Matthew shares this latest news from Isle of Wight Pride. Ed
Members of the Pride Committee engaged with a large number of Island people across the last weekend at two big events.
The First event, held at Coburgs in Ryde, saw a packed venue play host to various Island and mainland talents.
There were rainbow balloons, rainbow glitter beards and an energetic and fun-packed atmosphere which left a lasting impression on those who attended.
Peter Andrew, who performed in his role as “Proud Mary” said,
“The passion and energy in the room made my job a whole lot easier. Ive had some amazing feedback and it was great to see everyone getting into the spirit and supporting what is definitely going to be one of the “go-to” events of 2017.”
Next stop Quay Arts
The event at Coburgs finished at 2am and the next event started at 9am at Quay Arts in Newport, meaning a lack of sleep for those involved!
The Quay arts event enabled people of all ages (and notably species) to attend. Various Primary and secondary schools came along to show support for IWPride and showed a real desire to get involved in the event.
An amazing drawing was presented to us by Lola Parsons (Aged 8) who was delighted to draw what Pride means to her.
Click on image to see larger version
We were visited by numerous Dogs during the day and this has given inspiration to a future Pride Pet event, – watch this space.
Engaged over 400 people
In all, well over 400 people engaged with IWPride in one way or another over the weekend. This includes people who want to get involved in sponsorship as well as people who volunteered their skills.
Treasurer of IWPride, John Brownscombe (pictured at the top), said,
“We are thankful to those organisations who showed a desire to support IWPride and we look forward to working with you all.
“If any organisations feel that they can bring something to Pride, whether that is Money, or other forms of donations, we would be willing to talk further to you and the benefit that this could bring to your organisation.”
Over £1,200 donated
The events also enabled people to donate Chairman, Joe Plumb (pictured far right above), said,
“We are overwhelmed by the support shown this weekend, not just from the LGBTQ community, but also the wider Island community who wanted to show their solidarity. We raised over £1,200 this weekend which will be vital to helping ensure we put on a safe, exciting event for the Island on Saturday 15th July in Ryde.
“Whilst we are hopeful that many visitors will come to the Island for the event, we also want to encourage Islanders to be able to participate and feel that they are an important part of Pride.
“I want to thank all those who donated their time or skills this weekend to help with our Launch and look forward to working with many more eager people over the coming months with lots more events being planned prior to our main event.”
Stay in touch
Please visit our Website and sign up to our mailing list, or follow us on Twitter – @IWPride or Facebook.
