{"id":380456,"date":"2025-08-28T14:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/380456\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T14:20:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T14:20:15","slug":"the-little-festival-with-a-big-impact-is-bringing-famous-names-to-smithdown-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/380456\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The little festival with a big impact’ is bringing famous names to Smithdown again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Smithdown Litfest is bringing famous names to south Liverpool again, including a headliner which sold out in just 12 hours!<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s line-up features actor, comedian, travel presenter and writer Michael Palin who is coming for a special event near Sefton Park.<\/p>\n

The former Monty Python star will be <\/strong>at Ullet Road Unitarian Church on Friday September 26 to talk about his fascinating career, and his new book Michael Palin in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Other events will focus on the career ups and downs of Reds legend Kevin Keegan and the lives of the Bront\u00eb sisters.<\/p>\n

There\u2019ll also be a chance to discover a century of Liverpool on film through amazing archive footage and take a fascinating tour of Toxteth Park Cemetery\u2019s hidden histories.<\/p>\n

Ian Skillicorn, who founded the festival in 2017, says one of the beauties of Smithdown Litfest is it has something to appeal to everyone, and this year is no different.<\/p>\n

\"SmithdownMichael Palin
\nCredit: John Swannell
\nHe said:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to always get a balance of events \u2013 some people will come to everything, some people will just come to one thing, and I think that\u2019s what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our ninth year and now we\u2019ve got a track record, we can prove to guests that they\u2019ll have a good time, they\u2019ll be looked after and they\u2019ll get a great receptive audience if they come here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a wish list and it might be a bit ambitious going after someone like Michael Palin but I\u2019m amazed every year that we seem to keep upping the ante.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the festival is so popular, and I think we do a good job, the word is getting out there so we\u2019re like the little festival with a big impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur speakers may sometimes have been to Liverpool before to give a talk but we\u2019re bringing household names right into the heart of the community. They\u2019re not in the city centre, they\u2019re where people live and work and I think that\u2019s the special thing about Litfest.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s programme is spread across various venues around the Smithdown area \u2013 Michael Palin is at Ullet Road Unitarian Church, which has previously hosted Chris Tarrant and Vera author Anne Cleeves.<\/p>\n

The Bront\u00ebs in Bricks and Mortar is at Sefton Park Palm House (Sept 28) and Keegan: The Man Who Was King with author and journalist Anthony Quinn is at St Bridget and St Thomas Church on Bagot Street (Sept 25).<\/p>\n

The afternoon Toxteth Park Cemetery Walking Tour on Saturday September 27 will be followed by a talk with historical fiction author JP Maxwell at <\/strong>Sips and Stories coffee shop on Smithdown Road, and on the same evening Liverpool Memories: A Century of Liverpool on Film will be shown at Mossley Hill Church on Rose Lane.<\/p>\n

That screening came about after Ian found a long-forgotten DVD in his parents\u2019 loft.<\/p>\n

\"SmithdownAnthony Quinn
\nCredit: Mark Vessey
\nHe explains:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe DVD showed old film footage of Liverpool, with clips of life in the city going back to the Victorian age, including WWI, WWII, and Sefton Park in the 1930s, up to the Garden Festival and the Punch & Judy in Williamson Square in the \u201880s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really fascinating so I researched and found the guy who did it was an amateur filmmaker and archivist called Angus Tilston. He has sadly died now, but his daughter has a Facebook page keeping his memory alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI got in touch with her and said I\u2019d like to do an event showcasing some of her dad\u2019s films. She still has the copyright so she sent me a digitized copy and together we\u2019ve come up with a programme.<\/p>\n

Smithdown Litfest runs from September 25 to 28 and Ian says there\u2019s a waiting list via Eventbrite for Michael Palin with other tickets selling out faster than ever before.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year the festival is supported by the Research Institute for Literature and Cultural History, Faculty of Arts, Professional and Social Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, and Liverpool City Council.<\/p>\n

Profits from ticket sales will be donated to Smithdown in Bloom <\/strong>and <\/strong>funds used to buy more planters and plants, to be placed along Smithdown Road and neighbouring streets.<\/p>\n

Find out more about Smithdown Litfest here<\/a>.
\nFind all the latest Liverpool news here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Find out what\u2019s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide.\u00a0
\nFrom the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North \u2013 visit\u00a0thenorthernguide.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram\u00a0HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n