After a week of drizzle, the sun came out on Saturday for Firth Park’s summer Big Sing! with 140 people of all ages coming together to sing songs by ABBA, Elvis and other timeless favourites. A band made up of accordion, double bass, guitar and ukulele supported the singing and there was even a spot of dancing and fancy dress too. Words like ‘magical’, ‘joyous’ and ‘brilliant’ were on the tips of people’s tongues to describe their afternoon.
As well as the sun, we were graced with a visit from Lord Mayor, Gail Smith who said “it was a pleasure to join in and see such a diverse group altogether enjoying themselves”. Local Councillor Abtisam Mohamed, whose hard work has recently secured much needed covid recovery funding for the area, added “I really enjoyed it and found myself singing for the first time in many years!”
People were heard commenting that they saw some people for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, and Henry’s Cafe, the park’s much loved local eating spot did a roaring trade in brunch after opening on a Saturday for the first time since the lockdowns started.
Local musician Robin Grey from the Community Music Co-op who led the Big Sing! said “as we face the stress of living through this pandemic, singing is a great natural way of lifting your mood, known to release endorphins, a brain chemical that makes you feel happy. Singing in groups is also a really good way of making friends and feeling part of a community which is vital for maintaining your health.”
The event was gratefully funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and Sheffield City Council’s Covid-19 Economic Recovery Fund.
We even got a nice write up in the Sheffield Star:
