Hexham to host its first ever Pride festival
The Northumberland town is running events over the next week to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community
Last updated 5th Jun 2023
A town in Northumberland is gearing up for it's first ever Pride Festival this week.
The organisers of Hexham Pride are hoping the events over the next 8 days will create, and showcase, safe and accessible spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Hexham residents have helped to shape the programme through an open call giving people a say about what’s important to them and the kinds of events they most wanted to see.
A survey revealed the majority wanted family friendly events, including things for teenagers and young people to do, and what people valued most about Pride events elsewhere was a sense of community, visibility and connection.
Hexham Pride organiser Richard Bliss explains,
“Towns, cities and villages throughout the world celebrate Pride, so it is fantastic that Hexham is joining those celebrations this June.
"Northern Pride does a fantastic job of organising a huge traditional event in Newcastle, so we wanted to create a Pride that responded to local people’s needs and ideas.
"Pride in Hexham is a festival, with events for everyone, with the emphasis on local performers and groups.
"We want to bring people together and celebrate the fabulous rainbow of diversity that is the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The result is a diverse programme of film, live music, author events and talks, theatre, and more.
A range of free and ticketed events at venues across Hexham celebrating LGBTQIA+ culture will include Folk is Queer showcasing local folk musicians, Hexham Pride Film Fest, and a Young People’s Takeover and Mini Pride, both hosted by Curious Arts.
The festival will kick off with Plant the Rainbow. The rainbow Pride flag represents the diversity of the global LGBTQIA+ community, so Ginnie O'Farrell, Liberal Democrat councillor for Gilesgate, has organised rainbow flowerbeds in the town - and is inviting people to plant the rainbow in their front gardens, window boxes and hanging baskets to show their support.
Northumberland Libraries will launch a new LGBTQIA+ Book Club at Hexham Library on Saturday 3 June. It’s free to join, and at the first meeting the group will discuss Outlawed by Anna North, available to lend from the library.
Forum Cinema presents Hexham Pride Film Fest on Sunday 4 June.
It includes the family film Strange World - the first Disney film to feature an out queer character, as well as Northern Queer Shorts - a curated programme of short films featuring queer talent and voices from the North of England, and God’s Own Country - nominated for Outstanding British Feature, this critically acclaimed debut from writer and director Francis Lee is set against the rural landscape of the Yorkshire Pennines.
Poet and theatre maker Matt Miller returns to the Queen’s Hall on Tuesday 6 June to share a work in progress performance of their new show, FIXING. Matt prefers wearing dresses to fixing engines, but at the end of their 20s has started talking to their Dad about a classic car they dreamed of doing up together as a child. And about when their Mum and Dad split up. Through poetry and storytelling, Matt asks how do we go about fixing?
Town traders are being encouraged to create rainbow window displays. For example, Waterstones and Northumberland Archives are presenting books celebrating Dr Ethel Williams and Frances Hardcastle, two extraordinary women who fought for women’s suffrage and later retired to a house they built together in Northumberland. Looking for Ethel at Hexham Library on Tuesday 6 June will offer audiences a chance to hear about the journey the Northumberland Archives team have taken whilst learning about these two remarkable women and their links to the county.
Folk is Queer is a night celebrating queer musicians in a safe space for LGBTQIA+ people and their allies at Hexham Library on Wednesday 7 June. Featuring live music from local singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jess Howard, North East fiddle player/singer Anna Hughes and rising name in the English folk scene Sam Baxter. The event is curated by former Sage Gateshead artist-in-residence Holly Clarke who says, “It's going to be a wonderful evening celebrating Queer Folk musicians. The spellbinding Sam Baxter will be our Traditional singer for the evening representing the old songs, while the fabulous Anna Hughes and Jessie Howard will be our bastions of a more contemporary kind of folk music.”
There’s also an opportunity to get involved in planning next year’s programme at the Hexham Pride 2024 Steering Group Meeting on Thursday 8 June at the Queen’s Hall, everyone welcome. Northumberland Pride, who are supporting Hexham Pride, will be at selected events with wellbeing bags.
And Hexham Book Festival present Kirsty Logan on Friday 9 June talking about her most recent book, Now She Is A Witch at the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre. Kirsty was selected as one of the ten most outstanding LGBTQ British writers for the International Showcase.
There’ll be a Young People’s Take Over at the Queen’s Hall on Saturday 10 June. The theme is ‘The Future is Queer’ and Curious Arts promise a day filled with banner making, creative writing and music for 11-19 year olds in a supportive and creative environment. And for children aged 3-7 and their family, Curious Arts will host Mini Pride at Hexham Old Gaol offering fun, creative activities and interactive story time later in the month on Saturday 24 June.
Queen’s Hall Artistic Director Katy Taylor said,
"We’re delighted to be involved in Hexham’s very first Pride festival. The Queen’s Hall is proud to support an event that is inclusive and accessible to our local community, as well as welcoming visitors to our beautiful town.
"Thanks to input from Hexham residents and a brilliant team led by Richard Bliss with a wealth of knowledge and experience of creating arts and cultural events celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, the programme has something for everyone and includes free events alongside activities for families and young people, as well as showcasing local talent."
For more information or to book for ticketed events you can visit Queen's Hall Hexham online.