Nottingham Castle has announced they will be holding a weekend event filled with drag and films to celebrate pride on Saturday, July 30th and 31st. British drag superstar Tia Kofi will take to the stage in a weekend-long celebration that will run alongside the official pride celebrations.
Nottingham Castle will be transformed into two evenings of special events including live performances to film screenings. An outdoor showing of British comedy drama Pride will take place on Saturday and Tia Kofi will perform on Sunday night. The celebrations will also feature local drag superstars Kenya Knott, Marilyn Sane and Nana Arthole.
Read more: Major Pride parade route in Nottingham announced
The official Pride celebrations will see the return of the Nottingham march through the city centre on Saturday morning at 10 am starting from Listergate. It will finish on Broad Street with the main pride stage and stalls. It is the first full celebration in two years.
There are a number of events being hosted around the city including the castle weekend in many of the city's LGBT+ venues. The castle will host LGBTQ+ gallery tours, a Community Pride flag project, and the Nottingham Drag Pageant which will have one of Nottingham’s reigning drag superstars, Issa Mood, on the judging panel.
Oliver Saunders, Communities and Engagement Manager for Nottingham Castle Trust, said “We are incredibly proud to present a fabulous weekend of events in celebration of Nottinghamshire Pride, and of course to mark the 50th anniversary of Pride in the UK.
"We’ll be holding space for reflection and considering how far we’ve come in these years and setting our sights on what the future should hold for our beloved LGBTQ+ communities in Nottingham and beyond.
A key highlight of this weekend is definitely the Nottingham Drag Pageant. The city is full of incredible performers bursting out onto the local scene and it’s an honour to have them all perform for us here at the Castle.
"Each one expresses their ideas of freedom, acceptance and creativity in their own way, so if you’re a big fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race you’re going to LOVE this!”
The Castle’s Community Pride flag will be on display throughout the weekend at the bandstand. It was made in collaboration with Base 51’s Outburst group, the Notts Trans Hub and LGBTQ+ staff at Nottingham Castle and was inspired by the original 1978 Pride flags which were sewn together by a community group in San Francisco.
The flag will be accompanied with a sound installation and information about the past 50 years of LGBTQ+ history in the UK. Tickets for the Pride Weekender are included in the general admission tickets, except for the Saturday evening outdoor cinema and Sunday evening drag show which are ticketed separately.
General admissions tickets to the castle now also act as an annual pass so you can return as many times as you like within 12 months.
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