Thousands set to attend Chase Pride as event is dedicated to transgender teen Brianna Ghey
Thousands of people are expected to flock to Hednesford as Chase Pride returns with a two-day festival this September.
Around 8,000 people are expected at Hednesford Park on on September 1 and 2 for the event which will celebrate diversity, support the local LGBTQ+ community, and break down barriers.
After the successful launch of Chase Pride last year for Cannock's first ever Pride event, this year's festival will pay tribute to Brianna Ghey, the transgender teenager whose life was tragically taken in a callous attack.
The horrific death of Brianna Ghey rocked the LGBTQ+ community earlier this year, and the team behind Chase Pride were keen to dedicate the main stage in her memory.
Festival founder, Kathryn Downs, said she felt great sadness and anger that Brianna had been "let down so badly" by society.
She said: "I set up Chase Pride to help people. I transitioned in 2010 in the Cannock Chase area and it was a very public and painful process.
"I didn’t want other people to go through what I had. To see what has happened to Brianna is heartbreaking and frightening.
"From all those years ago when I transitioned, I hoped things could be better, but it’s worse.
"The community turned out right across the UK for vigils held in Brianna’s memory, including one here in Hednesford.
"In dedicating the stage to Brianna, we hope to honour her memory, and remember her tragic loss at such a young age."
More than a thousand tickets had already been sold for the event, which promises a packed day of entertainment and activities for all, including a rainbow-clad parade, funfair, community marketplace and more.
Headline artists include RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Danny Beard, dance music legend Angie Brown and Union J’s Jaymi Hensley.
Appearing alongside them will be the likes of George Windsor, Vicki Vivacious, Nate Ethan and many others. There will also be performances from local groups including Crystal Dance Academy and Class 3 Productions.
Kathryn added: "There will be two stages – the Brianna Ghey Stage and the Localz stage – and there is a packed line-up of brilliant entertainment for everyone.
"We’re especially excited to add Queer as Joke to the event this year, who will be taking over the Localz stage from 4.30pm bringing their unique brand of LGBTQ+ comedy to the event.
"There will also be around 50 stalls featuring traders, community services and many more. One of the highlights will be the parade, last year we were blown away with the positive community response and vibrant atmosphere, and we can’t wait to see all those bright costumes and smiley faces again for 2023."
The event runs from 11am until 9pm, and this year the organisers have supersized everything – including the bar and food court.
The free community movie night also returns on Friday, September 1, with the chosen movie being kept tightly under wraps for the moment but is sure to have the crowd singing and dancing along.
Kathryn added: "Given the ongoing economic pressures, like many other Prides, it's proving harder to secure funding for the event this year, but we’re thrilled to be working again alongside McArthurGlen – the West Midlands Designer Outlet - and One Stop Stores who are sponsoring the Community Zone and Queer as Joke stage.
"We’ve also had lots of other support offered from local businesses and we are hugely grateful to organisations like Aggreko and Veolia for their support."
The event follows the huge success of the inaugural Chase Pride in 2022, which attracted over 5500 attendees and raised £14,000 for local charitable causes.
"An event of this scale always takes months of planning, but our committee are hard at work behind the scenes on finishing touches and we’ll soon be opening recruitment for volunteers to help make the day enjoyable for all," Kathryn said.
"Given the huge success of 2022, we’re keen to see what we can achieve for the LGBTQ+ community of Hednesford.
"We heard so many amazing, heart-warming stories from last year’s event, we’re spurred on and keen to spread the benefits of Pride wider than ever."
For more details, to get involved, or to buy tickets, visit chasepride.org.uk/.
