Emily Brinnand and Olivia Taylor 

Sheftival Day Two

The Guardian Northerner's tireless duo, Emily Brinnand and Olivia Taylor, round off their weekend at the great celebration of Olympic triumphs. Yorkshire's especially
  
  


Read Emily and Olivia's summing up and Storify of Day One here.

As the sun sets over the Don Valley Complex on Sunday evening, Sheffield can certainly be proud of its brand new festival protégé.

With a total of 20,000 people singing, dancing, eating and drinking their way through the festival weekend, Sheftival can safely say it's made it's mark on the South Yorkshire festival scene.

After a rip-roaring start on Saturday, with the likes of Ryan O'Shaughnessy, Laura Steel and Toots & The Maytals gracing the stages, Sunday was a quieter affair. But the sense of camaraderie and sunshine and Yorkshire's Olympic glory (7th in the medal table, were we an independent country) ensured that the excitement and enthusiasm was carried over to the festival's final day.

After Sheffield's Jessica Ennis sealed that well-deserved heptathlon gold with her performance in the 800m race on Saturday night, it was difficult to envisage how the same level of Olympic excitement could be fostered for the festival's second day. But, GB tennis star Andy Murray wowed the crowds once more by beating Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in straight sets, He may be a Scot, but everyone was glued to the screen at the Don Valley stadium.

And the athletes weren't the only ones working hard this weekend, as hundreds of children tried out twenty-five different sports at Ennis' home training ground. Zorbing was one of them, allowing intrepid participants to launch themselves downhill in a giant plastic orb (rather you than us). Those less adventurous could opt for a game of football. But they'd have to deal with playing on an inflatable pitch…

Festival Director Dave Healy said

What made Sheftival unique was the combination of sport and music. The participation in sport has been a real success, who know, maybe we have just inspired the next Jess Ennis.

All the while, everyone taking part in sports was racking up stamps on their Sheftival Activities Passport, competing for Browse, Silver or Gold prizes. After the exercise, it was time for a culinary re-charge, and Sheftival wasn't about to disappoint. Hungry punters filled their bellies with treats from across the globe; sampling cuisine from dozens of stalls set up throughout the complex, from stone-baked pizzas to a mouth-watering Jamaican Jerk BBQ tent. Not to mention Ostrich Burgers and Curried Goat-yum.

Another contributor to the festival's identity was the unmistakable cartoon branding on tickets, posters and t-shirts across the city. This was all thanks to local design company Peter and Paul (no nursery rhyme jokes, please). They were most recently responsible for design work on Kid Acne's 'South Yorks', Toddla T's merch and Tramlines Music Festival. Their work made Sheftival instantly recognisable.

But Sunday's big highlight was the Dodgy secret gig on the 'Buskers Barge', treating passengers to an hour of nostalgic '90s hits down the canal, such as 'Good Enough' and 'Staying Out For The Summer.' Opening for the band was local solo artist Sarah Mac. With an air of modesty, she confessed with a meek smile and soft Sheffield twang, to having forgotten her keyboard stand. At which point the furry-hatted songstress launched into her first ballad, singing and playing piano with the depth and maturity of someone who's been in the biz for decades.

As they came off, people were instantly drawn to the Jetty Side Stage, to hear an entire brass band playing Human League's 'Don't You Want Me'. Only in Sheffield.

The sounds of reggae and ska dominated the musical side of the festival complimenting its relaxed atmosphere and family-friendly environment. And Kanda Bonga Man, Macka B and The Beat took to the stage on Sunday to deliver just that.

Other local acts were The Crookes, who performed a late night session on the Buskers Barge with See Emily Play and In Fear of Olive.

And finally, Brit pop act Lightning Seeds brought Sheftival to a crescendo of a close. And it was clear that both Olympic glory and fantastic music was Coming Home.

Emily Brinnand is a freelance multimedia journalist, producer and broadcaster. She is on Facebook here, Twitter here and About Me here.

Olivia Taylor is a freelance multimedia journalist specialising in culture and music. She is on Twitter here.

Emily and Olivia present Mixtape Sheffield Live together.Here's a Storify of the day.

 

Leave a Comment

Required fields are marked *

*

*