or magical maidens. Explore the vibrant everyday life of Roman Leicester at the Roman History Living Camp, where you can train like a true Roman Warrior and even meet a Roman Trader and discuss the skills and tools needed for all aspects of Roman life. He even has essential Roman items that you can buy, like wax tablets or a trusty sponge on a stick. A fire-breathing dragon will be on the loose in Cathedral Gardens, alongside stilt-walking jesters, magical wizards and a trio of clumsy knights taking on daring quests. Over at Jubilee Square, you can take part in Roman warrior training, where you can learn to march like a legionnaire, wield a sword like a true centurion, or raise a shield to victory. |
Throughout the week leading up to the event, there will be the opportunity to take part in hands-on workshops, led by internationally renowned artist Olivier Grossetête, who specialises in creating large scale constructions using only cardboard and tape. His projects bring people together to create monumental structures that blend history, art, and community spirit.
In these workshops, teams will be working together to build a full-scale Roman Forum, which will then be constructed at the original Roman Forum site in Jubilee Square on Saturday, 26 April. Don’t miss the grand finale on Sunday, when the monument will be dramatically taken down in a thrilling demolition event. For details of how to get involved go to the Old Town Festival Roman Forum Workshop page.