March 29, 2013 11.49 am This story is over 132 months old

Lincoln Inspired festival lineup announced

Inspiring Lincoln: A new arts festival hoping to inspire Lincoln residents has announced its programme of events and ticket sales.

A community-focused arts festival in Lincoln has announced its programme of events and tickets for events go on sale from Saturday.

Lincoln Inspired will run from May 7-12 at various venues around the city, and features many interesting events.

Events range from headline acts and performances to workshops, all of which focus on music, art, performing arts and film, literature and food.

Sara Bullimore, a Lincoln arts consultant leading the team of volunteers behind the event, said: “We’ve worked hard to bring together a programme to appeal to as many people as possible.

“We’ve also tried to keep ticket prices as low as we can too – and some events are free.”

Highlights include a celebratory event of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary with writer Terrance Dicks, director of the old and new BBC adaptations Graeme Harper, and actor Richard Franklin.

Writer and broadcaster Lord Melvyn Bragg will be at Lincoln Drill Hall on the day his new novel Grace and Mary is published.

Lincoln Inspired will link up with the Lincoln Jazz Festival on May 10 to welcome singer Claire Martin and the Montpellier Cello Quartet, followed the next day by comic Mitch Benn.

Workshops and talks for all ages include open mic sessions, Storybook Days, kids theatre, film screenings, wine tasting, astronomy, an urban herb walk and special help for budding writers, covering writing for genres such as children’s, poetry and science fiction, plus tips on getting work published.

Venues include Lincoln Drill Hall, LPAC, the Lincoln Hotel, Lincoln Central Library, The Collection, the Bowl Full and Cafe Portico, while Waterstones is the official bookseller.

Sara Bullimore added: “The festival is not just about the big headline events, although we are delighted to have secured names like writers John Boyne and Simon Scarrow in our first year.

“It’s about inspiring people to come along, listen, join in or even have a go at writing and performing themselves.

“We’re also working with lots of different venues, large and small, across the city to try to make everything as accessible as possible for visitors.”

She added: “I’m very proud of what we’ve managed to achieve in just a year.

“We’ve also had to do a lot of fundraising and find sponsors so we can put the events on and much of what’s on offer is down to a lot of people coming together and making small donations of as little as £5 to help make it all happen.”

Sponsorship comes from businesses such as Ultimate Print, Impstudio, University of Lincoln, Dale and Co and The Showroom.

The programme of events can be found on the Lincoln Inspired website, but the team are also distributing brochures in shops and venues across the city. Tickets go on sale March 30.

Anyone interested in supporting the festival can contact the organising team by email.