After months of planning Weymouth & Portland Pride is less than a month away and the full weekend line up has been released to coincide with International Pride Month.
The brand new and exciting Community event is being brought to the town due to a collaboration between Weymouth College & The Closet Nightclub, along with huge support from Weymouth & Portland Chamber of Commerce, Weymouth BID & the wider business community across all sectors.
Julia Cohen, Head of External Partnerships at Weymouth College, Vice Chair for WPCC and Dorset Chamber Ambassador said:
“Weymouth College are truly honored to have been asked to support this event, students will have the opportunity to showcase their talents on stage alongside national artists , we really feel this is going to be an amazing event for the town. As an all-inclusive post 16 education provider, not only do we feel that Weymouth & Portland Pride is an essential event to celebrate our LGBTQ+ community, we share the Pride ethos of the promotion of diversity and acceptance, fully embracing that we have a duty to support inclusivity and the elimination of discrimination through education within our communities”
Julia went on to explain:
“The interest and support in Weymouth & Portland Pride from the local and wider business community has been really positive & due to that, we have been able to plan a family friendly event that is set to attract a huge amount of footfall into the town to support local business and the growth of the local economy, this of course is essential for our young people to be able to secure employment post education”
Weymouth & Portland Pride have recently secured support from a multi-national company Schneider Electric, who have become the events Platinum Wristband Sponsor.
Mark Hull, Regional Director South at Schneider Electric said:
“At Schneider Electric, we truly believe in and are committed to diversity and inclusivity. We’re delighted to be supporting the first pride in Weymouth and Portland, showcasing all that’s great about the area. Marking 50 years since the Stonewall riots, the festival is a great opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to diversity and encourage more people to get involved with sustainability and engineering. Innovation and economic progress are inextricably linked to diversity and social mobility. Our goal is to give everyone the same opportunities to develop new skills and find new passions. We hope sponsoring Pride will help us achieve that goal and look forward to supporting more worthwhile causes in the area.
Jamie Crage, Chair of Pride and owner of The Closet Nightclub in Weymouth said:
“Bringing Pride to Weymouth for the first time in 2019 is very significant. 50 years ago, the first Pride Parade was held in New York to raise awareness of the challenges of acceptance the LGBTQ+ community were experiencing at the time, thankfully the world is a different place now, however, there is still a lot of work to do and we would like to show support and recognise that some minority group still face these challenges daily. Weymouth and Portland Pride is all about inclusivity, not just for the LGBTQ+ community, but for everyone. It’s very humbling to know that this event will be supporting those groups and making a difference to how they are perceived and how they feel”
When and where is Weymouth and Portland Pride?
The inaugural #PrideByTheSeaside event will be held over the weekend of 26th – 28th of July at Radipole Park in Weymouth and promises to be one of the biggest music festivals the town has seen since the 2012 Olympic celebrations.
What’s on at Weymouth and Portland Pride?
A whole host of family friendly fun and celebrations including the following:
Friday 26th July – The Pride weekend will start with a colourful walking Parade along Radipole Park Drive at 1pm, the Parade will include live music from Wessex FM, Fancy Dress Competitions and the official 50M Pride Rainbow Flag that is being transported across the country especially for #PrideByTheSeaside
The Open Air Cinema hosted by Children’s Storyteller Mama G starts at 3pm and will show three family films, Beauty & the Beast, The Greatest Showman & Grease. Other attractions include Weymouth Beach Punch & Judy, Face Painting, Glitter, Hot Dogs, Donuts, Popcorn and Candy Floss.
Saturday 27th July
On Saturday, the Radipole Park gates will open at 11am, with the first DJ act starting at 12pm, the party atmosphere will continue throughout the day and into the evening, with top class Music Performances including headliner Aston Merrygold from JLS, X Factor’s Misunderstood, All Togther Now’s The Sundaes, Booty Luv & Big Brovaz, Abba Revival, plus Cabaret Acts, Silent Disco, Children’s Fun Fair, Bungee Trampolines, Trade & Charity Stalls, Bella Ceramics Potter’s Wheel & host of Delicious Food and Drink.
Sunday 28th July
The fun starts all over again on Sunday at 12pm with another afternoon and evening of musical entertainment and performance from tribute artists Lady Gaga and Best of the Boy Bands , local bands & DJs including Weymouth College Students, The Leggomen, Stagecoach Theatre Company and Weymouth’s Summer Panto – Pirates of the Pavilion.
To draw the Pride weekend to a close, Weymouth Town Council are providing a firework display supported by Weymouth BID, Haven Littlesea and many other local Businesses.
Sponsorship to date
A successful Weymouth BID funding application initially helped shape the event and get ideas off the ground, Pride have gone on to secure sponsorship and support from across the town and wider including:
Schneider, ASM, Weyline, Shalim’s, DrinkInc, WeyPrint, PxlTree, Anton’s Kitchen, Unity Dorset, The Veterans Hub, Floral Couture, OT Technicians, Oakes Insure, Fish & Fritz, Brunches, Quayside Bar & Kitchen, Aura, Cloud Accountancy, Marquee Elegance, Somewhere Else, MSW Landscaping, AJT, rendezvous, Slug and Lettuce, Best Western, First Wessex, Lily Housing Project, Remarkable Carpets, The Duke of Cornwall, 02, Dorset Council, Weymouth Town Council, Dorset Ability Group, USB, COOP, HSBC, WGHLA.
Tickets for Weymouth & Portland Pride are strictly limited for the weekend and are available now from https://weymouth-pride.co.uk/
If you are a business & interested in supporting the event – contact julia_cohen@weymouth.ac.uk
Weymouth & Portland Pride is a CIC, a not for profit community interest company. All ticket revenue raised goes directly back into the operational and running costs of producing and delivering #PrideByTheSeaside 2019 and future events.