John Knight Guest column: Robin Hood festival will the highlight of our cultural calendar

Nottinghamshire County Council is marking a number of key milestones during 2014 – and many of these key dates are in the cultural calendar.
Robin Hood Festival Opening Ceremony, Sherwood Forest.Robin Hood Festival Opening Ceremony, Sherwood Forest.
Robin Hood Festival Opening Ceremony, Sherwood Forest.

In April, the county council celebrated its 125th anniversary, and a number of key leisure events taking place this summer will also have extra cause of interest as they reach key anniversaries.

Historic Sherwood Forest has a double cause for celebration this year. From 4th to 10th August, the county council hosts the 30th annual Robin Hood Festival at historic Sherwood Forest.

This week-long celebration of all things Robin Hood will feature a full cast of medieval characters and a whole host of events and activities to celebrate our famous outlaw.

Sherwood is also marking the Diamond Anniversary of it receiving Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status this year.

Earlier this year, Sherwood Forest was named as the second best national nature reserve in the UK by BBC Countryfile Magazine during its annual awards.

We get thousands of visitors attending the Robin Hood Festival each year and it all helps to raise the profile of the whole of Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest and it is a free family fun festival.

The Robin Hood Festival is a much-loved event with Robin Hood fans both in the UK and abroad and it is wonderful that we are going to celebrate 30 years of the festival this summer.

Sherwood is not the only county council country park which will witness a key milestone during 2014.

Elsewhere in the county, it will be the 20th anniversary of the Earth and Fire International Ceramic Fair to be held at Rufford Abbey Country Park near Ollerton.

The Earth and Fire International Ceramic Fair will take place from June 20-22 each day from 10am to 5pm with a packed programme and appearances from key ceramicists from across the UK and Europe.

And the county council’s libraries and archives service are working hard to help local communities to commemorate 100 years since the start of the Great War, with a number of talks and events. These events and activities give people the chance to find out more about some of the local stories connected to World War One.

There is much taking place across the county in terms of cultural activities this year and people can find out more about activities by visiting the county council’s website: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/whatson and can also sign up to an Email Me service about current events.