Pride Preperations

Pride is for gay people, not for profit. This year, on top of entry to the days events, you also had to buy wristbands to enter the streets with the bars on around Brighton, on top of entry fees into the clubs themselves! It was ridiculous. I even remember thinking to myself last year how ridiculously commercial it had become. It now seemed like an event with solely economic imperatives, by simply getting people boozed up and drugged, with no mention at all of its meaning or origins; stonewall. If you don't know of Stonewall, then please give it a google and do some research, it's a very relevant thing for contemporary liberation and equality.Essentially though, it was the first public protests by the gay community against police raids of New York's gay bars, in particular the Stonewall Inn. These demonstrations are considered, collectively, as the single most important event in the gay liberation movement and the name has been adopted by a charity initiated by the likes of Sir Ian McKellen, Lisa Power (MBE) and Michael Cashman (CBE).

In light of the commercialisation of a liberal event, we, unintentionally, created a boycott event. My friend Kat had created an open event on facebook listed as 'Alternative Pride', which was meant to be a casual meet for those who did not want to have to pay for the event. The event picked up massive popularity though, with over 350 confirmed attendees and was even published in flyers as an official alternative event. We were a bit anxious about kicking up a storm, or even proving disappointment to attendees who would have expected more than a meet in the park. We decided we really should prepare a little something to mark the occasion, even if it was a little last minute. So we spent the evening preparing banners, posters, memorials and lights/bins/amenities. It was beautifully chilled evening painting in the garden, hinted with a spark of excitement and anxiety for the next day. I produced this Rupaul inspired poster, which I was actually pretty chuffed with :)