Brighton Pride is even bigger this year as Preston Park extends to 10pm #FreedomToLive

Brighton Pride is going even bigger this year with extended park hours and a pedestrianised Kemp Town street party. 

Get your tickets now!

The theme for this year's parade, which begins at 11am along the sea front up to Preston Park, is #FreedomToLive.


As always the Preston park event is the flagship of Brighton Pride, and this year there are a few changes to the programme, compared to last year, including the inclusion of the Q Alternative Stage featuring Republica and Lucy Spraggan.

Confirmed for the main stage are: the ever handsome boy band Blue, Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt, the poptastic Neon Jungle, disco legend Martha Wash and the divine singer songwriter Heather Peace. 

Full map available at
www.brighton-pride.org/brighton_pride_map_2014.php

Alongside these great music acts, there are a number of party & community tents in the park including The Wild Fruit Dance Tent, Legends Cabaret tent, Girls Dance big tent, Calabash Tent, Men's Area / Bears Tent, Funfair, the Literature tent, Community Village with over 20 community stalls along side Lunch Positive cafe, Mind Out and the new Access tent delivered by the Community safety forum, all combining to deliver a proud day out like no other.  

All the information about the Village Party is available here. With a massive area around St James Street closed off to cars, what safer, more affordable way is there to enjoy Brighton Pride after the parade?

For the first time ever, Brighton and Hove Council have allowed the Pride Village Party to extend to the seafront road. Marine Parade will be closed to traffic for the event, creating a larger Pride Village Party for everyone to enjoy.

The Pride Village Party* takes place from 6pm on Saturday 2nd August and extends until 12.30am after the Preston Park festival.

Pledge bands or residents access bands will be required for entry to secure zone during village party hours and to purchase alcohol in venues and outlets on Saturday 2nd August 4pm - 12.30am and Sunday 3rd August 2pm - 8pm.

*No Alcohol can be brought into the secure zone during Village party hours.

Our advice - get your tickets in advance to get the quickest entry into the Park.

Read our review of last year & check out our photos to help plan your own personal schedule

FOLLOWING THE RAINBOW BRICK ROAD: Heather Peace unveils Europe’s first rainbow crossing in Brighton for LGBT Pride Month

(reposted from Planet Brighton)

Madeira Drive in Brighton was given a bold makeover this morning as street artwork representing Europe’s first official ‘rainbow crossing’ was unveiled to celebrate the release of We Can Change, a new song celebrating LGBT Pride month and championing equal rights by actress, musician and local resident, Heather Peace.

Created by local artists overnight, the rainbow stretches across the road at the artists’ quarter of Madeira Drive and is expected to attract hundreds of people keen to follow the rainbow brick road for the first time in Europe.*




Over the last few years, rainbow crossings have become synonymous around the world as a celebration of diversity. The first crossing was launched in West Hollywood in 2012 by artist Martin Duvander, who said that they were a milestone for the LGBT movement: “The sheer impact and the enormous visibility of the global message they send are truly immeasurable.” Since then, official crossings have been unveiled in cities including Sydney, Melbourne and Tel Aviv, while unofficial DIY crossings have popped up in places like Moscow, Paris, Shanghai and Cambodia as marks of protest and solidarity for LGBT people.



Photographer: Michelle Robek

Says Heather Peace: “I knew there could be no better place in Europe to create a Rainbow Crossing than in my home town of Brighton. We Can Change, is my big gay anthem. It’s an empowering tribute to equality and I wanted the crossing to be a beautiful symbol to represent that during LGBT Pride month. It’s a gift from me to anyone that embraces diversity.”

Julieanne Gilburt and street artist Cassette Lord led the creation of the crossing artwork alongside a team of artists from the JAG Gallery and the Modern Gallery on Madeira Street. She said: “We’ve loved creating the rainbow crossing. It’s a beautiful message and a perfect addition to the artists’ quarter on Madeira Street. We hope everyone will come down and enjoy it.”

Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion said: “This is a great tribute to that spirit of diversity and inclusiveness embraced by our city. Brighton is such a creative, colourful place and the new rainbow crossing wonderfully reflects that. It’s a lovely and fitting addition in the run up to Pride 2014.”

Brighton & Hove City Council’s LGBT champion, Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty, said: “We love the idea of this artwork and fully support it as a celebration of our city’s lead on equalities issues. I’m proud that once again we are on the global stage for our continued stance against prejudice.”


Photographer: Michelle Robek

Heather Peace is an actress, musician and gay icon who has appeared in the top ten of the Independent On Sunday’s Pink List twice, graced the cover of DIVA Magazine more times than any other artist and headlined Sydney Mardi Gras’ Fair Day. She’s also a patron for Diversity Role Models, Manchester Pride and a supporter of The Peter Tatchell Foundation, The Albert Kennedy Trust, Womankind and Stonewall. She will perform at various Pride events this summer, including Brighton Pride before embarking on her own UK tour in October.

* Please note: Government traffic regulations mean that the ‘rainbow crossing’ artwork cannot be considered as an official pedestrian crossing.

While residents and visitors are invited to come and admire this lovely artwork, for very obvious safety reasons people should not treat it as a crossing point where pedestrians have any form of priority over vehicles.

"The Thin Line" Interview with Heather Peace

When the name Heather Peace is uttered, it always creates a flutter in the lesbian population.

Since gracing our screens in London's Burning, (probably something about a woman in uniform) and then as the highly popular Sam in BBC 2's lesbian drama Lip Service (2010-12), plus a four season stint on BBC1's Waterloo Road, Heather Peace has made waves amongst her LGBT fanbase.

However it's now time for the music as Peace is set to launch her second album The Thin Line - since her music debut in 2012 - followed by a UK tour.

Recently, Peace toured Australia including a performance at the renowned Sydney Mardi Gras, which she thoroughly enjoyed, as well as presenting the parade for the Australian TV (BBC2 equivalent) coverage.
 
Peace's decision to leave Waterloo Road, and concentrate on the second album now was driven by a desire to give the fans what they want. Following the success of the first album and the growing dedicated fan base, whom Peace credits as very "sweet, generous, respectful and the reason I get to do a job I love", she did not want to keep them hanging on too long.

And she says, it was the "right time" to give up working in Glasgow for 9 months of the year after celebrating her civil partnership in 2013.
 
The album is supported by a UK tour, which Peace is looking forward to, helped by the fact she "loves performing". There will be a number of Pride dates (York, Glasgow and "home city" Brighton) as well as a mix of Academy venues and one of her most enjoyable "incredible" venues, the Smooth Radio Waterfront event in Liverpool. Peace still enjoys the chance to support charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and the opportunity to sing a solo at a packed Royal Albert Hall in aid of the organisation is a career highlight.

In response to the obligatory Lip Service question, and her reaction to the cliff hanger ending, Peace said that she's still surprised her role in Lip Service continues to attract interest in the media and from fans (it's three years since she finished filming the final episode). In particular she's pleased to see LGBT characters become much more part of mainstream TV, with characters in the major soaps. She's proud that Lip Service paved the way for more visibility on our screens. Peace does admit she wishes there could have been some viewer-satisfying conclusion to the unduly short lived show.


The second album is a blend of the intense, evocative songs one might expect from Peace, alongside some more upbeat sounds including the anthemic, uplifting summer tune We Can Change which will be the first single off the album, chosen for its "catchy" sing-a-long-ability.

Catch Heather at Stokey Stop on Tuesday 10 June.

The new album The Thin Line and first single We Can Change are released on 9th June. Go to www.heatherpeace.com for more info, to get your hands on a copy, and for full tour updates.

By Katie 

Meet Real L Word stars Tracy Ryerson & Stamie Karakasidis live in London this November!

 
Meet Real L Word stars Tracy Ryerson & Stamie Karakasidis live in London this November. Tickets are strictly limited so get yours now and don't miss out!


Saturday 23 November 2013

Morning Session: 11am to 2pm (includes entry to the exclusive after party from 6pm)
Afternoon Session: 2.30pm to 5.30pm (includes entry to the exclusive after party from 6pm)

Link to buy tickets - www.lionheadevents.co.uk

Breaking news! Roxanne McKee from Lip Service will also be at this event. (Heather Peace is no longer attending)

Roxanne will be taking part in a live podcast for OurFifteenMinutes.com and the Photo Studio. The time of their appearance will be confirmed closer to the event.
Stand up comedian Cynthia Levine will also be joining Tracy Ryerson and Stamie Karakasidis for a set!

Straight from Los Angeles, stars of The Real L Word Tracy Ryerson and Stamie Karakasidis will be coming to London’s iconic lesbian club The Candy Bar to spend the day with fans on Saturday 23 November 2013!

Join them in our Photo Studio to have your photo taken with Tracy and Stamie by our professional photographer, ask them that question you’ve been dying to ask in the Q&A session, and get their autographs live and in person this November. And if you’re lucky you might even win a coffee date with one of these lovely ladies too!

This will be Tracy & Stamie’s only UK appearance this year! Tickets are strictly limited so act fast and buy yours now!

There is a morning and afternoon session (3 hours each) and tickets include entry, the evening after party, and an autograph from Tracy and Stamie. Tickets are £30.00.

You can also buy a raffle ticket for £5 to win an intimate coffee date with Tracy or Stamie.

Check out www.lionheadevents.co.uk for more details.