Getting ready for '˜fun' at lantern festival

The annual carnival, which has become a well-estbalished feature for the Sharrow community, will return on Sunday, April 9

The event is now in its 13th year and the organisers are expecting a lot of involvement from families, volunteers and artists.

Luisa Golob, from Creative Action Network said: “It’s great fun thinking about the theme as we try and imagine what the final event would look like.”

The build-up to the carnival involves a lot of activity behind the scenes. There are workshops every weekend running from next month.

The event itself will start from 7.30pm at Mount Pleasant Park.

After parading through the streets of Sharrow, the lantern procession will end with a celebration in Sheffield General Cemetery with music, food and entertainment.

Luisa added: “We are excited to dance down the street with Kool and the Gang setting the scene for our dancing animals, snakes and huge trees and plants.

People are being invited to get involved in the run-up to the event.

The Sharrow Lantern Carnival originated in 2004 and has been successfully organised by the Creative Action Network ever since, becoming one of the leading free community events in Sheffield.

If you wish to volunteer with the workshops, you are invited to go to the Old Junior School, South View Road on Sunday, January 29 from 1pm to 4pm. No previous experience is necessary and full training is provided.

You can also be a steward on the day of the carnival. As the day gets closer, the organisers will be looking for people to help ensure the procession runs smoothly.

You can, of course, make a lantern at one of the free workshops.

These workshops will take place every Saturday and Sunday between Saturday, February 4 and Saturday, April 8.

If you are interested in making a lantern or helping with the carnival please email [email protected].

Also visit the website Creative Nation search @sharrowlanterns on Twitter or ‘Sharrow Lantern Festival’ on Facebook.