Festival of Arts & Humanities / Indie Wedding Fair / Festival of Debate + more

2-22 May
sheffield.ac.uk/festivalah

Next month the University of Sheffield's best and brightest minds across the Arts and Humanities departments will gather to create a month of challenging and informative workshops, displays, film screenings and debates.

The Festival of Arts & Humanities launches in style on 3 May with author Ben Okri introducing the regional premier of the 2014 film, N - The Madness of Reason, for which he wrote the script, followed by an in-depth Q&A. Another highlight will be the screening of the experimental Man With A Movie Camera (7 May). Brought to life by a new soundtrack supplied by Ensemble 360, this promises to be an outstanding event.

Later on in the festival there’ll be talks from poet Helen Mort (16 May), urban fantasy writer Ben Aaronovitch (10 May), electroacoustic composers Jonty Harrison and Denis Smalley (5-7 May), and Angie Hobbs (18 May) discussing whether democracy is under threat in 2017. There’ll even be a Roman feast with accompanying poetry and stories (18 May).

At its heart, the festival is about collaborating with local cultural groups spanning a mixture of disciplines, so this year it will work closely alongside Music in the Round and Festival of Debate. The festival welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds. With most of the events being free, it would be a shame to miss such a fantastic cultural display right on our doorstep.

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Sun 30 April, 92 Burton Road
indieweddingfair.co.uk

It’s said to be the best day of your life – the day that you profess your undying love for another and walk back down the aisle to the perfectly-timed release of white doves...

In reality, there’s a huge amount of stress, tiredness and money involved in weddings. The average wedding now supposedly costs £30,000, which to most of us is a small fortune.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The minds behind Inner City Weddings plan achievable, bespoke and truly unique weddings, with all the personal touches but without the gargantuan price tag. They explore and upcycle unused venues in the city centre and focus on using local suppliers to not only keep the prices small, but help support the local economy.

If you’re getting hitched and want to pick the brains of the wedding experts, they’re hosting the Indie Wedding Fair at 92 Burton Road on 30 April.

There’ll be a plethora of local suppliers, including Pie Eyed, Campbells Flowers, Wildwood Paper, The Bake Lab, First Sight Videography, Soft Touch Events and Snowdrop Cakery. With a focus on quality, talented suppliers, it would be a shame to miss out on such a great opportunity to have your wedding individually designed for you.

Photo by Shelley Richmond

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Sat 6 May, Abbeydale Brewery
abbeydalebrewery.co.uk

Abbeydale Brewery has been quenching Sheffield's thirst for over 20 years. From Moonshine to Daily Bread, Deception to Black Mass, we’ve supped our way through most of their beers and partnered with them on many an event. They've also brewed various unique ales for Now Then and Festival of Debate over the years. 2017 is a big year for them and us lot at Now Then are going to be celebrating alongside them.

On Saturday 6 May, for the first time ever Abbeydale will be throwing open their doors to show us what they’ve got planned for the future. As the constant demand for their divine nectars grows, so too does the space they need to brew. They’ve outgrown their current home and so are sending it off in style with this event. Now Then will be bringing the entertainment and Abbeydale will be bringing the beers. Head to their website to get your hands on tickets. Come and raise a glass to another 20 years.

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April-June 2017
festivalofdebate.com

The last 12 months have brought us plenty to talk about. So much has been laid at our collective doorsteps, from Brexit to Trump, immigration to automation. It seems that change is the only constant.

At Opus/Now Then, we've got our work cut out with 2017's Festival of Debate, so we hope our new programme covers as many bases as possible. At the time of going to print, the full programme hasn't been made public yet, but we thought we'd give you a taster.

We kick off with the panel discussion Does Sheffield Just Need A Pay Rise? (Mon 24 Apr, Millennium Gallery), closely followed by a talk and Q&A with LGBTI activist Peter Tatchell (Thu 27 Apr, Millennium Gallery). On a different note, also coming up in early May is Would You Eat Bugs? (Wed 3 May, Diamond LT3), which includes free samples (seriously).

We've got over 50 events happening all over the city in late April, May and June, so stay tuned to social media and our website for the programme launch.

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5 Machon Bank Rd, S7 1PE
bannerdaleosteopaths.com

Whether it’s that crick in your neck from sleeping badly that just won’t budge, the spot in the middle of your back that won’t loosen up no matter how much you shuffle around, or the shoulder pain from lifting something just a bit too heavy, it always seems so much hassle to wait for a doctor's appointment.

There is another option. Bannerdale Osteopaths, based in Nether Edge, offer same day appointments in an effort to reduce the burden on the NHS. Not just dealing with back pain, they’re on call to help you deal with neck, muscular and joint pain too. They’re open six days a week and have early morning and evening appointments to suit busy lifestyles.

At Bannerdale Osteopaths, Steven Ojari has managed to create a friendly, relaxing and healing environment for all your aches and pains, and is now joined by Mariska Wilkins and sports specialist Alex Jones.

Visit their website to learn more and book an appointment online.

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28 May
City Hall Ballroom

Oh, to go back to those hazy, lazy days of last summer. In particular, the weekend that Sheffield saw a new festival born and catapulted to success.

Hillsfest was a blast for everyone involved, a community-based festival imagined and executed by Cupola Gallery and the wonder woman that is Karen Sherwood.

It's important to remember, however, that whilst the event may have been free for us lucky lot, there are naturally many costs incurred by putting on an event of this size. So if you had a great time last year and want it to happen again in the future, please support Hillsfest on 28 May.

That day, two benefit events are happening at City Hall, a day of family-friendly fun in the form of pottery courses run by Art House, raffles and tombolas, and arts and crafts stalls, followed by some amazing local bands and musicians giving up their time for the cause in the evening. Free in the day, £8-10 in for the night's shenanigans. Get it in the diary.

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