Historic market town of Totnes in Devon to host sixth Totnes Pride on Saturday, September 1, 2018.
SOCIAL enterprise Proud2Be will be organising a whole host of events, to bring the wide and varied West Country LGBT+ communities together with their allies, to celebrate diversity in the town with the theme Marsha Was Her Name.
Proud2Be co-founders Jae and Max Price explain the meaning behind the theme: “Marsha P. Johnson is an important figure in LGBT+ history. Too often the actions of Marsha and those like her are ignored, erased and hidden; not just from what we are taught at school but in how our history is spoken about, sometimes from even within our communities. It’s for this reason that we are really excited to have the opportunity to honour Marsha and those like her at this year’s Totnes Pride.
“Marsha’s legacy reminds us of what Pride is truly about. It is a celebration of who we are. It is a reminder of where we have come from. It is a statement of where we are going. Marsha often wore flowers in her hair, so this year we invite everyone to hold, wear and/or decorate themselves in flowers!’
This year’s special guests are human rights activist, feminist and founder of African Rainbow Family Aderonke Apata and trans campaigners, film makers (My Genderation) Fox and Owl.
The day starts at 10.45am outside The Dartmouth Inn with a special performance from Spectrum Choir along with opening speeches. The award-winning Samba ROC Band, will then lead a procession up Fore Street and High Street to Totnes Civic Hall at 11.30am.
Road closures will be in place between 10.30am – 1pm at Ticklemore Street and from the bottom of Fore Street up to where the High Street meets Castle Street.
Community bus service Bob the Bus will be running a park and ride service from 10am at King Edward VI Community College (KEVICC) and will also be transporting wheelchair users and those with mobility issues up the procession at 11.15am.
From midday at the Civic Hall, visitors will be able to enjoy workshops, talks and live music, community stalls, Dot’s Cafe, a youth space and a variety of family-friendly activities including art and craft, slime making, face painting and much more.
From 3:00pm at Pie Street, there will be a panel discussion where local and national activists will discuss the theme: Can We Be Proud of Pride?.
Registered British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters will be present to interpret the opening speeches and the panel discussion.
The fun will continues into the evening at the Totnes Pride After Party from 7.00pm at Totnes Civic Hall, which will be hosted by The Ambiguous A and feature live music from popular Disco Funk band Golddust and DJ sets from Mamma Boogie Oogie, Rhi Rhi Rhythm and Madame Souza.
Due to a successful bid to People’s Health Trust using money raised by HealthContact through The Health Lottery, entry to all daytime events will be free.
Tickets to the After Party are £10.00 (16 and over) and are available to purchase online and at the Totnes Pride day event.
To mark the event Totnes Town Council will once again, raise the rainbow flag over Totnes Civic Hall. The flag raising ceremony will take place on Monday, August 27 at 6.30pm, followed by a Totnes LGBT+ History Tour led by local writer, historian and publisher Bob Mann.
Inspired by their own experiences of bullying, discrimination and shame – identical twins Jae & Max Price set up Proud2Be in 2011 when they recorded the first Proud2Be video. Since then various public figures and members of the public have contributed to the campaign.
As well as campaigning and hosting Totnes Pride, Proud2Be facilitates various groups and events, including a social group, activity days, fundraising discos and much more. In 2014 Proud2Be launched its youth project which now includes a youth group and a counselling and mentoring service.
Proud2Be delivers workshops to school students and awareness training to organisations around the UK.
Talking about this year’s event, Proud2Be co-founder Max said: “The Pride Action Group have been working tirelessly for the past year to ensure that Totnes Pride continues to be an event that we can all be proud of. For us, Pride is both a celebration and a protest and we invite everyone to come and join us for the sixth Pride in the town.”
Proud2Be need volunteers to help out on the big day.
If you would like to get involved, email Jules and Dot at volunteer@proud2be.co.uk.
Proud2Be will also be encouraging local businesses and residents to show their support by displaying rainbow flags during the week of Pride. These are available to buy for £7 from Proud2Be.
For more information about Totnes Pride or to buy an After-Party ticket, click here:
Or email: info@proud2be.co.uk
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