8th March 2010 By Simon Jacques
The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (ShAFF) has now matured into its 5th successive year and is set to be the biggest and most diverse yet.
Under the careful management of Heason Events, ShAFF has managed to gain the respect of the festival circuit in a relatively short space of time with 100% of those attending from 2006 to 2009 stating they would come again.
This year the event organisation has adapted a team approach via a dedicated band of ‘ShAFF Volunteers' who will be easily recognisable by their bright red t-shirts, and have been toiling away behind the scenes to create what should be a truly memorable weekend.
ShAFF's films are its staple diet of exciting adventure features showcased, for the first time, in High Definition. For a full programme go to www.shaff.co.uk/films/.
However this years essential elements of the festival have been enriched by the introduction of some tasty treats for the ShAFF audiences.
To start with, there will be live music throughout the weekend. This will be predominately acoustic sessions in the Showroom Café, with Sheffield circuit Legends 'Mojo & The Beatnicks' performing Saturday evening and The Keltones on Friday evening. All are welcome to join in the ‘open mike' sessions over the weekend with a laid back feel to proceedings for those who wish to jam along.
The Café Bar is also home to a chilled area with a reading corner where rock climbing Legend Ron Fawcett will give a free reading from his brand new book 'Rock Athlete' at 8pm on Friday 12th March. Please arrive early to avoid disappointment.
Saturday will see the culmination of the Arc'teryx Adventure Shot Photography Competition, a photographic contest which will see two lucky winners from a UKC competition enter an arena where they will come up against some of the best adventure sports photographers in a "shoot out" with prizes of £500 in cash and £2000 in kit up for grabs! Alongside this will be the first ShAFF Quiz, with an Arc'teryx fleece up for grabs for each of the winning team of 4. Both events will be hosted by Niall Grimes, who never fails to entertain. Tickets for the event in the Showroom Café at £3 are a bargain.
In Screen 5 all weekend there will be an array of stands including Demand DVD, The BMC, Hallamshire Physiotherapy and Yoga Shala Sheffield both offering free consultations and taster sessions, and also a second hand kit sale (get in touch with the organisers if you are interested in selling).
Ever present throughout the weekend will be galleries from two Simon's, Homfray & Jacques. Simon Homfray's gallery ‘Living Art 3' will be displayed throughout the Showroom and if previous living art galleries are anything to go by, it will be stunning. A more frugal pared down gallery by Simon Jacques will focus on access issues to banned land areas entitled ‘You can look...' in the Showroom Café. Perusal of both will of course be free.
