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A Magazine for Sheffield

Favourites : Our Pick of Independent Sheffield

7 Smithfield, S3 7AR
cads-online.co.uk

Creative Arts Development Space (CADS) is an organisation dedicated to supporting socially beneficial activities through arts and creativity, from hosting exhibitions and events to providing affordable rehearsal and studio space. CADS has recently taken on an additional two new locations and is seeking local artists and creative sector organisations to get involved.

The first new building, taken on in partnership with local social enterprise Common People, is located at 18-22 Union Street. With four floors of office and co-working space and involvement from the University of Sheffield and local charity Roundabout, the Union Street building looks set to be a hive of creativity and social endeavours. We’d encourage any budding young artists or social revolutionaries to get in touch and make your mark. The second building, located in the cultural industries quarter, is still awaiting council confirmation so we’ll keep hush on that one for now.

With upwards of 18% of city centre shops currently empty, the movement to reuse and reoccupy these spaces for the benefit of the community is clearly a benevolent one. With recent changes in council policy which require individual studio users to each apply for business rates relief – as opposed to the previous method of one business rates application per building – one begins to wonder about the increasing difficulties faced by grassroots organisations like CADS.

We say all power to them, and of course hope that as time passes the re-use of empty spaces can be appreciated not only by the local community, but by local government as well.

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Open Monday to Saturday
8.30AM-5.30PM

The reason you will fall in love with the Moor Market isn’t the swanky new £18 million building, although it is very swanky. The reason you will fall in love with the Moor Market is the produce and the people.

Markets are part of the fabric of our culture, each one reflecting the character of its neighbourhood. The Moor Market reflects not only how wonderfully multicultural Sheffield is, but also the warmth and friendliness of the people here. You can go and chat to any of the stall holders for hours. Each has a fantastic story to tell and is deeply passionate about the produce they are selling, something you just don’t get at the nearest supermarket. The prices are also unbelievably cheap. You can go in with £20 and leave with a DVD, freshly baked bread, manchego cheese, chorizo, jasmine tea, jersey butter, fresh fruit and veg, venison curry and a box of Portuguese tarts. Result.

There have been concerns that the new market would lose its character with the move, but the modern building makes the markets so much more accessible and with the characters you’ll find within it would be hard pressed to lose its charm. We can’t recommend enough that you go and check it out, and while you’re down there please say hello to those lovely traders who have supported us over the past couple of months: Bara Organics, S&J’s Pantry, Whitlock’s, Make or Bake, Caribbean Fusion, CakeLicious, Moor Cobblers Shoppe, Auntie Flo’s and Grace’s Fabrics.

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21 March
Sharrow Old Junior School

This month local alternative comedy promoters Alt.Com.Cab. and poetry group The Shipping Forecast bring “a freewheeling mind permanently stuck in fifth gear” (The Scotsman) to Sheffield. Scottish comic Phil Kay has apparently performed at 25 Edinburgh Festivals and 18 Glastonburys and still shows no sign of letting up with his anarchic, energetic brand of stand up. If you like your comedy fast-paced, freeform and rambling with generous doses of improvisation, Kay will be right up your street. He may also get his arse out.

Priced at a fiver or £4 advance, this is an absolute steal, especially given the near-criminal absence of this type of comedy in Sheffield. Tickets available on WeGotTickets.


BeerX

12-15 March
beerx.org

Following our piece on BeerX in the February issue, this is officially your second reminder not to miss the superb BeerX Festival of Beer.

Taking place at iceSheffield from 12 to 15 March, BeerX is hosted by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) and will showcase more than 300 of the best cask, keg and bottled beers this country has to offer. You can find a comprehensive list online, but rest assured there is something for everyone, from the lightest pale to the thickest porter. There will also be entertainment from pianist Dale Storr on Friday night and ukulele collective Everly Pregnant Brothers on Saturday night, and regular buses will run from the Fat Cat and DaDa.


Madewithpixels

Freelance web design
madewithpixels.co.uk

Madewithpixels are responsible for successfully translating the Now Then design aesthetic to the web, creating a functional custom-built website which sits proudly alongside this here printed rag. Friendly, approachable and always available, head honcho Michael Auty is a versatile designer with a flair for creativity and good eye for what works.

Based in Sheffield and Leeds, the team are able to tailor their service to almost all budgets, with simple websites for small businesses priced from £600. They have a wide variety of untypically large corporate clients and are just as comfortable working as an in-house team for design and PR agencies. Past collaborators have included Quba, Peter and Paul, RE:SYSTEMS and Front. Highly recommended.

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13 March - 17 April
SheffieldLive

Have you got an idea for a screenplay but aren’t sure how to commit it to paper? Or are you further down the line, in need of feedback and support to flesh it out and really make it pop?

Throughout March and April the SheffieldLive offices on Paternoster Row will host six weekly screenwriting workshops with successful writer and script consultant Jan Worth. Running on Thursday evenings at 6.30-8.30 from 13 March, the sessions will provide aspiring writers with advice on content development, outlines and treatments, structure, characterisation, dialogue and prose description, and are priced at £95 plus booking fee or £60 for the unwaged or retired. Visit janworth.org for more information.


Devonshire Cat

49 Wellington St, S1 4HG
devonshirecat.co.uk

The award-winning Abbeydale Brewery have recently taken on the renowned Devonshire Cat. With their inside knowledge of breweries we‘re told to expect an ever-changing and unique line-up of beverages from local, national and international breweries, with a greater variety on tap than ever before.

Also coming up this month is the launch of the new food menu – two courses for just £12 between 3pm and 6pm, all freshly cooked and locally sourced. There is also a weekly rotating Sunday lunch menu, alongside Meet the Brewer and rare gin and whisky tasting events. You’ll find out the latest by following them on Facebook and by checking in on the website. Enjoy and indulge.


Village Aid

01629 814434
villageaid.org

Village Aid is the only international development charity based in the Peak District, but its influence stretches far further than its native Bakewell. Working with partner organisations in Ghana, Gambia, Cameroon and Sierra Leone, the charity has three main aims – to support education and literacy, secure livelihoods and promote justice.

With only four members of staff, Village Aid is able to spend more on skills training and business microloans for women and young people in West Africa, helping them secure a reliable income if harvests fail. If you’re looking for a local charity to support on a sponsored run or just want to make a one-off or regular donation to a good cause, look no further.

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Next article in issue 72

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