The Committee for Isle of Wight Pride has been announced, alongside details of the launch event taking place next month.
Theatre director and actor, Joe Plumb, takes the position of Chair; community hero, Zoe Thompson, takes on Vice Chair; environmental and landscape consultant, John Brownscombe, will be Treasurer and Yve White, Secretary.
Isle of Wight Pride takes place on 15th July, the first of its kind on the Island and joins over 80 other Pride events confirmed in the UK for 2017.
The Launch Party
The Launch Party will take place at Coburgs in Ryde on Friday 10th February from 7pm.
This inclusive event is open to all and promises to the a great evening with a whole host of different performances, including live music, drag and cabaret.
Tickets for the launch party are £5 payable on the door and all the money raised will go towards Isle of Wight Pride.
A very special event
Joe said,
“I am very excited about Pride coming to the Isle of Wight and the opportunity to help facilitate what I am sure will be a very special event. I am lucky enough to have been born at a time of growing acceptance for the LGBTQ community but I do have a strong understanding of the struggles that led to this point.
“Pride events are a strong reminder to those who have lived through criminalisation, Section 28, and the prejudice and abuse felt by so many. There is still a lot of work to do internationally as well as making equality in law a reality in this country.
“It can also be said that the Isle of Wight lags behind the mainland in support and visibility for the LGBTQ community. My vision for IWPride is for it to be an opportunity for us to take pride in how far we have come, but to also highlight that there is still work to be done.”
Your responses will steer the main event
Joe went on to say,
“We have had over 1,000 responses to the questionnaire and we will be sharing the results at our launch event. From the results it is clear that Islanders want an inclusive, family friendly, all day event, with a parade.
“We have set up working parties who are currently looking into how we can make these ideas a reality. There is a lot of support for this event and I look forward welcoming everyone to Ryde for the first Isle of Wight Pride.”
Find out more about Pride
The launch event is a perfect opportunity to find out more about how you can be involved in Isle of Wight Pride. Volunteers are going to be what helps make the July event a success.
There’ll be an opportunity to network from 7pm and then join the party to celebrate the launch of Isle of Wight Pride!
The Facebook event page will be updated with more detail over the coming weeks.
Get involved
Members of the committee will be available and talking about the exciting plans for the July event.
There’ll also be an opportunity for you to get involved, whether you are a business wanting to sponsor Pride, whether you want to set up an information stall or sell items at Pride, or if you are a member of the community who wants to volunteer their expertise and experience.
Like and follow the Isle of Wight Pride Facebook page to stay up to date with events.
