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Doctor Brightons reprieved with new 15 year lease from city council

Doctor Brightons received a last-minute reprieve last week with a new fifteen year lease from Brighton & Hove City Council.

PLANS for a closing party tonight (July 14) at Doctor Brightons, announced after their Brewery decided not to renew the lease they held for the building with Brighton & Hove City Council, are going ahead, but instead they will be celebrating the news the bar will remain trading and in the hands of Golden Handbag Landlord of the Year, Charles Child for the next fifteen years.

After a competitive public tender process the Council have granted a new 15 year lease to the current  Landlord, Charles Child to allow him to keep trading from the Iconic building on Brighton Seafront.

Doctor Brightons will be celebrating with a mega party tonight hosted by Stephanie Starlet.

Wayne Durant and Charles Child
Wayne Durant and Charles Child

Expect DJ sets from Adam Rice, Nick Hirst, Kai Gittos and Tony Button, as well as Josh the Barber who will be joining bar staff, door staff, Wayne Durant and owner Charles Childs who promises a party to remember starting from 8pm to 3am in the morning.

TONIGHT: Rainbow Chorus presents 21

This evening, the Rainbow Chorus presents 21— a sumptuous summer’s evening feast of songs, part of the choirs 21st anniversary celebrations.

Rainbow Chorus at Brighton Pride
Rainbow Chorus at Brighton Pride

FEATURING stirring classics, foot-stomping boogie beats and beautiful, wistful pieces, this multi-faceted concert will show the full range of the Rainbow Chorus’ repertoire and musical abilities, led as always by their inspirational musical director Aneesa Chaudhry and accompanied by Mojca Monti Amali.

Founded in 1997, the Rainbow Chorus has grown through its 21 years to an 80-strong choir of singers reflecting the rich diversity of Brighton’s LGBT+ communities.

The world has changed in so many positive ways since 1997 and yet, 21 years on, the need for a ‘LGBT’ choir is still valid. The make-up of the Rainbow Chorus has also evolved and matured and they are proud to be as inclusive as ever which includes running various initiatives supporting their trans members and the local trans communities.

Put your party hats on and go along for an uplifting evening that’s sure to put a smile on your face and warm the cockles of your heart!

Of course, their well-stocked bar will be open serving Pimms, wine, beer, soft drinks and cakes and you will have the chance to win a fantastic summer hamper in the raffle.

The Rainbow Chorus is the biggest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) choir in the south outside of London. The choir aims to provide an enjoyable and supportive environment for LGBT+ members to sing together, making new friends, developing their community spirit, individual talents and confidence. Through performance, the Rainbow Chorus also raises the profile of the LGBT+ communities in Brighton & Hove as well as providing top quality entertainment. The Rainbow Chorus is supported by the Big Lottery and the Rainbow Fund.


Event: Rainbow Chorus present: 21

Where: St George’s Church, St George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1ED

When: Saturday, July 14

Time: 7.30pm

Cost: Tickets for this concert are on sale now at £14/£10(concession)/£7(children)

To book tickets online, click here:

Brighton Bear Weekend raise £8,460 for Rainbow Fund

Brighton Bear Weekend (BBW) organisers hosted a thank you party at the Camelford Arms on Tuesday, July 10 to thank volunteers, performers and venue owners who helped stage BBW 2018 from June 14-17.

THE weekend was raising money for the Rainbow Fund, a Brighton based fund who give grants to LGBT/HIV organisations that deliver effective front line services to LGBT+ people in the city.

Steve Beaumont a member of the Rainbow Fund Independent Grants Panel was on hand to receive a cheque from Graham Munday, Chair of BBW for £8,460. A further £750 was raised at the Bear-B-Que and Picnic in Dorset Gardens for Lunch Positive who ran the community cafe and £850 for the Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum who ran the on-site bar bringing the overall total raised during Brighton Bear Weekend for good causes to £10,060.

Total raised included a £250 donation from local licensee Andy Tull and £100 from Michael McGarrigle owner of Bar Broadway who hosted Bear-a-oke.

The annual BBW has now raised over £35,000 for the Rainbow Fund.

For more information about BBW, click here:

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JAZZ RE:FEST one day festival at Brighton Dome

Family friendly one day festival JAZZ RE:FEST offers free tickets for under 16s.

BRIGHTON Dome is hosting an annual one-day festival celebrating UK jazz and jazz-inspired music and culture on Sunday July 22, and under 16s can go free!

Hosted for the last five years at London’s Southbank Centre, JAZZ RE:FEST’s first iteration outside of London – produced by the Jazz re:freshed music arts organisation – showcases the incredibly diverse, colourful, expressive and creative world of jazz music and alternative culture.

JAZZ RE:FEST will feature live performances from over 60 musicians, artists and DJs including Vels Trio, Daniel Casimir, SEED, Yussef Dayes, Noya Rao, Blue Lab Beats, Ruby Rushton and many more still to be announced.

Yvette Griffith, Executive Director of Jazz re:freshed said: “We’re excited to launch the Brighton Edition of JAZZ RE:FEST with Brighton Dome. Audiences can expect a day full of cutting edge talent, music and amazing vibes.”


Event: JAZZ RE:FEST

Where: Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Church Street, Brighton

When: Sunday, July 22

Time: 12pm – 7pm

Cost: £7.50, FREE for under 16s but ticketed: book at brightondome.org

Creation (Pictures for Dorian) nominated for acclaimed theatre award

Creation (Pictures for Dorian) a commission for Brighton Festival 2018 is nominated for acclaimed theatre award.

BRIGHTON Festival co-commission Creation (Pictures for Dorian) – by the British/German arts collective Gob Squad – has been nominated for an Offies award.

After receiving its UK premiere at Brighton Festival 2018, the show ran at Southbank Centre as part of LIFT festival, resulting in a nomination for the TBC Award (for productions that defy traditional categories) in The Off West End Theatre Awards.

The meditative work Creation (Pictures for Dorian) – inspired by Oscar Wilde’s iconic character Dorian Gray – saw Gob Squad joined by six volunteer performers: three under the age of 22 and three over 60. The middle-aged members of Gob Squad interact onstage with the six performers, questioning the nature of beauty and asking why we so crave the eye of the beholder.

The show garnered a clutch of positive reviews during its Brighton Festival run, with Lynn Gardner writing in The Guardian that the piece is a “woozily beautiful meditation on intention, perception, what we see and what remains invisible”. Bella Todd wrote in The Stage that the show is “sly yet sumptuous, playfully experimental yet heady and deeply human.”

The Offies are hosted by OffWestEnd.com, a website which “exists to celebrate the full spectrum of Off West End theatres and to draw increasing numbers of the general public into the heady darkness and dangerous passion of these little powerhouses.”

Andrew Comben, CEO Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival says: “Gob Squad’s Creation was one of this year’s Brighton Festival highlights so it is extremely pleasing to have it recognised in this way.”

Creation (Pictures for Dorian) was co-commissioned by Brighton Festival, LIFT and Attenborough Centre for the Creative Arts, and will be touring internationally from August 29. Future performance date can be found via Gob Squad’s website.

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Worthing celebrates first Pride today!

The acts are booked and ready to perform, the parade participants have their places allocated, the marshals have all been briefed as the final arrangements are made for Worthing’s first Pride, today (Saturday, July 14) – remember to purchase your ticket online to save queuing.

AFTER 18 months of blood sweat and tears from Josie Kelly, the volunteer chair of Worthing Pride 2018, along with her team of ten volunteers including her supportive – and very patient – husband, Andy, everyone is all ready to go.

Ticket sales have almost doubled in the last week, very likely due to the heat wave and fabulous weather forecast for today.

This isn’t such good news for everyone, namely the many pampered Pride pooches that were expected for the Pride Doggy Show. The hot weather, and hot ground, is just too hot for the canines on parade and organisers have cancelled the event, as the pooches wellbeing must come first.

Whilst the heat wave scorches on, there will be a limited supply of free water on site, as well as a great selection of drinks and interesting culinary choices available to purchase on the day; everything from traditional street food to artisan specialities.

A strict policy of no alcohol brought on-site, will be enforced by stewards and a zero tolerance approach to drugs, means that Worthing Pride 2018 will be safe for everyone to join in the fun. Your safety is the priority of the organisers.

To purchase tickets online from the website at just £3.50 per person, aged 4 and older (children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult), click here:

Tickets will also be sold at the grounds on the day for £5, cash only, so buy your tickets in advance and save a few quid!

ABBA Magic
ABBA Magic

However, you do not need a ticket to watch the community parade, which is free and starts at 1pm on the promenade outside the Burlington Hotel, to the West of the pier and finishing at Splashpoint Rocks, close to Beach House Grounds, to the East of the Piece, where the entertainments begin at 2pm.

With hundreds of people already signed up to take part in the parade, organisers have been delighted at the response from groups and individuals, from all over the country, wanting to participate.

Top acts appearing on the main stage will include: Miss Disney, Epicene, Davina Sparkle, Allan Jay and many more. Headlining will be the authentic tribute act, Abba Magic, all beautifully hosted by Spice.

Spice will host main stage
Spice will host main stage

There is plenty of parking for people arriving by car in the main town centre multi-storey on High Street near Steyne Gardens; at Union Place – adjacent to High Street; Grafton multi-storey – off seafront and the Bowling Alley, Buckingham Road – off the seafront as well as limited seafront pay and display, although beyond Heene Road it’s free to park along the seafront, on Marine Parade

Go along, be part of the very first Worthing Pride and remember to put some money in the buckets to secure the future of the event and help raise funds for Allsorts, the Brighton based youth project and West Sussex Coastal Mind, the mental health charity delivering services in Worthing, Midhurst, Littlehampton, Bognor and Chichester.

For more information about Worthing Pride, click here:

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