Tavistock Pride has been given the green light this year thanks to two grants from the National Lottery Community Fund and Devon and Cornwall Police totalling over £10,000.
The funding comes in addition to a special drag lip sync fundraiser which took place at the Wharf on Saturday evening and raised over £1,200 to contribute to this year’s event.
The festival-themed event will take place this year on Saturday, July 1 in the Meadows from midday to 7pm — free of charge and open to everyone. The day is set to start with a parade which will proceed through the centre of town, along Plymouth Road and loop round the town along West Street and back to the Meadows by 1pm for the festival, which will feature live music, performances, demonstrations, stalls, bars and local food.
Heg Brignall, a key member of the organising team, said: ‘We’re absolutely over the moon at this news. This year’s big pride event is set to be absolutely fantastic, full of the colour and vibrancy as last year with some improvements! We’ve spent a lot of time going through feedback forms from last year’s event, which were extremely positive and included some really useful constructive feedback too. We’re determined to make Tavi Pride even better this year. We’ll be announcing more performers in the coming weeks on our social media pages.’
The Tavi Pride Facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/tavistockpride. Bands and performers who wish to take part can fill out a form on Google Docs using the following web link: https://shorturl.at/jxFGU
Confirmed to perform are joint winners from the drag lip sync battle Kikiwiththedevil and Old Spice. The event, which was hosted by rising star Mandy Anne Ket, who also hosted Tavi Pride last year, saw ten contestants (a mix of local residents and professional drag performers) compete against one another for the chance to perform at Tavi Pride and raise money for the event. Kiki, who is 17-years-old, wowed the crowd with acrobatics, back flips and an unforgettable jump off stage into the splits. Old Spice, made up of members of local choir Wheelhouse Folk Choir, performed Wannabe by the Spice Girls. The runner up was Everly After — a new act who began drag performing after being inspired at Tavi Pride last year. Other performers were: Aqueena, Tina Colada, Betty Boom Boom, Cherry Fury, Glanbolynne, Mick Shagger and David Booty and Danielle.
Heg said: ‘Following the main event, although we are not directly involved, we’re hoping the party will continue at a range of local venues again such as the Stannary Arms, Jack Chams and the Duke of York. I know HQ are having an afterparty; every single pub got involved last year — one pub made a special pride brew and another did a camp karaoke. We’re running at full steam now to finalise the programme for the day and planning events in the run up to it. We will announce things on social media when they are confirmed, so please keep on checking the pages. It’s all extremely exciting. After the success of the fundraiser on Saturday, there is a real buzz in the air for the big day!’
Organisers are looking for shops and businesses in the town to get involved by hanging flags and decorations outside their premises and making noise when the procession passes through on the day. Organisers can provide flags and ask that anyone still in possession of a flag from last year to use it again. Volunteers in stewarding roles are also being sought to help with set up and on the day to ensure the event goes ahead as smoothly and safely as planned.
To volunteer, for more information or if you have any questions, contact the organising team on: [email protected]