Lowedges Festival Sheffield: Smaller funday confirmed for this month, hopes for full festival in 2024

It may not be the full Lowedges festival in Greenhill Park, Sheffield – but a smaller scale event will still go ahead this month and details are now confirmed.

And community leaders are still hoping to have the full festival back again for 2024, says its former main organiser.

Although they have been unable to save the full festival, they have arranged for events to take place at Tennents Hall on Gresley Road and its car park, as well as a show by a re-enactment group in Greenhill Park itself.

Stephen Rich, who was for many years the driving force behind the festival, said that although what he describes as Sheffield’s biggest free festival had not been saved, there would be an indoor and outdoor fun day – called Lowedges Family Funday – from 12noon until 4pm on Sunday August 13, adding of the full festival: “We are working on its return in 2024 with our local south LAC (Local Area Committee)."

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones, chairman of the South Local Area Committee, said: “This fun day for local families in the Lowedges area will have free funfair rides, face-painting and balloon modelling, plus entertainment from Barney Boloney and historical re-enactments from Escafeld.

“This event is thanks to the hard work of the Lowedges festival organisers and Greenhill and Bradway TARA, with support and funding from local Lib Dem councillors, the South Local Area Committee and the Freshgate Trust.

“This event isn't a replacement for the Lowedges Festival, which sadly couldn't go ahead this year, but as local councillors, it was very important to us that we had some fun activities during the summer holiday for local families and children. I’m looking forward to attending, and I’m sure it’ll be a fantastic day.”

Coun Sophie Thornton, representative for Beauchief and Greenhill ward, said: “We’re still looking ahead to explore how we can help the full Lowedges Festival to return in 2024 – this may mean further health and safety support, finding additional volunteers, or looking at moving the festival to a larger site to cope with the amount of people. Later this year we will be organising a meeting with local residents and community groups to find a way forward so that the Lowedges Festival can return next year on a sustainable basis.”

She said the festival was a grassroots, community event, not a council one, so the community was appealing for volunteers to arrange and support the festival next year and into the future. If you have experience of organising community events or are interested in helping out to make sure the festival can run again, join the festival mailing list at shefflibdems.org.uk/lowedges.

It was revealed earlier this year that the popular Lowedges Festival, which takes place at Greenhill Park, would not go ahead this year because of a shortage of volunteers and its main organiser going into semi-retirement. 

The main festival regularly attracted around 13,000 visitors, and featured fairground rides, live music, historical re-enactment, and a classic car show.

Labour MP Louise Haigh had called on Sheffield Council to step in. But £6,000 was secured to pay for a stop-gap event for this year.