Lowedges festival Sheffield: Date set, show set to double in size, but hunt is on for chairman and secretary

A date has been set for the return of the Lowedges festival - after it failed to happen in 2023.

And organisers hope that this year will see the size of the event return bigger than ever, with hopes it will double in size

But before it can go ahead, an appeal has gone out to the public for a chairman and a secretary, the final blocks that need to be put in place for it to go ahead this summer.

Stephen Rich, the previous secretary of the Lowedges Community Festival Group who has taken a major organising role for nearly 20 years, has semi retired from the role.

But after backing from councillors and council officials most of the measures needed for the event have now been put in place, apart from the two, final posts.

Mr Rich said the date of Sunday, August 11 had now been picked for the festival, and money for it to go ahead had been secured by the Sheffield Council's Sheffield South local area committee.

He said: "We have 130 stall people wanting to book, we have a treasurer, we have a bookings manager. In fact we are ready to go, except a chair and a secretary. We have advisers and a committee."

He said if they could not find people who wanted to take the roles on a long time basis, they would be grateful for anyone who would be prepared to take the posts just this year, until longer term appointments can be found

"We will almost double in size making us, we believe, one of Yorkshire and Derbyshire's biggest festivals," he said of this year's planned event.

Get a bespoke headline round-up, as well as breaking updates, when you sign up to The Star’s free emails

The festival was first established in 2008, but did not happen in lockdown, and did not happen again last year. It has traditionally taken place at Greenhill Park

Traditionally the festival has attracted more than 10,000 visitors each year, say organisers, who say there are already a large number of committee members in place.

Last year, a series of smaller community events for residents were held in locations around Lowedges in the absence of the festival.