Weymouth & Portland Pride have announced their line up & JLS singer Aston Merrygold is headlining their main stage!
Its Official – The very first Weymouth & Portland Pride has launched over the Easter weekend and the mainstage line up has been announced!!
Former JLS band member Aston Merrygold, will headline the mainstage on Saturday night. Aston is currently enjoying a solo career and about to release a new album. He will be supported by 2018 XFactor sensation, boy band Misunderstood who were mentored on the show by Robbie Williams .
The exciting line up for the mainstage also includes 90s dance acts Booty Luv & Big Brovaz, Abba Revival and from BBC1s All Together Now, The Sundaes as well as a host of cabaret acts and tribute bands including Vicki Vivacious and A Touch of LittleMix!
Weymouth & Portland Pride #PrideByTheSeaside will be a 3 day Festival and will take place over the weekend of July 26th-28th 2019 at Radipole Park Weymouth and promises to be a family friendly celebration for everyone to enjoy.
The Pride weekend of festivities will kick off on Friday afternoon with an event supported by The Dorset Echo – The Family fun night will include an Open-Air Cinema, face painting, glitter, popcorn and candy floss!
On Saturday 27th July the vibrant Pride Parade sponsored by Wessex FM will start at Weymouth College and travel down the esplanade towards the Pavilion at 10.45am.
The Pride Festival gates will open at Radipole Park at 12pm for a jam packed day and evening full of live music, cabaret acts & DJ sets on the main stage. There will also be a Silent Disco, Children’s entertainment, food stalls and bars.
Sunday 28th will be another packed day of entertainment with ‘Pride in the Park’ – festival goers will be able to enjoy a second day of music and entertainment from local musicians DJs and performers.
The Sunday mainstage entertainment and festival will end at 7.30 pm ready for Fireworks on Weymouth Beach to bring the weekend of entertainment to a close
In addition to the Festival and Parade, the Pride team are working with businesses to create pop up Pride events across the town. If you purchase a wristband for Weymouth & Portland Pride you will also be able to take advantage of a variety of special offers across the town this summer.
The driving force behind the Weymouth & Portland Pride event and Chair of their committee is local business man Jamie Crage, owner of The Closet nightclub.
Jamie said:
“We are so excited to be bringing the very first Pride to Weymouth and also to get Weymouth on the National Pride Calendar. The Weymouth & Portland Pride committee were only formed in October 2018, a small group of volunteers have been working tirelessly to create an event for everyone to enjoy, without their dedication and commitment Pride wouldn’t happen. We still have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we know with the continued support from the whole community we can achieve our vision to celebrate inclusion and diversity together with an amazing Pride event and create a legacy, not just for the LGBT community, but for the whole of Weymouth & Portland”
Weymouth College have partnered with The Closet to produce and deliver this amazing weekend of events.
Julia Cohen, Head of External Partnerships at Weymouth College and Vice Chair of Weymouth & Portland Pride said:
“Weymouth College are honored to be supporting Weymouth and Portland Pride. For us, as an all-inclusive post 16 education provider, we feel that we have a duty to lead by example with support for the promotion of Equality and Diversity across all sectors, we also fully embrace a successful annual Pride event in Weymouth that will support the strengthening of our local economy. Feedback and support from the local business community has been outstanding
The event is also creating so many opportunities for our students, the future workforce, they are gaining realistic work experience and will be able to showcase their skills to the local and wider community and of course to potential employers.
The students are so excited to be involved in Pride, they have created their own ‘Pride committee’ to plan and raise funds. This week we have had some fantastic news, Weymouth Sealife will be the sponsor for their Pride By The Seaside themed Parade entry!”
Weymouth and Portland Pride CIC is a not for profit organisation. The event is relying on volunteer support and business sponsorship to make it a success.
The Pride team would like to thank everyone that has volunteered and the following businesses for their sponsorship and kind pledges of support so far:
Weymouth BID, ASM, Sealife, Weyline Taxis, DrinkInc, Fish & Fritz, Shalim’s Balti House, Brunches, MSW Landscaping, Unity Dorset, PXL Tree Media, Marquee Elegance, First Buses, HSBC, 02, Lilly’s Housing Project, Slug & Lettuce, ATJ Design, UBC, WHGLA.
If you would like to be involved in Weymouth & Portland Pride there are still numerous opportunities:
Business sponsorship, Parade entries, Sunday main stage performances, Community tent performances and speakers, food, trade, craft & charity stalls and a host of volunteering opportunities.
To buy wristbands and find out more about Weymouth & Portland Pride – visit www.weymouth-pride.co.uk
To contact the Pride team and for all enquiries www.weymouth-pride.co.uk/contact-us/
or email getintouch@weymouth-pride.co.uk
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