Hamilton is such a city of stories, going right back to our founding myth — the legend of twins Romulus and Remus who were brought up by a she-wolf.

Wait. That's Rome.

Hamilton. Rome. Same difference. We've got more Italians. They've got a more state-of-the-art coliseum. Kidding.

Actually, Hamilton has its own discovery story, taking us back 300 years ago when a noble ship fetched up fatefully on our shores, captained by that great city father, Sir Franchise Bidfail.

Kicking aside a litter of disposable coffee cups, rims curiously rolled up, Sir Franchise knelt down and sifted some loose soil through his fingers. He could tell much.

"This land," he proclaimed, "should be hospitable to a professional hockey team. And a Pan Am Games stadium, though … (here he looked up to survey the landscape) … I can't decide where the latter should go. Meanwhile, let's draw up plans for some one-way streets."

Sadly, Sir Franchise found himself sandwiched between two other discoverers, Sir Repetitive Downtown Condo Towers and Sir Tonawanda Fire/Film at 11, both of whom already had cities with hockey teams. So we became a steel town instead.

Yes, stories. But, back to real ones, Hamilton's need no embellishment — Rocco Perri, Evelyn Dick, our amazing geography, environment, politics, characters.

Hamilton's great tradition of stories is being celebrated next week in Steel City Stories, the sequel. Grace Evans and her mother, Shirley Molinaro, put on the first Steel City Stories in 2011.

"We didn't know what to expect then," says Grace. "It was mostly word of mouth. We hoped for about 20 people, but had over 90, to the point we were worried about the room capacity."

Grace's inspiration was her experience as an intern with a magazine in NYC during summer 2011. She loved attending The Moth events there. The Moth is a nonprofit movement devoted to advancing the storytelling arts, while also addressing literacy.

She's fascinated by how compelled people are, especially in Hamilton, by storytelling and the call of the oral tradition.

"My mom is very Hamilton positive," says Grace. "So fiercely proud. I grew up with that so I found it confusing that Hamilton is often a city with low self-esteem."

Storytelling is one way for the city to explain itself to itself.

For Steel City Stories 2013, on Nov. 2 at Christ's Church Cathedral, 252 James N., 7:30 p.m., they've lined up some great storytellers.

There's celebrated writer/poet/cabinetmaker John Terpstra, who knows so much about the geography of this city and the geography of the heart. (Read his moving book The Boys. Or ask him how Lake JoJo in Dundas got to be a "lake.")

The colourful Robin McKee runs the Hamilton Cemetery tours and has at his command all kinds of lore. He's the one who told me about the Amphicar that I wrote about last Friday.

There's also Lou Molinaro of This Ain't Hollywood, the storied bar/live music venue on James North. He's a gold mine on Hamilton history and music, a radio host and a great guy.

Deirdre Pike you might know from her Spectator column in which she writes so engagingly about city issues and about her life, especially as it touches on LGBTQ themes. She's a newlywed! Congratulations, Deirdre and Renee. Maybe it'll come up.

Artist/storyteller Lisa Pijuan-Nomura is also on the roster. She leads a popular storytelling workshop in Hamilton and is a multitalented renaissance woman.

Then there's the charming Jeff Goodes, Dundas resident, of CBC-Radio fame.

Storytellers and great characters in their own rights, all of them.

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The theme will be Brushes with Greatness. Grace and Shirley are hoping to host more such events in 2014.

Steel City Stories promises to be a very, very vibrant affair. The cost? Five dollars. You can't go wrong.

Hamiltonians. We have a lot to say.