<\/p>\n
A Pride event that began as a barbecue gathering between friends and grew into a lifeline for a Salford social club on the brink is set to brighten up the city again this weekend.<\/strong><\/p>\n A Freddy Mercury tribute act, a renowned inclusive choir and a singing drag queen will take to the stage as Weaste Pride returns to Weaste and Seedley Social Club on Saturday 11 July.<\/p>\n The jam-packed line-up will perform for festivalgoers dressed in vibrant 80s and 90s-themed costumes at this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n Punters turning out to enjoy the glitz, glamour and forecast Salford sunshine will be hopeful that winning a loaded charity raffle with Avanti West Coast train tickets, a meal voucher for the historic Black Friar pub in Salford and shop credit at clothing stores will cap off a fine day.<\/p>\n Ian Carberry, the Hartlepool-born social club secretary and brain behind Weaste Pride, explained that the annual celebration of the city\u2019s LGBTQ+ community began in his back garden.<\/p>\n \u201cIt started off as a barbecue in my garden,\u201d he said, laughing. \u201cIt became so big that, when we did it for the first year and everyone turned up, it was quite overwhelming but still an amazing day.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have taken some feedback on and will have more acts, more variety and better stalls at the event this year.\u201d<\/p>\n The proceeds from the charity will go to local suicide prevention charity Jak\u2019s World, which will have a stand alongside social housing provider Salix Homes and non-profit art studio Grit.<\/p>\n The 39-year-old has planned ahead to ensure visitors are comfortably cool while dancing to all-singing, all-dancing Manchester-based drag queen Tina Tuna, who will host the event in the baking heat.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve bought lots of ice pops, because it\u2019s a heatwave again this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have lots of tatty decorations, Lily savage and Bad Girls cutouts \u2013 we\u2019re very hun vibes here.\u201d<\/p>\n The Beautiful South fan is particularly looking forward to seeing a tribute band celebrating the pop rock group, as well as Manchester Proud Chorus, a prominent LGBTQ+ community choir.<\/p>\n Ian, a gay man who admitted he would have thought twice before drinking in Salford ten years ago, said the city has become a \u201cwelcoming place\u201d for members of a burgeoning LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the most friendly place,\u201d he explained, adding, \u201caround here you don\u2019t have to pay Manchester prices; it\u2019s not like going to Canal Street.<\/p>\n \u201cHere it\u2019s \u00a34.50 for a pint of Madri, \u00a33.60 for a Carling and there is a great sense of community here.\u201d<\/p>\n While the pints are cheap and the decorations are up, this year\u2019s event comes at a time when the social club faces mounting financial pressures.<\/p>\n A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to raise \u00a35,000 to fund urgent repairs needed to bring the ageing 1980s building into the 21st century.<\/p>\n Pointing to a damaged, stained roof supported by makeshift wooden panels, Ian allowed himself to dream of a brighter future for the social club he has grown to adore.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to come in one day and make it modern,\u201d he said, imagining a room without the red blinds he loathes. \u201cIt would be nice for the space to be more modern, inviting and practical so we could host bigger and better events.\u201d<\/p>\n He hopes events like Weaste Pride will give festival-goers a glimpse of the social club\u2019s potential, while helping to promote greater inclusivity and reduce social isolation in the area.<\/p>\n More information about the Weaste Pride festival can be found here<\/a>, while a link to the crowdfunder is available here.<\/a><\/p>\n Related <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Pride event that began as a barbecue gathering between friends and grew into a lifeline for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1079489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,5763,2465,40240,1290,16,15,90205,295531,295532],"class_list":["post-1079488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-lgbtq","tag-manchester","tag-pride","tag-salford","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-weaste","tag-weaste-and-seedley","tag-weaste-pride"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116892858293366761","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1079489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Weaste Pride will return ot Salford on Saturday. <\/p>\n
A Lily Savage cutout next to a wall of photographs memorialising good times at the Weaste and Seedley social club. <\/p>\n
Ian Carberry (left) snaps a selfie at Weaste Pride. <\/p>\n
The ceiling at Weaste and Seedley Social Club looks worse for wear. <\/p>\n