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Manchester Pride: Who, what where and when
by Conrad Astley25/ 8/2005
THREE days of non-stop partying in aid of a worthy cause will
take place as Manchester Pride's big weekend takes to the
streets.
The 10-day long festivities might have kicked off with last week's
Pride Games and Pink Picnic, but that was just a warm-up for the
revelry beginning tonight (Friday).
Streets around the gay village will be transformed into a huge
venue, which party-goers will be able to enter by buying a ticket -
providing funds for HIV and gay charities.
Clubs and bars along Canal Street will be organising special events
to make it a weekend to remember, while the AXM main stage off
Sackville Street will play host to acts including Graham Norton,
Rowetta, Four Poofs and a Piano from Friday Night with Jonathan
Ross, The Cheeky Girls, and Jenny Frost from Atomic Kitten.
Gaydar Radio is the event's official station, broadcasting from its
stage on the site. The station will also set up rides such as the
bucking bronco, bungee run and barfly.
One of the weekend's biggest draws has always been the parade, and
this year promises to be no exception, as it is expected to be
watched by a crowd of over 200,000.
It is likely to be an even more colourful parade than usual, with a
huge number of entries for floats having been made by individuals,
community groups, organisations and businesses across the
country.
The highlight promises to be Manchester Pride and Manchester
Council's combined entry, called the Frill of the Frock - a 40ft
high frock acting as a moving stage for 100 dancers.
The parade will set off from Corporation Street at 2pm on Saturday,
travelling down Cross Street, Princess Street and into the village
via Portland Street. It will then travel along Whitworth Street
before coming to a stop at London Road.
Another of this year's big events will be a mass celebration in
support of the Civil Partnerships Act - allowing same-sex couples
to get the same legal rights as married couples when it becomes law
in December.
Couples will be able to sign a pink book to pre-register for a
civil partnership, and politicians and campaigners who were
involved in changing the law will make speeches.
The event follows on from last year's joint blessing of couples by
the Metropolitan Community Church in support of civil partnerships,
and they are being invited to come back to announce their first
anniversary.
The celebration, held immediately after Saturday's parade at 7pm in
Sackville Park will also feature entertainment from musicians,
comedians and DJs. The arena around Canal Street will also feature
markets to buy craft items and clothes, and the Lifestyle Expo area
will be able to provide advice about matters from sports clubs to
health and safety, and even holistic therapy.
A women's space, set up in Sackville Park on Sunday, will provide
entertainment such as music, poetry and comedy.
Tickets, available from manchesterpride.com, provide access to the
festival arena, but certain clubs may also charge an entrance fee
on selected nights.
SALFORD Quays' Red Cinema is showing a film
during every day of the festival.
This weekend's offerings include A Home at the End of the World,
shown on Friday. The film, written by the Pulitzer Prize-winning
author of The Hours, Michael Cunningham, follows 12 years in the
lives of two friends.
The story follows them from Cleveland, Ohio, to New York City, as
the mis-matched pair struggle through a series of loves and losses,
before eventually coming to terms with their relationship.
Tarnation, shown on Saturday, begins when the central character
learns his schizophrenic mother has overdosed on her medication,
before having to confront his family history.
DEBS, shown on Sunday, is about four girls recruited as secret
agents by the US government, because of their unique ability to
lie, cheat and fight. The girls must capture deadly crime vixen
Lucy Diamond, but things go wrong when the team's star player falls
in love with her.
And Cockles and Muscles, shown on Monday, is about passions being
aroused during a French family's holiday.
All films are shown at 8.30pm. Call 0161 872 1707 to book
tickets.
WITH Graham Norton and Four Poofs and a Piano appearing
headlining this weekend's Pride event, organisers promise it will
be a weekend to remember.
Norton, whose irreverent brand of humour has made his chat show a
firm favourite since the late 90s, is acting as host on the AXM
main stage, set up just off Sackville Street.
He will be introducing artists including Four Poofs and a Piano,
well known for their appearances as the house band on the BBC hit
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
Their jaunty reworkings of songs associated with the stars guests
such as David Bowie, Madonna and Quentin Tarantino have become a
feature of the show, but the barbershop ensemble, originally formed
to play at Soho's Groucho Club, have had other successes.
Their Never Mind the Botox show won rave reviews when it played to
sell-out audiences at last year's Edinburgh Festival, and they even
had a stab at the Christmas number one slot in 2003.
Although Camp Up Your Christmas could not compete with Gary Jules'
cover of Mad World, it did manage to outsell Blue and Atomic
Kitten's efforts.
X-Factor favourite Rowetta will also be performing over the
weekend, playing songs from her forthcoming debut album - featuring
her versions of Over the Rainbow and Oasis's Stop Crying Your Heart
Out.
The singer first found fame when she toured with the Happy Mondays
and was featured on their Pills, Thrills and Bellyaches album, but
she had previously worked with artists including Simply Red, Billy
Ocean and Inner City.
After the Happy Mondays split, she took a break from music to spend
time with her children, before appearing as herself in Michael
Winterbottom's Factory Records film 24 Hour Party People, and began
recording again.
But as well as other more mainstream acts, like Atomic Kitten's
Jenny Frost and Romanian europop twins The Cheeky Girls, the
event's organisers have also booked artists including Rosie Lugosi
the Vampire Queen.
A former singer with 80s goth band The March Violets, she now
appears as a performance poet, and entertains crowds with her
bizarre versions of well-known tunes ranging from Elvis to The
Sound of Music to Mozart.
Her label-mate on Switchflicker Records, Chloe Poems - claimed to
be Britain's first gay socialist transvestite poet - will also be
appearing. The Liverpool-born drag artist has courted controversy
in the past by performing poems like Are We Myra Hindley at
Manchester's Mardi Gras festival, and described the gay scene as
"fascist" after being physically attacked in the village.
Meanwhile, the event organisers have confirmed slots from Basement
Jaxx vocalist Vula, Friday Hill featuring Kenzie from BlaZin'
Squad, Leee J from Imagination and Urban Cookie Collective.
Other acts playing over the Pride festival weekend will include
Rachel McFarlane, singer of the dance hit Take Me To The Clouds
Above, Q-Boy, Mz Fonataine, Sibling, Jonathan Mayer, Kelly Wilde,
Jennifer John, Natalie Powers, Geek Girl, Hazel Dean and
D:Rail.
A HISTORY tour with a difference offers a chance to see just how
much attitudes have changed over the years.
The
lesbian and gay heritage trail provides a
fascinating insight into the experiences of gay men and lesbians
living around Manchester over the last two centuries.
It was created by Jonathan Schofield to coincide with the
Manchester EuroPride event in 2003, but the two-hour trail proved
so popular organisers chose to continue operating it
year-round.
The trail is normally held on the last Sunday of every month, but
extra dates have been put on during this year's Pride
festivities.
Tour guide Jon Atkin will recount police reports describing
"disgraceful proceedings" at a city centre venue where nearly half
the occupants were men dressed as women.
Characters such as Edward Carpenter and Quentin Crisp feature in
the trail, and it will also describe how the Campaign for
Homosexual Equality was founded.
The trail will set off at 11.30am on Saturday, 12.30pm on
Sunday and 6pm on Monday. Call 0161 226 6410 to book.
THE Pride weekend will come to a poignant close with a mass
candlelit vigil for the millions of victims who have died from
HIV.
Poems will be read and music played in honour of those killed by
the virus, while speeches will be made highlighting the stigma and
discrimination still faced by HIV positive people.
The vigil, which has been described as the spiritual heart of the
Pride weekend, is the largest event of its kind in Europe and
serves as an emotional reminder of the worthwhile causes which lie
behind the festivities.
However, the event promises to carry an even deeper meaning this
year, as it will mark the 20th anniversary of the first HIV
diagnosis in Manchester.
The George House Trust HIV charity, one of the groups staging the
vigil, says six people become infected with the virus every minute
and one in every 150 people on the planet is now HIV
positive.
Chief executive Michelle Reid said: "Although much has been
achieved over the past 20 years, we have lost too many people to
HIV.
"The HIV candlelit vigil gives us a chance to remember those people
who are no longer with us, celebrate the lives of those who are
living with HIV today, and pledge our support to continuing to
fight this disease on a local, national and international
level."
The vigil takes place at Sackville Park at 9pm on
Monday.
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