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Prowler sponsor Brighton Bear Weekend Bear-B-Que

Prowler, the gay sex shop and online gay sex toy store to sponsor the Bear-B-Que during Brighton Bear Weekend in June.

The Bear-B-Que will take place in Dorset Gardens on Saturday, June 17 from 12.30pm to 5.30pm.

This year’s Bear-B-Que features a main stage profiling a host of local performers with one of the many highlights being an appearance by Brighton’s LGBT+community choir, The Rainbow Chorus.

New as well this year, will be a little market place and the Sea Serpents, Brighton’s Gay Rugby Club will be there with their coconuts.

Delicious food and snacks will be provided by Lunch Positive, the HIV lunch club and a bar will be run by the Brighton & Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum.

Peter Booth
Peter Booth

Peter Booth Manager of Prowler in St James Street, said: “Myself and the Prowler Brighton team are thrilled to be able to support the Brighton Bear boys. We have provided casual support over the last few years selling their products in store commission free. 

This year thanks to our new owners ABS Holdings we have been able to step the support up a gear via sponsorship. I couldn’t be happier. BBW are a fantastic organisation who work tirelessly in support of the Rainbow Fund.

In addition to sponsorship Prowler Brighton will also be offering 20% OFF all full priced stock to all BBW wristband holders from June 16-18, so pick up a wristband for just £6.

Support the boys and take advantage of some great offers in Prowler and around the area.”

Yet through all of this, they have always been helpful and smiling. I applaud their community minded spirit that allowed us to still put our stock in allowing us to raise hundreds of pounds more for The Rainbow Fund. Even when times were hard they still wanted to help others. 

The Prowler sponsorship money will be a great help in reducing our costs at the Bear-B-Que while we bring a fabulous furry party to Kemptown for everyone in the LGBT+ spectrum to enjoy.

The whole team look forward to seeing you there”

Brighton Bear Weekend opens on Thursday June 15 with a quiz night at the Camelford Arms and features a variety of events, closing on Sunday June 18.

For a full list of events, click here:

The Rainbow Fund gives grants to local LGBT/HIV organisations who deliver effective front line services to LGBT+ people in Brighton & Hove.

For more information about Brighton Bear Weekend and to purchase a wrist band giving discounts for events and services, click here:

More artists announced for Brighton Pride ‘Summer of Love’ events

More artists have been added to the line-up for Brighton Pride’s Summer Of Love Festival in August.

Louisa Johnson winner of X-Factor in 2015 will join headline artists the legendary Pet Shop Boys, special guests Years & Years, and previously announced artists Becky Hill, M.O, Fickle Friends and KStewart on the main stage.

Superstar house divas Jocelyn Brown, Alison Limerick, Angie Brown and Rozalla will be performing live in the Wild Fruit Summer of Love dance tent and songsmith Lucy Spraggan will bring her unique mix of acoustic, folk and hip-hop to Victoria Gardens for Pride Unplugged on Friday, August 4.

With more artists still to be announced to perform at the 14 other entertainment areas, the Brighton Pride 2017 Festival is set to be the most spectacular ever.

To book tickets online, click here:

‘OneFamily’ support LGBT+ families at Brighton & Hove Pride

OneFamily, the Brighton-based, financial services company are to sponsor the Pride Family Diversity Area, at the Summer of Love festival on Saturday, August 5.

Brighton Pride, takes place from August 4-6, with 300,000 people participating in the celebrations across the city.

The enclosed family area located within the Pride festival site on Preston Park will be a fun-filled space for families to enjoy the Pride festival together.

OneFamily Customer Strategy Director, Karl Elliott, said: “We are really excited to be continuing our support of the Brighton Pride festival and look forward to what will be a spectacular showcase that really celebrates the diversity of the city.

“As a Brighton employer is gives us great pleasure to be able to support a local event that both our employees and their families enjoy so much.”

OneFamily provides products and services across investments, savings, lifetime mortgages and protection, to support families to meet the financial demands of modern life.

Paul Kemp
Paul Kemp

Paul Kemp, Brighton Pride Community Interest Company, said: “Brighton Pride has evolved over the years with more communities coming together to celebrate every aspect of our city, regardless of sexuality, race, gender, age or ability. We are delighted that OneFamily is supporting the event for the second year running and sponsoring our Family Diversity Area.”

Last year’s Brighton Pride raised a record breaking £100,000 for LGBT+ and HIV organisations and good causes across Sussex. Beneficiaries included Allsorts Youth Project, Lunch Positive, LGBT Community Safety Forum, MindOut, Peer Action and Clare Project.

To book tickets for the Brighton Pride Summer of Love festival, click here:

Amnesty call for Chechnya journalists to be protected

Amnesty International calls for journalists who revealed the abuse of gay men in Chechnya to be protected.

On April 1, journalists at Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that over a hundred men suspected of being gay had been abducted, abused and some even killed because of their perceived sexuality. Chechen authorities have warned the journalists they will ‘face retaliation’.

Following the reports, anger has been steadily building towards the reporters who broke the story by those who oppose LGBT+ rights and have been emboldened by the Chechen authorities who have given them a prominent platform to warn the paper that their journalists would “face retaliation”.

Journalists for the paper have been murdered for their investigations in the past decade with 56 journalists being reportedly killed in Russia since 1992 .

Amnesty are demanding that the Russian authorities:

♦  Investigate the threats to staff from both Novaya Gazeta and Ekho Moskvy, in accordance with the Russian Criminal Code regarding ‘obstruction of lawful activities of journalists’
♦ Publicly condemn all threats and violence towards journalists, and bring those responsible to account
♦ Guarantee freedom of expression and protect journalists, in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.

To sign the petition calling on Russian authorities to protect the journalists, and their freedom to report human rights abuses, click here:

 

Fabulous trans activist wow’s at Jubilee Library

Charlie Crags, activist, nail artist and human being visits Brighton and Hove with her pop up nail bar to celebrate IDAHOBIT.

Charlie Crags
Charlie Crags

Charlie’s activism – Nail Transphobia – is all about fighting transphobia fabulously. She travels around the country with her pop up salon and invites complete strangers to come and get their nails done for free.

This gives her the chance to sit down with someone who has usually never met a trans person before but probably has a lot of misconceptions.

Charlie says: “I get the chance to bond with them while I paint their nails – they can ask me questions and I can teach them how to be an ally. But what’s most important is just having a chat and a laugh because what I’m really trying to do with my campaign is humanise the issue and show that trans people are just normal (actually rather nice) people. I’m trying to change hearts and minds a nail at a time.” 

 

Charlie’s visit was by invitation of the city council’s LGBT Workers Forum as part of celebrating LGBT+ lives for IDAHOBIT on May 17.

IDAHOBIT marks the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases.

The purpose of IDAHOBIT is to raise awareness of LGBT+ rights and stimulate interest in the work of LGBT+ activists worldwide. Events this year took place in more than 120 countries on every continent in every region of the world.

Charlie says: “I use nails as my catalyst for change because doing someone’s nails is such an intimate interaction, I get to touch people, not just physically – as in touching their hands, but touch them on a deeper level too. As a result hopefully they’ll go away with more than just a manicure, they’ll go away with a new perspective – they’ll go away an ally.

Allies are so important in both our fight for equality and also in the fight that is our everyday lives as trans people; if it wasn’t for allies stepping in when I’ve been attacked in the past I might not be here doing this now”

 

Charlie spent the morning in Hove Town Hall and all afternoon at Jubilee Library, attracting a queue of people, of all ages and backgrounds who were keen to spend a moment meeting a fabulous person, learning a little about their lives and leaving with seriously buff nails!

For more information about Charlie and her novel form of activism, click here:

 

‘Out with Allan Jay’ is Latest LBGT+ TV’s newest show to hit the screen

Usually known for his chart topping HiNRG music Allan Jay will be giving a “Whats on who’s who, where to go and when to be there” look around the LBGT+ friendly venue’s and events in Brighton.

The weekly show will be going behind the scenes giving you a ‘sneaky peak’ around each venue and meeting some of the bartenders, managers, cabaret acts and owners. Focusing on 2 different venues a week and giving you the run down of what else is on and around Brighton each week, as well as getting to meet the faces behind the venues.

Allan Jay is an award-winning recording artist known for his high energy style and powerful vocals. He is signed to Energise Records and has performed across the UK and Europe as well around many of the Brighton venues

Allan describes Brighton as his “home from home” and is excited about showing you around the venues bringing some fun n laughs along the way.

Tune into Latest LGBT+ TV every Thursday at 9pm starting 1st June.

Latest TV (Freeview 7 | Virgin Media 159 | latest.co.uk or Youtube)

Lunch Positive to celebrate 8th birthday!

Lunch Positive, the HIV charity that provides a weekly lunch club for people with HIV will celebrate its 8th birthday on Friday June 9 from the Lunch Club at Dorset Gardens Methodist Church.

All members are invited to attend, including those who go along regularly and those who go less frequently or haven’t been for a while.

The entire volunteer team will be putting together an extra special celebration meal which will also mark the first time use of the newly refurbished kitchen at the church.

The meal is free to everyone and promises to be something very special. The charity trustees will also be at the lunch club to meet members, socialise and talk about plans for the future.

Lunch Positive’s birthday falls at the end of National Volunteers Week. The charity has been built upon the involvement of members and an amazing commitment and motivation of people volunteering, giving their time for the benefit of their community.

Gary Pargeter
Gary Pargeter

A team of more than 30 people currently volunteer to deliver the weekly lunch club, as well as fundraise and actively support wider LGBT+ and HIV community events.

Service Manager Gary Pargeter said: “Some very special acknowledgments will be given to all the volunteers, members and helpers that have supported Lunch Positive over the years, giving thousands of hours of their time year-on-year.”

For more information about Lunch Positive, click here:

BRIGHTON FRINGE REVIEW: The Cocktail Pianist 2 @Sweet Waterfront 2

Mike Hatchard
Mike Hatchard

We’ve all sat far away from home in the lounge of some large hotel when the cocktail pianist starts to play. Some notes he gets right, some notes he doesn’t. Some tunes he knows all the way through – others he doesn’t.

Mike Hatchard has written and performs in this slightly cringe-making self-conscious world of the mediocre hotel entertainer. And as he plays piano bits and pieces from Beethoven, the Girl from Ipanema, Mother Kelly’s doorstep and others, he unravels his sad but warmly funny life story.

It’s a tale of what might have been but this 60-something year old pianist has certainly had a varied love life. As an autistic but artistic child prodigy he has his first sexual encounter aged 14 with a 45 year old woman. It’s an encounter that tragically colours his future.

A highly gifted student at the Royal School of Music, he has some kind of epiphany during a prestigious piano competition when he thinks he sees the 45-year-old in the front row of the audience.

It isn’t her, and the shock leads to a breakdown and he’s literally running away from life and music for a number of years.

Various other women come in and out of his life – most with devastating effects – and a second mistaken identity episode leads to further complications.

How he ends up playing in the lounge of an hotel in Luton is beautifully and sadly explained. Needless to say, his life ultimately seems not to have been a failure, and we leave him playing Summertime, with a tinge of unhappiness, but also a feeling of warmth.

Mike Hatchard, who is clearly a top-class pianist, creates the sad, ironic and laconic character of Bernard with ease and with an often unconscious sense of irony. This is a show about time, timing, numbers, coincidences and lost opportunities – but above all about the resilience of the human spirit.

“I don’t play well, I don’t play badly : I just play,” he says.

The show deserves a larger audience and a better time slot than 5.15pm.


The Cocktail Pianist with Mike Hatchard
Venue: Sweet Waterfront 2
Reviewed: May 18
Reviewer: Brian Butler
Runs until: May 21

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