CELEBRATING diversity, bringing communities together and championing those who work hard to help us all are the driving forces behind our Streets Ahead campaign.

This month we are continuing our search for the local heroes who make a difference as the closing date for entries to our annual awards presentation draws near.

To nominate yourself or someone else for a Streets Ahead award, visit the dedicated awards website at newsquestscotlandevents.com/streetsahead The closing date for nominations is April 26.

For more information please email holly.rutherford@heraldandtimes.co.uk or call 0141 302 6019.

We will be awarding eight prizes, including an overall winner, to be announced at a special ceremony on June 18.

There will be trophies for the best garden, best clean-up campaign, best environmental initiative, best community garden, best community initiative and best business initiative, plus a schools award. The overall winner will be chosen from the winners of all the other categories.

The Evening Times Streets Ahead campaign, in partnership with Glasgow City Council, City Charitable Trust and City Building, is now in its eighth year.

We will be highlighting some previous winners tomorrow and Friday, to inspire you to share your stories of great local initiatives.

Today, we are catching up with another inspirational Streets Ahead supporter, the Southside Fringe Festival, as it reveals its 2019 launch weekend programme.

The community extravaganza on Saturday, May 11, has been organised by Southside Fringe in collaboration with Shawlands Business Improvement District and Baldy Bane Theatre Company.

“Our aim is to deliver a community showcase celebrating the wealth of diversity in the south side - diversity of creativity and talent, diversity in the people who call the area home and diversity in the plethora of local independent businesses, venues and community initiatives which can be explored and enjoyed here,” explains festival director Corinna Currie.

The festival ran a photography competition recently, with the winning image gaining pride of place on the cover of the 2019 programme. Stefan Krajcik’s fantastic view of Battlefield from the Old Victoria Hospital took the honours.

The festival’s opening weekend begins with a community procession involving local groups, schools, businesses and acts which will end at the newly finished square outside Langside Halls.

“We’d love to hear from people who would like to get involved in the procession,” says Corinna. “The procession will kick off an afternoon of quality live entertainment from local schools and some of the acts in the 2019 Southside Fringe Festival programme.

“Wonderfully, Alan Reid, writer of the well-kent and well-loved Glasgow song The Dear Green Place will be working with the school pupils and performing the song with them on the day.”

Other highlights include headliners Tom McGuire and the Brassholes on stage, walkabout fun from Creative Martyrs and the Fringe Enforcers, plenty of family fun including crafts from Print Clan and performance from Jaggy Nettles, and stalls showcasing the best of Shawlands businesses.

Three southside primary schools - Shawlands, St Albert’s and Langside – are also taking part in the launch weekend.

“The pupils have been working hard to design vibrant and colourful pieces of art for the procession,” says Corinna. “The children participating come from all different backgrounds. Their artwork will encompass aspects of their diversity but also what unites them in calling the south side their home.”

The pupils have also been working with Baldy Bane Theatre Company on a musical piece they will perform at the square at Langside Halls with Alan Reid. Big Noise Govanhill hope to kickstart this prestigious event at the square after the arrival of the procession. Celebrations will continue at the square with an outdoor ceilidh with the Glasgow Folk Music Workshop on Sunday, May 12.

The 350 businesses of Shawlands will be represented at the Fiesta by My Shawlands, the business improvement district management team behind local improvements.

Corinna adds: “It’s incredibly exciting to be celebrating the opening of the 2019 festival by showcasing the new square at the heart of the south side.

“We’re hoping it will make people think about how this fantastic civic space can be used by the community to showcase the area and wealth of talent within.

“The south side is well worth a visit.”

To find out more about the Southside Fringe Festival’s Fiesta opening weekend, visit the event page on Facebook. The Festival runs from May 10 to 26 and highlights of the programme include comedian Scott Cappuro at the Glad Café on May 10, family friendly laughs from Dr Jones Funny Bones at the Cellar on May 18 and Sound Collective Scotland at Pollokshields Burgh Halls on May 12.

Don't forget to enter the 2019 Streets Ahead awards - visit newsquestscotlandevents.com/streetsahead The closing date for nominations is April 26.