A charity will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a special entertainment event this summer.
Pride in North Cumbria, a charity for LGBTQ+ youth, has been operating for 20 consecutive years this year, and to celebrate there will be an afternoon and evening of entertainment at The Brickyard in Carlisle on July 1, 2023.
The charity has humble beginnings, working out of a small unit on Fisher Street in the city, and now operating out of its ‘LGBThq’ on Victoria Place in the city centre, going from a handful of visitors to hosting a larger number of regular visitors who come in for everything from a cup of tea to arts and craft activities.
The charity also organises events for young people and has set up excursions to larger queer events such as Manchester Pride and the Dumfries and Galloway Queerier music night across the border two years ago.
Plans were originally going to see Pride in North Cumbria stage a march through the streets of Carlisle on the day, but this will be postponed to next year to allow more time to plan for a carnival-style parade.
The event in the afternoon is geared towards a family-friendly audience, and is open to anyone aged 14 or up, with those under 16 requiring parental accompaniment.
Musicians and other stage entertainers will be performing throughout the afternoon from 2pm to 5pm.
After a brief closure, the entertainment continues after 8pm, during which it is only those aged 18 or over that can enter, as the entertainment will be geared towards a more adult audience.
Such entertainment is being arranged but will feature a range of queer artists, musicians, performers, and comedy acts, and is open to all people 18 or over.
The event will be ticketed through The Brickyard, but prices will be confirmed later and are not on general sale yet.
Pam Eland, chair of the charity, said: “It’s the 20th anniversary of supporting LGBTQ+ people.
“The event is called It’s a Queer Do, with the tagline accompanying it being Not Everyone Likes Kylie.”
Pam said this tagline comes from there being frustration in the queer community of a lack of broader queer expression outside of the more corporate-friendly pride events, organised annually throughout the UK.
Such events feature predominantly mainstream entertainment, sometimes – and notably – the music of Kylie Minogue, and stereotypically queer musical icons like Madonna and Lady Gaga.
This event is not affiliated with Pride, but purely about celebrating the work of PiNC and the people it serves.
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