Members of the Isle of Wight Pride committee engaged with a large number of Islanders across the weekend at 2 big launch events.
Saturday night saw Coburgs in Ryde play host to various Island and mainland talents with a packed-out audience. There were rainbow balloons, rainbow glitter beards and an energetic and fun-packed atmosphere which left a lasting impression on those who attended.
Peter Andrew, who performed in his role as ‘Proud Mary’ said:
“The passion and energy in the room made my job a whole lot easier. I’ve had some amazing feedback and it was great to see everyone getting into the spirit and supporting what is definitely going to be one of the ‘go-to’ events of 2017.”
The event at Coburgs finished at 02:00, with the next event of the weekend at Quay Arts in Newport starting just 7 hours later. The Newport-based drop-in event enabled people of all ages to attend, with various primary and secondary schools visiting to show their support for IWPride and a real desire to get involved with the event.
In all, well over 400 people engaged with IWPride in one way or another over the weekend, including potential sponsors and volunteers.
John Brownscombe, Treasurer of IWPride said:
“We are thankful to those organisations who showed a desire to support IWPride and we look forward to working with you all. If any organisations feel that they can bring something to Pride, whether that is Money, or other forms of donations, we would be willing to talk further to you and the benefit that this could bring to your organisation.”
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Chairman Joe Plumb added:
“We are overwhelmed by the support shown this weekend, not just from the LGBTQ community, but also the wider Island community who wanted to show their solidarity. We raised over £1200 this weekend which will be vital to helping ensure we put on a safe, exciting event for the Island on Saturday 15th July in Ryde.
“Whilst we are hopeful that many visitors will come to the Island for the event, we also want to encourage Islanders to be able to participate and feel that they are an important part of Pride.
“I want to thank all those who donated their time or skills this weekend to help with our Launch and look forward to working with many more eager people over the coming months with lots more events being planned prior to our main event.”
