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Day: February 5, 2015

Registration opens for Brighton Pride LGBT Community Parade, 2015

Posted on by Besi

2015 marks 25 years of Pride in the City and this year’s event is anticipated to be one of the biggest Pride celebrations the city has ever seen.

Brighton Pride Parade

TO mark this important milestone, and in recognition of Brighton’s diverse community, the theme chosen for Pride 2015 is Carnival of Diversity.

With over 160,000 participants and spectators expected to attend, the Brighton Pride Community Parade is a celebration of every aspect of the LGBT community, its friends and its supporters.

2015’s Carnival of Diversity encompasses everything that has become iconic about the diverse, creative and open-minded community that makes Brighton famous all over the world.

The Community Parade is the spectacle of the year and a chance for you to join with others in what is the most colourful, lively, uplifting and empowering visual showcase Brighton has to offer.

The Pride Community Parade perfectly reflects the diversity of Brighton and Hove as organisations, businesses and community groups come together for a truly unique event.

Organisers believe it is essential that Pride continues to have a campaigning message, so alongside the celebrations Pride will continue to highlight the plight of LGBT communities across the globe that are criminalised and denied Freedom to Live! 

Thousands of people watch the Community Parade every year, making it the best ‘shop window’ for community groups and business to get over their message of equality, diversity and support for Brighton Pride.

Participants will be able to attend parade workshops to develop creative ideas and network with other community and business organisations.

Parade registration is now open. Register before the end of February 2015 and you will get a 10% discount.

Spaces on the parade are limited and your space needs to be paid for before you receive confirmation.

For Parade Entry Form (payment required), click here:

For any other Parade related enquiries please email:

 

 

Unwind at the Yoga Rave this weekend – but bring your own mat!

Posted on by Paul Gustafson

This weekend over 200 Yoga lovers will be able to feel the rhythm of the bass as bass lovers tune in to the rhythm of their breathing, when Cat Duval of Brighton’s Nine Lives Yoga brings a Yoga Rave to the city as part of the Brighton Yoga Festival.

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THE Yoga Rave concept combines dance music and yoga with visual effects and UV lighting. On the night music will gradually build as clubbers warm up to a yoga class with a difference, before cutting loose on the dance floor for a proper rave-up.

A team will be on hand to adorn partygoers with UV face paints, while DJ Sephira (BMSS Records) sets the tone for the initial yoga journey with a live ‘cosmic’ set.  Later, DJ Mike Nixon (Egg, The Generate Project) will play a conscious house set as the rave kicks in.

Ama Zee (Morning Gloryville Brighton, Hoxton FM) will accompany on the mic, and visual projections will be provided by Limbic Cinema Collective (Nordic Giants, See no Evil, Just Jack).

Ravers will also enjoy locally based entertainment, therapies and refreshments, including:

•      Alternative cabaret performances from Blind Pig

•      Hula hooping from Live Love Hoop

•      Therapy from Magnus the Masseur and the Holistic Health Clinic.

•      Fresh smoothies from The Cosmic Caravan

•      Raw chocolate from Lucy De Angeles.

The night will close with a chill-down group meditation.

Cat Duval, founder of Nine Lives Yoga and director of the Yoga Rave, says: “We are all super excited about bringing this event to you. We have pulled out all the stops to create a night where you can let go of your inhibitions and practice yoga en masse in a gorgeous church! What is more magic than that! Add to that raw chocolate, massage, yoga, UV and an eclectic crowd and this will lift you into another level of consciousness! Whether you’re a seasoned yogi or an old school raver, all are warmly welcome to come along and experiment with conscious partying and booze-free, drug-free Yoga Rave bliss.”

To get a flavour of what to expect, click here:

Brighton Yoga Festival

 

Event: Nine Lives Yoga Rave

Where: All Saints Church, The Drive, Hove, BN3 3QE

When: Saturday, February 7

Time: 7 p.m. – 10.30 p.m.

Cost: £17.50 including booking fee

To purchase tickets online, click here:

For information about the Brighton Yoga Festival, click here:

 

 

 

Law Society hosts twelfth Stonewall Lecture

Posted on by Besi

The Law Society is hosting the twelfth Stonewall Lecture tonight, supported by a line-up of accomplished speakers.

Law Society

THE topic: ‘The long and winding road – the issues facing LGBTI people worldwide’ will be opened by Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, Chair of the Law Society Equality and Diversity Committee.

Andrew Caplen
Andrew Caplen

Law Society president Andrew Caplen says: “Discrimination, whether it is on the grounds of race, gender, religion or a person’s sexual orientation, is wrong and should be not be tolerated.

“Equality for all under the law is a central principle of the legal sector and the legal profession must use its privileged position to continue to advocate for those facing discrimination.”

The lecture is chaired by Lord Cashman CBE, Michael Cashman – Labour LGBTI envoy and former MEP for the West Midlands 1999-2014.

The speaker is Jonathan Cooper OBE – Chief Executive, Human Dignity Trust.

Event: Twelth Stonewall Lecture: ‘The long and winding road- the issues facing LGBTI people worldwide’ 

Where: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

When: Thursday, February 5

Time: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

 

Sussex Police webchat marks Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Trans history month

Posted on by Besi

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans (LGBT) history month takes place in February every year and celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community.

Sussex Police

Sussex Police will be hosting a live web chat to mark the event.

The live chat will give members of the public a chance to put questions to a panel giving advice and support on all LGBT issues, the law and policing, as well as hate crime.

On the panel will be Hate Crime Sergeant Peter Allan, along with Brighton and Hove LGBT team members LGBT Police Liaison Rory Smith and the new LGBT Community Police Officer, PC Sarah Laker.

The session will run on Friday, February 20 between 7.30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

To join the online chat, click here:

The Gay British Crime Survey 2013, produced by Stonewall, stated that 75% of people who had experienced a hate crime or incident had not reported it to the police. 66% of those surveyed claimed they had not reported it to anyone. When questioned further on reasons for not reporting, 41% said they did not feel it was a serious enough issue to report.

Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones, who leads for Sussex Police on hate crime, said: “Hate crime can have a devastating effect on victims and causes fear among communities and residents.

“Sussex Police is committed to ensuring that all incidents of hate crime are correctly identified and recorded as such by our staff and officers and we work closely with community groups and partners to increase reporting, widen awareness and build confidence with victims, to help bring offenders to justice.

“We urge anyone who feels they have been a victim of hate crime or targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity to report it to us immediately.

“This could include physical attacks, damage to property, offensive graffiti, abusive or obscene phone calls, verbal abuse, insults or threats, abusive gestures, the posting of offensive letters or leaflets, or theft and fraud.”

To report a hate crime or hate incident online, click here:

Or telephone 101.

If the crime is still in progress or there is the threat of danger always call 999.

Doreen Lawrence to speak in Brighton today

Posted on by Besi

Baroness Doreen Lawrence will speak at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton tomorrow, Friday, February 6.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence
Baroness Doreen Lawrence

PURNA Sen, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion, will be sharing the platform with Baroness Lawrence. Cllr Warren Morgan, the Labour group leader on Brighton and Hove City Council, will talk about Labour’s local plans for increasing opportunities for young people following this May’s council election.

The meeting will be chaired by 18-year-old Solomon Curtis, Labour parliamentary candidate for Wealden and a Sussex University student.

Purna Sen
Purna Sen, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Brighton Pavilion

Purna says: “I am very pleased and proud that Baroness Doreen Lawrence is coming to Brighton.

“Last year Doreen Lawrence, a formidable anti-racism campaigner, was named by the BBC as the “most powerful woman” in Britain in recognition of her role changing the way power operates in the UK. She fought for many years for justice following the murder of her son Stephen in a racist attack.

“She has taken a special interest in work to provide educational and training opportunities for young people and that will be the theme of the public meeting at which she will speak.” 

Before the meeting Purna will be taking the Baroness to meet staff and volunteers at Brighton’s Black and Minority Ethnic Community Partnership offices in Fleet Street.

Baroness Lawrence said: “I’m passionate about improving educational and training opportunities for young people, opportunities that were denied to Stephen by his senseless murder.

“Educational achievement is a vital part of addressing the inequalities the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) community still faces in the UK. Purna has been vocal about the power of education and the need to raise standards, and that is why I am supporting her.

“I’m looking forward to meeting people in Brighton and discussing the best ways that we can ensure all young people are able to fulfil their potential no matter what  their ethnic and social background.”

Baroness Lawrence was awarded an OBE in 2003 for her ‘Services to Community Relations’ and in 2013 she was made a Labour peer.

Entrance to the meeting is free but spaces are very limited.

To book a place, click here:

Event: Doreen Lawrence: Creating opportunites for all young people

Where: Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AF

When: Friday, February 6

Time: 3.30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Cost: Free event

Calls for an ‘Open Discussion’ on the future of Brighton Hippodrome

Posted on by Besi

Brighton Lib Dems welcome the call for an “open discussion” on the future of the Brighton Hippodrome theatre following the collapse of plans to convert the historic building into a cinema.

Save Our Hippodrome demonstration outside Hove Town Hall
Save Our Hippodrome demonstration outside Hove Town Hall

THE Brighton Hippodrome has been an entertainment venue since 1897, acting at different times as a musical hall, ice rink, circus, vaudeville theatre, and has hosted shows by legendary artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It has been empty since 2007, when it was used as a bingo hall.

English Heritage has listed the Frank Matcham building at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

Chris Bowers, the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said: “The collapse of Vue Entertainment’s proposals for a cinema and retail centre provide a welcome opportunity to give proper consideration to some of the alternative ideas for the Hippodrome, some of which look to be much more in tune with the building’s heritage and the spirit of Brighton.

“Some city councillors have been quoted as saying this is a planning matter, but if it is confirmed that Vue Entertainment is abandoning its proposals for the Hippodrome completely, then this becomes a matter for the whole city.

“I therefore welcome the call by Our Brighton Hippodrome for an open discussion between a representative group of councillors, council officers, Our Brighton Hippodrome, English Heritage, The Theatres Trust, and the MP and prospective parliamentary candidates for the Pavilion constituency. OBH has the full support of the Lib Dems in finding a solution that respects this wonderful building and arts facility.”

A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of Vue’s announcement that they have withdrawn their interest in running a cinema in the redeveloped Hippodrome.

“We are disappointed to hear this as we do not want anything to delay the redevelopment, which will repair, restore and re-occupy the most significant parts of the buildings.

“This is ultimately a matter for the owners of the building and the agents acting for them.

“They have not notified us of any changes to their overall plan.

“Given the comments made by Vue regarding the ownership of the Hippodrome site we are seeking urgent clarification from Kuig Property Investments, who we understand to be the owners of the site.

“In terms of the planning permission that has been granted regarding the Hippodrome, nothing has changed.”

Dancers taking libraries to the next step

Posted on by Besi

EdGeDancers will feature in an event in Brighton this weekend, promoting libraries as places for exploring ideas – and not just by printed words on a page.

Evolving in Conversation is an Arts Council-funded project, locally centred on the council’s Library Services.

On Saturday, February 7,  a showcase event will include dancers from EDge asking library-goers for their thoughts on any issues and interpreting those in a unique performance of The Dance WE Made by Tim Casson.

You get to be the choreographer – no experience required!

The event also features renowned poet John Agard, whose work is taught in schools through the National Curriculum.  He will perform his specially commissioned poem Voice for the first time.

Specially commissioned creative writing, alongside work by local adults, is also featured, addressing the question of how individuals can change society.

There are performances, talks, workshops and an exhibition.

Event: Evolving in Conversation

Where: Jubilee Library, Jubilee Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1GE

When: Saturday, February 7

Time: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Cost: Free event

For more information, click here:

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