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AUGUST 2026
TOP 4
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Your guide to the month ahead.
Check out our weekly event recommendations every Monday.
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Reggae Festival
The Sheffield Festival of Reggae returns to Network on 15 August 2026, bringing a full day of reggae, dub, dancehall and roots music to one of the city’s best-loved live music venues. Running from 1pm until midnight, the festival celebrates the rich heritage of Jamaican music and culture, with live performances, DJs, sound systems, Caribbean street food and an outdoor courtyard creating a vibrant festival atmosphere.
This year’s line-up features an impressive mix of internationally recognised reggae artists and homegrown talent. Headliners include Bitty McLean, Eek-A-Mouse, The Twinkle Brothers, Dawn Penn, Kofi and Errol Dunkley, alongside Trojan Explosion and tribute performances celebrating reggae legends John Holt and Dennis Brown. A second stage showcases emerging artists and local selectors, ensuring the music continues throughout the day.
Blending legendary performers with rising talent, authentic Caribbean food and a welcoming community atmosphere, the Sheffield Festival of Reggae has become one of Yorkshire’s premier celebrations of reggae music.
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Film Events
This August, two special film events take place in Sheffield. Ahead of their September festival, the team behind Spirit of Independence bring their final monthly screening to The Light. My Own Private Idaho returns to the big screen on 27th August, giving audiences the chance to revisit Gus Van Sant’s acclaimed 1991 road movie starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves.
Following two young men searching for identity and belonging across the American Northwest, the film blends Shakespearean influences with a powerful coming-of-age story and is widely regarded as a landmark of 1990s independent cinema. The special screening offers a rare opportunity to experience the cult classic in a cinema setting.
Then on 30th August, Outdoor Cinema Under the Stars comes to Millhouses Park with a free screening of Disney’s Queen of Katwe. Based on the remarkable true story of Ugandan chess champion Phiona Mutesi, the film stars Lupita Nyong’o, David Oyelowo and Madina Nalwanga, telling an uplifting story of resilience, ambition and opportunity. Visitors are invited to bring picnic blankets and chairs, while food stalls, popcorn and family activities help create a relaxed outdoor cinema experience to round off the August Bank Holiday weekend.
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Rock n Roll Circus
Rock N Roll Circus returns to Sheffield’s Don Valley Bowl from 27th–30th August, transforming the venue into a festival of live music, circus entertainment and street food over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Since its launch in 2021, the event has become one of Sheffield’s flagship music festivals.
This year’s line-up brings together some of the UK’s best-known indie and alternative acts. The Kooks kick off the festival on Thursday, joined by Sheffield favourites Milburn and singer-songwriter Miles Kane. On Friday, The Streets perform their acclaimed album A Grand Don’t Come for Free in full, with support from Babyshambles, Casisdead, Hak Baker and KhakiKid. Saturday belongs to rising indie stars Wunderhorse, alongside Baxter Dury, Mercury Prize winners English Teacher, Fat Dog and Gurriers. The festival closes on Sunday with former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, supported by The Fratellis, Embrace, Cast, IST IST and Sheffield favourites The Everly Pregnant Brothers.
Away from the main stage, the festival’s signature circus entertainment continues throughout the weekend, with aerial acrobats, fire performers, stilt walkers and roaming acts bringing a carnival atmosphere to the site. Combined with a varied selection of independent food vendors, craft drinks and family-friendly activities, Rock N Roll Circus promises to deliver great Bank Holiday fun.
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Graves Park Food and Drink Festival
Returning to the city’s largest park from 29th–31st August, the Graves Park Food and Drink festival combines fantastic food, live entertainment and family fun in a beautiful outdoor setting. Visitors can enjoy an incredible selection of international street food, artisan producers, independent bars and sweet treats, alongside live music and entertainment throughout the weekend.
New for 2026, organisers have introduced a host of exciting attractions to make this year’s event bigger than ever. Music fans can look forward to an Arctic Monkeys Tribute on Saturday and an ABBA Tribute on Sunday.
Families will find plenty to enjoy, with an expanded programme of children’s activities, a Family Dog Show, the ever-popular Chilli Challenge, Barry’s Bingo, inflatable banana jousting and target paintball.
Food lovers won’t want to miss the new Cookery Theatre, presented in partnership with Yorkshire Food Guide, where talented local chefs will showcase seasonal dishes, cooking tips and culinary inspiration. Visitors can also step back in time at the fascinating Viking Heritage Kitchen, exploring traditional Viking cooking techniques and historic food preparation.
With something for every age, it’s the perfect way to round off the August Bank Holiday weekend.
SEPTEMBER 2026
TOP 4
🐘🐘🐘🐘
Your guide to the month ahead.
Check out our weekly event recommendations every Monday.
01
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Art in the Gardens
Sheffield Botanical Gardens will once again be transformed into a huge open-air gallery when Art in the Gardens returns on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th September.
The event brings together artists and craft makers from Sheffield and across the UK, with thousands of original works displayed throughout the gardens. Visitors can browse paintings, prints and handmade crafts in the marquees and pavilions, discover sculptures dotted across the lawns and see work entered into the Open Art Exhibition and Sheffield Young Artists display.
The setting is in the Grade II-listed Sheffield Botanical Gardens providing a particularly picturesque backdrop
Alongside the art there will be live demonstrations, a Home and Gardens showcase and locally sourced food and drink, while visitors can meet many of the artists and buy work directly from them.
The event runs from 10.30am to 5.30pm on both days, with advance tickets costing £8.50 and admission free for under-16s accompanied by an adult.
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Sheffield Heritage Open Days
Some of Sheffield’s most fascinating buildings and stories take centre stage from 11th–20th September 2026, when Sheffield Heritage Open Days returns as part of England’s nationwide celebration of history and culture.
The festival offers the chance to look behind doors that aren’t ordinarily open to the public, discover overlooked pieces of local history and experience the city through tours, talks and special activities. Crucially, many of Heritage Open Days events are free, making the festival an excellent excuse to explore somewhere in Sheffield you’ve walked past countless times but never ventured inside.
The programme ranges from architecture and industrial heritage to the people and events that have shaped modern Sheffield. Among the 2026 offerings are guided tours inside the Grade I-listed Sheffield Town Hall, alongside talks exploring subjects including the Sheffield Blitz and the story of Jewish immigrants who helped shape the city’s politics, commerce and industry. Some tours require advance booking.
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Float Along Festival
Sheffield’s multi-venue Float Along Festival returns on Saturday 26th September 2026, bringing a packed day of alternative music to The Octagon, Sidney & Matilda and Corporation.
Leading this year’s bill are indie favourites White Lies, joined by Dublin punk band Sprints, genre-bending South London outfit Warmduscher and the theatrical Opus Kink. The line-up runs deep, with TTSSFU,
Man/Woman/Chainsaw, Grandmas House, Nuha Ruby Ra, Gia Ford, PleasureInc., Shaking Hand, Cowboyy, Cucamaras, Your Mate’s Ex, Oslo Twins, Little Grandad, Faint Paint, Maximilian Tanner and Spanish Horses also heading to Sheffield for the festival.
Float Along has built its identity around discovering emerging artists alongside bigger alternative names, and this year’s programme continues that theme. A BBC Introducing selection adds April Tapes, Vehicle, recently Sheff Herd spotlighted local artists Hard As Nails, Cinder Path and Nature Kids to the bill.
The festival format gives gig-goers the chance to move between three of Sheffield’s best-known independent music venues throughout the day. Once the live sets are finished, the celebrations will continue with an official after-party featuring Flowdan, rounding off a festival that spans indie and post-punk through to experimental sounds and grime.
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Sheffield Half Pint Marathon
Sheffield’s Half Pint Marathon returns from 1–30 September 2026, offering a rather more sociable take on the traditional marathon.
Instead of running 13.1 miles, participants make their way around some of Sheffield’s best independent pubs, bars and taprooms, collecting stickers in a Half Pint Passport as they go.
This year’s route stretches right across the city and includes Hop Hideout, Dog & Partridge, Kapital, Three Tuns, Triple Point Taproom, Head of Steam, Forum, The Stags Head, The Botanical Arms, The Blind Monkey, The Punch Bowl, The Hallamshire House, The Harlequin, Gardeners Rest, Alder Bar, Riverside Kelham, Neepsend Social Club, The Beer House S6, The Broadfield, Waggon & Horses, Abbeydale Beer Works and The Rising Sun, among others. There’s no need to attempt them all at once either – participants have the whole of September to work their way around the route.
Getting involved is simple: pick up a passport at a participating venue, order one of the official Half Pint Marathon beers and collect a sticker for your card. Visit 15 venues to complete a half marathon or all 30 to complete the full marathon, with finishers able to claim a limited-edition illustrated print.
The event is also raising money for Sheffield Mind, with 25p from every official Half Pint Marathon beer sold donated to the charity; those choosing another drink can contribute 25p to the collection instead.
For more information, follow the Instagram page here