Why Sheffield should be proud of its rich festival scene

From the end of Spring moving into Summer, Sheffielders have a range of different festivals on offer, celebrating food to music to culture.

Festivals have expanded over the years and although some moved online last year, others could not but still tried to make the best out of a bad situation.

A spokesperson for the Tramlines Festival said: “For obvious reasons the 2020 event couldn’t go ahead which meant we couldn’t fundraise how we normally would. Instead, we made some T-Shirts, held a Raffle and collaborated on a Beer with Thornbridge for you to enjoy and be able to donate some money to some great local charities, who, by the way, are doing some invaluable work and helping those most vulnerable in Sheffield.”

Held in Sheffield since 2009, Tramlines is an annual music festival that was originally free to attend but is now ticketed and has featured both local and national artists.

Another Sheffield based festival to have developed in the city is that of Migration Matters.

It is the largest festival in the UK that celebrates Refugee Week and it will be celebrating its sixth anniversary this year.

Focusing on theatre and arts, Migration Matters celebrates the positive impact migration & refugees have had on Sheffield and the UK, through music, dance, drama and spoken word.

This festival has operated on a pay what you feel basis to make sure that it is as accessible as possible to all and offered a programme of online events last year during the pandemic.

Another festival featuring arts is the Sheffield Doc/Fest.

Run by an independent registered charity, International Documentary Festival Sheffield, it seeks to celebrate, champion and debate documentary film and art as a collective form of engagement.

Sheffield Doc/Fest aims to provide a creative space for discovery, challenge and collaboration, through various films, talks, workshops and more.

It is a festival that has a commitment to equality and access for all communities, bringing together established creatives and new voices.

In 2019, over 3,489 individual industry delegates from 59 countries were involved.

This year will be the 28th edition of Sheffield Doc/Fest and planners hope to deliver a hybrid festival bringing people together physically where it is possible and safe to do so, and virtually where it is not.

An alternative festival involving food - Sheffield Food Festival - has been taking place in the city since 2000 but owing to Covid-19 it could not take place last year but hopes to be back this year.

This festival is a celebration of local food and a chance to showcase the talent of Sheffield’s chefs, brewers and distillers.

Stalls are usually spread across the Peace Gardens, Winter Gardens, Millennium Square, Town Hall Square and Fargate, attracting thousands of visitors.

A festival that is relatively new to Sheffield is the Wellbeing Festival which promotes positive mental health and last took place in 2019.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.