Rolling out another packed celebration of life in Sheffield suburb

The suburb’s 42nd annual festival starts on Wednesday, June 8, beginning with the traditional opening concert and finishing on the weekend of June 18 and 19, when a garden party and church service will take place.

A playwriting workshop focusing on William Shakespeare and coinciding with the 400th anniversary of his death, sessions led by local artist Kay Aitch and a ‘scarecrow trail’ are among 2016’s highlights.

There will also be a presentation at Broomhill Library looking at plans to restore the building and its garden to create a new community hub.

The festival’s five-a-side football tournament is back for another year, while residents will be opening their gardens to the public next Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Writer and art critic Michael Glover will read from Sheffieldish - his new collection of poems about the city - at the Beacon Methodist Church, and the Philharmonic-scale choir Chorus UK is scheduled to appear.

Festivalgoers are getting another chance to hear the story of Sarah Simpson, who travelled to the USA from Sheffield in the Victorian era. Her tale, first premiered during Off The Shelf last year, was researched by Patrick Vaughan, who lives in Sarah’s old house in Upperthorpe. Meanwhile children are being invited to create a ‘forest of giant flowers’ from paper or recycled materials at St Mark’s Church.

Proceeds this year go to Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, the Sick Children’s Trust, PACT and the Friends of the Botanical Gardens.

n Visit https://broomhillfestival.org.uk for more details.