Reading Pride

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Reading Pride is an annual gay event held at Reading, Berkshire, England, that services the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities of Reading and the Thames Valley.

History

The first Reading Pride was held on Saturday 4 September 2004 at King's Meadow in Reading.^{[citation needed]} Pride 2006 saw the introduction of a parade through Reading's main shopping streets. Since 2007 Pride has been a permanent event at King's Meadow. Pride 2008 saw an increase of more than 10,500 visitors, which has helped raise more money which is put back into the community, by offering support to a number of local charities and organisations such as BeYou, Gay Berkshire and Thames Valley Gay Police Association. Pride 2009 saw added attractions^[1] like live stages, VIP areas, performance tent and chill out areas, Youth Zone and Karaoke and the biggest gayest bus in the World. The next pride will be held on 4 September 2010.

The festival

Reading Pride's festival stated aims are to:^{[citation needed]}

• Celebrate the gay, lesbian and transgender community.
• Ensure a sense of belonging.
• Build strong and positive relations between people of different, working towards a shared vision of social equality and inclusion in Reading and surrounding areas. At the Festival there were the Pride 2009 awards.

Reading Pride awards

In 2009, Reading Pride introduced an award ceremony to thank the people that have made a difference to LGBT people in Reading and the Thames Valley.

The winners were:^[2]

• John Woods – Lifetime Achievement Award
• Dennis Hambridge – LGBT Campaigner Award
• SohoBoyz – LGBT Charity/Business Award
• Chris Gibbons / Stonewall (UK) – LGBT Impact Campaigner Award
• Simon Hallam & Sue Green – Community Campaigner Award

The parade

The first parade was in 2006 by The Wynford Arms, since then it has grown by reaching up to 300 people celebrating diversity in their town. Reading Pride Parade starts at 11am at the Civic Offices, travels along Broad Street, Market Place, Forbury Gardens and ends up at King's Meadow at 12pm.

The organisation

Reading Pride was founded in 2003.^{[citation needed]} It is a registered charity (number 1119891)^[3] run solely by volunteers, aiming to promote equality and diversity, advance education and work towards eliminating discrimination in relation to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, in Reading and across the Thames Valley. Reading Pride is best known for the annual festival we stage. The "free-to-enter" event celebrates the local community and has made significant progress in developing an environment in favour of LGBT equality.^{[citation needed]}

Throughout the year the team works to raise public awareness of its friends and colleagues at other charitable and voluntary organisations in the local area who provide information, advice and support on a breadth of LGBT issues. Over the last 7 years they have worked to raise funds for the community and for the annual festival where it showcases diversity and encourages acceptance throughout Berkshire.

References

LGBT portal

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External links

• Reading Pride website