At Sackville Gardens, recently played host to a truly special event: Sparkle Weekend, the UK’s longest-running celebration of trans life. This year marked a significant milestone, celebrating two decades gender diversity and community spirit right here in the city. The atmosphere was simply incredible, with people of all ages and identities gathering for a weekend of festivities and connection.
The Team Behind the Celebration
Bringing an event of this scale to life is no small feat, and it’s particularly remarkable that Sparkle Weekend is largely driven by voluntary efforts. This year’s success was thanks to:
- Over 6,000 hours of voluntary planning
- 30 talented main stage performers
- A dedicated team of 150 volunteers
- Collaboration with more than 70 different organisations
- 21 creative art traders showcasing their unique work
Key Moments from Sparkle Weekend 2025
Attendees had a wide range of activities and experiences to enjoy throughout the weekend:
- The Loud & Proud activism Friday Night set the tone, featuring powerful community speeches, calls to action, music, and a workshop for making protest placards.
- A notable initiative was the launch of their trans-inclusive sex and play packs. These aim to offer an inclusive and community-driven approach to sexual health, providing essential items like dental dams, gloves, condoms, lube, and finger cots.
- The Sanctuary Pop-Up offered a valuable off-site sensory space for relaxation. It hosted a variety of calming and engaging activities, including a pub quiz, a somatic workshop with a therapist, crochet and knitting, a queer writing group, and board games.
- Families found plenty to love in the Family & Youth Zone, which was a hit with its bouncy castle, face painting, teddy tombola, party games, and popular drag queen story time sessions.
- A brand new addition this year was the Peace Lounge, providing a welcoming spot for anyone looking to unwind and relax away from the main hustle and bustle.
Voices from the Weekend
The impact of Sparkle Weekend was clearly felt by those who attended. Here’s what some visitors shared about their experience:
- “At a time of great challenge for the trans community, Sparkle was a vital opportunity to come together and celebrate the joy our journeys have brought us.”
- “I’ve been to pride type events for over 35 years and this was the best music ever!”
- “Just seeing so many trans and gender-diverse people around!!”
- “My daughter loved the children’s area, especially the bouncy castle.”
- “At Sparkle I saw loving families who are supporting their gender-diverse kids, I saw couples holding hands, I saw friends laughing, I saw artists play their original songs, despite it all, here we are, not just living but thriving. Trans joy is real.”
Share Your Thoughts on Sparkle Weekend 2025
The organisers of Sparkle Weekend genuinely value community input to help them improve for next year. If you were there, they would love to hear what you thought of the event.
You can share your feedback by visiting: spkl.uk/feedback