Festival set to WOW the town this weekend

Now in its 15th anniversary year, WOW – Women of the World – festivals and events have taken place across the world to celebrate women, girls and non-binary people, and highlight the challenges they face.

WOW Rotherham will be held for the fourth year running on Saturday, May 10 from 11am-4pm,and is a collaboration between RMBC Events, The WOW Foundation, Children’s Capital of Culture, Flux Rotherham and Rotherham Music Hub.

The festival hub in All Saints’ Square will host WOW Big Ideas, a range of thought-provoking panel conversations chaired by Colette Bailey, CEO of WOW - Women of the World, and co-curated with Children’s Capital of Culture.

Pupils from Brinsworth Academy, Maltby Academy and Winterhill School will discuss gender equality while teachers from Clifton, Brinsworth and Maltby Academies will feature in a panel discussing media influence in schools.

In response to the Children’s Capital of Culture theme ‘Who We Are, Where We Come From’, artist Saroj Patel will transform Rotherham Minster into a stunning garden where each flower – or identity – contributes to a flourishing colourful and harmonious space.

Artist Morag Myerscough will host drop-in sessions at Minster Gardens to create striking patterns, with the designs later coming together in a giant artwork on a billboard in Rotherham town centre.

Events will take place at Minster Gardens, Minster Yard and Forge Island including screen-printing, badge-making, fan-making, Lego creations and hula shows.

There will be crafting for under-fives at Grimm and Co and Playful Anywhere workshops with Playbox at Pitch 13.

The Sudanese Women Drummers will be at Minster Yard and Rotherham Youth Choir will close the festival in All Saints’ Square.

Leanne Buchan, head of creative programming and engagement at Rotherham Council, said: “From children’s theatre celebrating diversity to hip hop beats, to a quartet of extremely miffed unicorns, aerial hoop performances and workshops and pop-up performances from the borough’s finest young musicians, we have a bumper programme of performances to keep you entertained at WOW Rotherham this year, and everyone is invited.”

For more information, visit https://wow.fluxrotherham.org.uk/.