The Dearne Community Arts’ Festival, held annually in Goldthorpe to champion creativity and celebrate community (and happening today, 25 September, between 11 a.m and 4 p.m.), is effectively the tip of an iceberg in the Dearne Valley area.

An iceberg is a piece of freshwater ice more than 15 metres long that has broken off a glacier or an ice shelf and is floating in open water. Icebergs vary considerably in size and shape, but what I find interesting about them is that only the top is visible. The rest of the iceberg is below the surface of the water.

The arts’ festival lasts for one day only, and brings together local people to exhibit and sell arts and crafts, to share their skills with others, to demonstrate to others how to do certain things and to perform. It’s a place to showcase talent and to give people the opportunity to explore creativity in all its colourful guises (or as many as we can pack into the largest venue in Goldthorpe!). It’s a colourful, vibrant day, buzzing with excitement and hope, positivity and skill.

But it’s still only the top of the iceberg. For this creativity, this wonderful community, is busy all year round. People work all year to make the things we see for just one day. They beaver away at their hobbies; they work diligently all year, creating beautiful things. They practise their skills, honing them to perfection, learning songs and dance routines, learning to paint, draw, crochet, sew, embroider, needle-felt. They spend hours unseen turning wood, sketching, taking photographs. I know. I listened to my son play scales and practise pieces on the piano every day for thirteen years in order to be able to listen to him play just about anything these days!

So enjoy the arts’ festival today. Make the most of the visible tip of this majestic local iceberg. But don’t be deceived into thinking it’s “just” one day. This creativity and this community is ongoing every single day in our area. There are classes going on everywhere every week. There are people honing their skills for next year’s “one day” already. There’s an army changing the Dearne Valley area through beauty, colour, harmony and elegance, maybe unseen for most of the year, but getting their glory today. This is why we hold the arts’ festival – to show you the tip of the iceberg.