Pride is returning to Kendal on 14-16 June for the biggest celebration yet. Pride Village will be hosted on the banks of the River Kent at Abbot Hall, where there will be a vibrant festival of creative events, colourful entertainment, stalls, food and family fun.
Coined as ‘pride done differently’, the weekend will be an inclusive occasion which can be enjoyed by people of all ages in the community. Pride Village will be open on 15 June from 10am-7pm and 16 June from 10am-2pm, showcasing a line-up of live entertainment, pride themed eco-activities with Ragtag Arts, creative workshops with Lakeland Arts and a grand finale ‘Festi-Ball’.
The finale event will be a child-friendly experience with music, dancing and performances created in collaboration with students from Kendal College. There will also be a Pride Ceilidh dance, with live music from The Weirdstrings Band.
Pride village will be the starting point for the Lakes Gravel Gang mixed terrain 14.5 mile bike ride and Lakes Queer Adventures 10km walk and 7km run. For people who want to try something new, Eric Scutaro from Queer Side in Birmingham, will be running a voguing dance class. The class will teach empowering dance styles which encourage confidence, security, attitude and positivity.
For dog lovers, Kendal Pride has teamed up with Animal Rescue Cumbria to host a Proud Pooches dog show. Entry is £1 and dogs can be entered into classes including handsomest Dog, best 6 Legs (costumes welcome) and best rescue.
Abbot Hall will be displaying artwork including a radical photographic series by artist Claude Cahun. Cahun was a pioneering artist, rejecting the narrow confines of gender and the exhibition at Abbot Hall sees the artist blur and distort her age, identity, gender and surroundings to assume different personas. As part of the Pride celebration, creative students from Kendal College will be taking visitors on guided tours of the exhibition.
Helen Stalker, Associate Curator for Lakeland Arts states “At Abbot Hall, we are creating spaces for people to come together, engage with art and activate their unique creativity. We are delighted to host Kendal Pride Village this year and support the LGBTQIA+ and local community in celebrating everyone who makes the town what it is. During Kendal Pride, there will be a programme of fun activities and events for people of all ages and Abbot Hall will be showcasing the incredible work of gender defiant artist Claude Cahun. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Abbot Hall for this vibrant community celebration.”
Jamie Hooper, Chair of Kendal Pride organisers said “We were absolutely blown away by the enthusiasm for our inaugural Kendal Pride last year and were determined to bring it back bigger for 2024. The festival is focused on celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community getting into nature and enjoying the arts”.
This year, the Big Pride Party will be taking place at The Venue on 15 June from 7.30pm until the early hours. Hosting the night is Kendal-based drag queen Nova Gina and Kendal-based drag king Andi Blewitt. Headline act Ruby Sinclair, as seen on Britain’s Got Talent, will conclude the evening’s performances.
For more information about Kendal Pride and to book ticketed events visit www.kendalpride.co.uk
