Carlisle Pride

[softfruit]

It's the first Cumbria LGBT Pride today, in Carlisle. We should have a little stall of info materials to help make the 'B' nice and visible... and a big "BI?" banner to help draw people's attention. Do say hi if you're there! :) :bipride:

[darkeyes]

Wow.. progress indeed..

Wen me wos married 2 a man, lived ova in Dumfriesshire, near the border, wiv hubbie.. ver nice, ver str8 ver respectable lifestyle.. ver boring too.. had 2 largish towns.. in Scotland Dumfries.. borin, awful shoppin, night life worth talkin bout zilch.. and Carlisle.. in England.. excrutiatingly borin, shoppin awful, night life a joke.. in both towns lgbt wos nower 2 b seen.. such as it existed wos so far hidden that it mite well notta been ther.. Fran wos hidden away in those days an all so me cant criticise too much..

But do hope it goes off brill Softfruit.. that parta the world needs a right gud wake up call an those who are eitha gay or bi summat 2 help them c they r not alone.. big uni in Carlisle an think it mite b students who will b the catalyst 2 openin the place up.. just the ver fact that ther is a Pride event may just change things for the betta for gay and bi peeps ova ther..

Gud luck 2 all.. hope it goes off brill..:)

[softfruit]

It was a lovely day out too - two music areas (well, I say music - one was karaoke for a lot of the time so your choice of word for that might vary!!) about a dozen commercial stalls and two dozen group stalls for projects like LGF, BiPhoria, Outreach Cumbria, bits of the NHS and youth service and such. A few hundred people (I wasn't counting that hard) and a really pleasing age mix: like Oldham Pride rather than like Manchester Pride, very family/community.

[Katja]

I live in the Lakes and knew nothing of this until I read your post yesterday afternoon. My boy friend was blissfully unaware also and he is far more into the lgbt world than ever I am although that may be expained by the fact that he is from the other side of the Pennines.

However I am glad that it went of so well and will keep a lookout for next year.

[softfruit]

The organisers seemed fairly determined to make it happen again in 2012 and I'd expect a similar date - it worked well not clashing with other prides etc, even if next year early October probably won't have balmy 25C type temperatures!