WARWICKSHIRE Pride organisers say the show must go on and are taking their festival digital this year.
The annual event is usually held in Leamington’s Pump Room Garden’s but due to the pandemic has been put on hold.
The festival will instead be streamed via Facebook, Twitter and Youtube on Saturday August 22 with performances and entertainment, talks, workshops, webinars and educational activities.
Performers include Leamington drag queen Sassi Afrika, gay popstar Feryl, local country singer Emma Jane Norman, and the UK’s first Muslim drag queen Asifa Lahore.
Webinars about hate crime and transgender rights will take place, and for the first time every MP and each council in Warwickshire is taking part with messages of support for Pride and the LGBT community.
Organisers say they hope the event will help Warwickshire LGBT people to stay connected throughout the pandemic.
Chair of trustees Daniel Browne said: “Warwickshire Pride is taking place this year, albeit in a very different format. We were devastated to cancel this year’s Pride when the pandemic hit, but thanks to the power of technology and the support of many performers and speakers, we’ve been able to programme an online Pride to ensure we are still able to celebrate who we are.
“It is a way of bringing the community together to entertain and support. As a charity we’ve been hit hard by the pandemic. All of our sponsors withdrew their support, funding was withdrawn and all of our fundraising events for the summer had to be cancelled. We hope that everyone who tunes in to enjoy our free online Pride event feels able to donate to us so that we can continue our sometimes life-saving support services throughout the year.
“We encourage everyone to tune in and join in. You don’t have to be LGBT to attend Pride and support our community.”
Visit www.warwickshirepride.co.uk for more information.
