Dyke March London

Date: Saturday 31 March 2012

What is Dyke March London?

Dyke March London is about dykes. We support dyke visibility and celebrate our love and passion for women and all dykes. Dyke March London is for everyone: dykes, queers, bisexuals, transwomen, genderqueers and allies. This is a grassroots, non-commercial, anti-racist, community-centred, accessible, inclusive event: we welcome all folk who want to support dykes to march with us.

Who will be speaking in Soho Square?

• Lady Phyll Opoku is the co-founder and Managing Director of UK Black Pride.
• Kirsten Hearn is a prominent disability campaigner; she is the chair of Inclusion London, the Deaf and Disabled People’s organisations community interest company, a non executive member of the Office for Disability Issues Disability Delivery board and provides disability equality advice to the very heart of government as a member of Equality 2025, the UK Advisory Network on Disability Equality.
• Paris Lees is founding editor of META magazine, a digital magazine by, about and for trans and genderqueer people. She is Project Manager of TransMediaWatch and writes for the BBC, Guardian, DIVA, Gaytimes and Attitude.
• Shi tou is an artist, painter, film-maker and one of China’s most prominent lesbian activists. She was the first lesbian to come out on national Chinese television and co-founded and organises the Beijing Queer Film Festival.
• Clare B Dimyon is a solidarity LGBT activist who received an MBE in 2010 for her work supporting LGBT people in Central & Eastern Europe as they engage with homophobia in the particular circumstances of the post Soviet era. Clare is also a Lesbian Strength organiser, organising Oxford’s Lesbian Strength parade in 1986.

Will Dyke March London be accessible?

We are aiming for the march to be as accessible as possible and a safe space for people with disabilities and mobility issues. We've consulted with LGBT disability charity Regard and our stewards have received accessibility training from them. People with disabilities or mobility issues are invited to walk at the front, to set the pace for the rest of the march. BSL signers will be available for the speeches and also during the march. 

There will be manual wheelchairs available and an accessible vehicle at the back of the march for anyone who is tired or needs a lift. An accessibilty leaflet will be available, this will include a list of accessible toilets on the march route. The march route (http://g.co/maps/vddfv) is approximately 1.2 miles; the Met Police advise it will take around 1 hour to complete it. If you have any specific access questions, please do not hesitate to email us dykemarchuk@gmail.com. 

Are children welcome?

Dyke March London is child-friendly and welcomes queer families.

Is there a meeting point for those who'd like to march but don't know anyone (yet)?

Look out for the flowery umbrella in Soho Square, where a volunteer will be greeting and introducing people. For more details, please check the FaceBook Group or send us an email, you are welcome to make contact before the march if you are feeling shy. We want all dykes to feel welcome and would love to make new friends. 

How is Dyke March London funded?

Dyke March London is funded entirely by donations. We're currently 50% of the way to our funding goal: can you help? 

Please donate here: http://www.indiegogo.com/Dyke-March-UK.

Where do I go for more information?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/158131484294423/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/dykemarch
Email: dykemarchuk@gmail.com

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Feature by Naomi, 20 March 2012

Fringe! Festival

Planet London is proud to recommend this event as one to go to in April. Fringe! was originally set up to top up the BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival after it was reduced in size, and even though the film festival is now a week and a half, we're pleased that Fringe! is back in 2012.

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Date: 12-15 April 2012

A brief history of Fringe!

So Fringe! started last year as a queer community fightback to the funding cuts at the BFI's London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival when it slashed to less than half it's size in arts cuts carnage.

We were a small team of queer creatives, who were all gutted about the cuts to the main festival. So  working for free, with no funding and in just 8 weeks we set up and staged a 25 event DIY film festival. The festival was eclectic and playfully political  with special screenings, talks, performance and parties. In a range of venues from lovely 400 seat cinemas to pop up screening rooms in pie and mash shops - how very london! The 2011 programme is archived here: http://fringefilmfest.com/about-us/fringe-2011/whats-on-day-by-day.

None of us had any experience setting up a film festival before, so it was a crazybusy 8 weeks, with a mountain learned and only about 4 hours sleep a night. But we were surprised and thrilled when it was a heartwarmingly huge success and over 2000 people came to events across the weekend and we got lovely press in gay and mainstream media.

This year the BFI film festival was returned to it's full two weeks  and we were delighted. However we decided there was definitely still a need for DIY queer fun, and for a Fringey queer film and arts festival in London. So despite still not having a penny of funding we decided to embark on another crazy mission setting up the festival for this year. I'm delighted to say we're growing it to 40 events, pulling in some of the most exciting queer film, visual arts and performance London has to offer. I'm genuinely excited by the range of events,  Offbeat and mischievous, audience-focused and yet thought-provoking, the festival will celebrate the diversity and creativity of queer films and culture. Everyone who takes part from the programming team, to the curators and the performers are all still volunteers in it for the adventure.

 

The programme and tickets will be released on 19 March 2012.

They'll be info on the Fringe website www.fringefilmfest.com | Facebook.com/fringefest | twitter.com/fringefilmfest

The Darlings Workshop: Look back with Desire

Date: Wednesday 18 April 2012
Time: 11am-1pm

Since the Drill Hall was taken over by Outhouse, we've been on the edge of our seats wondering what would become of our much-loved Drill Hall Darlings - in the past year we've enjoyed a number of their productions including Who Knew and The Drill Hall Darlings Panto. We're happy to announce that The Darlings are still very much around, and are being supported by Outhouse (yay!)

The Darlings are starting out the year with a new workshop, and they're opening the doors to new members.

The next workshop is on Wednesday 18 April - so if you've always secretly wanted to be a Darling, or you just like being on stage, why not pop along and see if there is a home for you with the Darlings.

Sign up to the event here.

Keep an eye on Planet London for more news from the Darlings during 2012 and beyond!

Call for Submissions - Queer Film Festival

Bar Wotever are putting together a film festival to be shown at Bar Wotever on Tuesday 3 July 2012.

If you have a film between 3 and 15 minutes long in any style or genre with a queer theme then why not submit it today?

All submissions and any questions should be sent through to Theresa and Ingo at woteverfilm@gmail.com