Pride Fringe 2014

RED CARPET ROLLED OUT FOR MANCHESTER PRIDE FRINGE

A month long programme of citywide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender arts, music and culture launches

Leading British actors, including Imelda Staunton, Andrew Scott, Bill Nighy and Joe Gilgun, will spearhead a month long series of events as part of Manchester Pride Fringe.

The British film, Pride, based on the unlikely relationship between a group of LGBT activists and striking miners in 1984 will feature in the programme of events for Manchester Pride Fringe.

Cast members will take part in a Q&A session on Friday 22 August at Selfridges Exchange Square and will march in the Pride Parade the following day, with banners from the miner’s march in 1984. There will also be a Q&A session with some of the original gay and lesbian activists at the People’s History Museum on Saturday 23 August at 11:00. Manchester also plays host to an exclusive red-carpet preview of the film at the Printworks.

The Fringe’s screen-theme continues with Coming Out: from Script to Screen, which takes place at The Lowry, MediaCity:UK, on Tuesday 19 August at 19:00. The  creator of Coronation Street, Tony Warren, soap actress Brooke Vincent and writers Jonathan Harvey, Damon Rochefort and Debbie Oates, will discuss the concept of characters in soaps coming out and how the story moves from script to screen at this unique talk.

Mark Fletcher, Chief Executive of Manchester Pride, said: “This year’s Pride Fringe is vibrant, varied and has a host of high-profile events. Our award winning programme of music, theatre, art, culture, comedy and sport, across Greater Manchester offers something for everyone.

“Our aim was to make Pride Fringe as accessible as possible. The majority of events are free to attend and we hope that communities from Greater Manchester will join us for one of the many performances, activities and exhibitions, which we hope we get everyone talking, having fun and ultimately join in with the Pride celebrations.”

Other Manchester Pride Fringe events include:

The Metrolink Sessions, on Wednesday 13 August, will see artists including Twisted Tubes, a ten piece brass fusion band, perform onboard a chartered tram travelling from Manchester to MediaCityUK. Metrolink is also offering free City Zone travel across the Big Weekend to all Pride wristband wearers.

Byte is an art action taking place in Sackville Gardens in Manchester at 1pm on Saturday 2nd August. This new artwork sees the Alan Turing memorial act as a catalyst for conversation and debate. Created by artist Paul Harfleet, ‘Byte’ will invite passers-by to take a bite of an augmented apple, as the symbolism and relationship to Alan Turing is explained.

Harfleet’s ongoing artwork, The Pansy Project was conceived in Manchester in 2004. The artist plants pansies at the site of homophobic abuse.  This ‘guerrilla gardening’ project has evolved into an internationally recognised artwork and has featured in festivals and exhibitions around the world. With his brother Tom, Paul Harfleet won two Gold Medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, where in 2010 ‘The Pansy Project Garden’ won best Conceptual Garden. This project runs alongside his exhibition at the DoubleTree by Hilton which opens on 1 August. Paul will also be speaking about his work on Sunday 3 August, in partnership with Dig the City - Manchester’s annual festival of horticulture.

Cockadoodle, an erotic art exhibition, will be on display in Twenty Twenty Two in the Northern Quarter from Friday 15 August. The first European solo exhibition from Canadian artist Maurice Vellekoop draws on his portfolio of gay erotic art and features excerpts from both his ‘Pin Ups’ series and his latest work ‘Transworld’.

Hazel’s Karaoke, taking place on Saturday 9 August at New York New York, sees Queer as Folk’s Denise Black reprising her role as Hazel and hosting a night of karaoke.

Cabaret at the Grill is an evening of dining and live cabaret, starring the glamorous La Voix, takes place on Thursday 7 August at the Grill on New York Street. All ticket proceeds are being donated directly to the Manchester Pride Community Fund.

A Secret Screening  will take place on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 August at an unusual location; the Moston Miners Community Arts and Music Centre, with a film preview that promises to show how a little support can go a long way, but organisers are tight-lipped about film and encourage visitors to join the experience in this intimate venue.

And at the venue that started it all https://www.facebook.com/events/606001622830165/ #Taurusbar

A full programme of events can be found at manchesterpride.com/fringe

Published: 31-Jul-2014: (2550)