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Brighton Unity Weekend – final line-up of venues revealed

A record number of fourteen LGBT+ venues will take part in this year’s Brighton Unity Weekend, up from the original four of Charles Street Tap, Legends, Club & Bar Revenge and The Queens Arms to raise funds for the important work of The Rainbow Fund.

 

AFFINITY Bar, Amsterdam Bar and Kitchen, Bar Broadway, Bedford Tavern, Bulldog, Camelford Arms, Marine Tavern, Subline and The Zone Bar, will all have Rainbow Fund buckets and shakers in their venues from Thursday, April 25 – Sunday April 28. Dig deep and help them raise a record amount for the Rainbow Fund in 2019.

The original Unity Weekend was the brain child of managers Chris Marshall from Charles Street Tap and Andrew Roberts from Revenge, to raise the money needed for two memorial benches on the New Steine – dedicated to the late Michael ‘Mouse’ Burton and Gary ‘Gloria’ Swan who passed away just a couple of weeks apart in December 2016. Gloria and Mouse were two big personalities on the Brighton Scene and their loss was very heartfelt by so many.

Chris Marshall
Chris Marshall

Chris Marshall, General Manager of Charles Street Tap said; “This is really about creating an amazing legacy for Mouse and Gloria, with so many of Brighton’s LGBT+ venues working together for such an important Brighton cause. It really goes to show, that despite what some may think, the venues on the scene really do get on with each other and this weekend gives us a great opportunity to showcase the true community spirit we have in Brighton”

Andrew Roberts
Andrew Roberts

Andrew Roberts, General Manager at Revenge added; “I’m so thrilled  that so many more venues have agreed to take part in The Unity Weekend this year. The original fundraiser target was for £2000 to pay for the memorial benches and  we managed to beat that target with another £186.30 on top for the Rainbow Fund. This year we only need £200 for the upkeep of the benches – so we really do have an amazing opportunity to blow that number out of the water for the Rainbow Fund.”

This year’s Unity Weekend will take place from Thursday, April 25 to Sunday, April 28 and will see LGBT+ venues across the city working together as one to raise money for the Rainbow Fund.

The Rainbow Fund give grants to LGBT/HIV organisations who deliver effective front line services to LGBT+ people in the city and have just this week provided emergency funding to pay for Community Safety Guardians to patrol St James Street following a recent spate of violent attacks on gay men leaving LGBT+ venues late at night.

Full details of events and venues taking part can be found on the Brighton Unity Weekend Facebook page.

Hours extended for Community Safety Guardians Initiative over Easter Bank Holiday weekend

With high temperatures and record crowds of visitors expected to visit Brighton & Hove over the Easter bank holiday weekend, the hours newly created Community Safety Guardians will patrol St James Street are being extended.


ON Easter Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 19-21) foot patrols will commence in St James Street (aka as the Gay Village) at 10pm and be extended to 6am in the morning.

Following a recent spate of violent attacks on gay men in St James Street, The Rainbow Fund have provided emergency short-term funding for the Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum in partnership with the Rainbow Hub to employ professional qualified guards to Patrol the streets from 10pm to late into the night.

In the meantime volunteers will be trained to SIA (Security Industry Accreditation) standard qualification to ensure the initiative continues 365 days of the year and will be run from the Rainbow Hub at 92 St James Street, opposite The Zone and Bulldog venues.

For more information about how to volunteer as a Community Safety Guardian, click here:

Bridging gaps in the queer communities – The Tapestry Project

Several months ago, drag artists Robert Kocur (Polka Dot) and Jordan Stovall (Wanda Cookie) began planning a way for other drag artists in London to give back to their surrounding community through impactful work.

THE result is The Tapestry Project: a new charitable collective dedicated to ongoing charitable work. Their first endeavour, a collaboration with the AKT (Albert Kennedy Trust), will result in a public-facing performance at The Glory on May 5, 2019 celebrating the work they have done and raise funds for the AKT with a minimum goal of £1,500.

To execute this work, Robert and Jordan have collaborated with the AKT to donate an arts workshop led by visual artist DTyminski and drag artists to LGBTQ+ youth supported by the organisation.

The AKT supports LGBTQ+ young people in the UK experiencing homelessness or living in hostile environments to find safe homes, employment, education or training and to celebrate their identities in order to improve their life outcomes.

Their mission: preventing LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, because they believe no young person should have to choose between a safe home and being who they are.

During their visitation to the AKT, the young people and drag artists will create art together to be donated back to the participating organisations to display and celebrate the ever-expanding reach of queer communities, inclusivity, and support available in all forms. The overlying message of the visitation is to enforce how much we all have in common, that no matter what our past is we are in charge of our own futures, and that we have the power to become whomever we would like.

Joining them will be Mahatma Khandi (Sink the Pink, The Bitten Peach), That Ray (Wotever World), Bimini (Miss Sink the Pink 2019, The Glory), Taylor Trash (The Gold Rush at The Glory, Daddy Issues), and more to be announced shortly.

The public performance will take place at The Glory (281 Kingsland Road, London N1 5RL) on Sunday, May 5, 2019 from 6pm – 8pm.

The presentation will include a raffle with donated prizes from sponsors including 28 Gays Later, Drag Diva Fitness, FullerWigs, Ollie Quinn, The Breakfast Club, The Young Vic, and more.

Admission to the performance includes free entry to The Glory’s following All Day Party, lasting all  evening.

To contribute a donation and/or purchase tickets to the event costing  £8 for Early Bird, £10 General Admission, click here:


Event: The Tapestry Project

Where: The Glory, 281 Kingsland Rd, London, UK E2 8AS

When: May 5

Time: 4-6pm

Cost: £8 Early Bird, £10 General Admission

To book online, click here:

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