DIY Pride

A Pride to be Proud of: Reading’s DIY Pride is taking place on Saturday 31st August 2024 at the Rising Sun Arts Centre from 1pm to 10pm.

Tired of the corporate pinkwashing of Reading Pride? Longing for a Pride that represents our community’s radical roots? Want to build a community with LGBTQIA+ folks interested in collective action and mutual aid? Join us (a loose collective of Reading-based queer groups, communities, and organisations) for Reading’s first DIY Pride event!

At DIY Pride, everyone can get involved, making it more of a do-it-together Pride. We are looking for trans-inclusive, intersectional, anti-racist, anti-capitalist folks, who firmly believe there is no Pride in Genocide, to take part in (volunteer, fund-raise, perform, create) our one-day event.

Ticketing 

We have 3 ticket types available:

• Day 1pm - 6pm (If you only wish to attend the day activities, or are under 18)
• Night 6pm - 10pm (If you are over 18 and wish to attend just the cabaret)
• Day + Night 1pm - 10pm (If you are over 18 and wish to attend the family friendly and cabaret)

Throughout the day, the RSAC inside and outside spaces will host family-friendly workshops, interactive activities, provocations, live music and performances. Refreshments will be available throughout the event, with food provided by Serving Bristol - a queer-run non-profit supper club with half proceeds to gender-affirming care, half to mutual aid for Palestine. In the evening, the RSAC ground floor Main Hall will transform into an 18+ performance space, highlighting cabaret acts, musicians and performance artists from Reading’s seriously talented queer community.

For night tickets, we ask you to pay what you can, so we can pay our artists a fee. We firmly believe that queer artists should be paid for their time, labour and art, especially at Pride.

We will also be fundraising on the day for Palestinian mutual aid (more details soon)

Book now via Outsavvy

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT?
Once the venue opens at 1pm, we will be hosting a series of workshops, talks and activities for participants of all ages. As well as several family-friendly activites for children and teens to get stuck into, there will be live music, talks and performances taking place, a bar serving a variety of alcoholic + non-alcoholic beverages, and delicious refreshments provided by Serving.Bristol. The daytime activites will be free to attend, although throughout the day we will be raising awareness about the crisis taking place in Palestine currenty and accepting donations towards mutual aid funds for those affected.

At 6pm, the venue will convert into an 18+ only space for our community to meet, mingle and socialise. In the main stage area, a live cabaret featuring local LGBTQ+ artists and perfomers will be available to watch on a Pay-What-You-Can basis. The lineup of artists has yet to be confi rmed, but will be co-curated by the incredible teams behind two of Reading’s smash-hit cabaret events: Howling @ The Moon and Sheer Obsession’s Suspenders.

There will also be a programme of live music throughout the event, curated by Reading based singer-songwriter HATS™️, and closing out the party, Anitah.DJ will be spinning tracks live from the main stage.

WHO IS INVOLVED?
The committee behind DIY Pride (in alphabetical order) are:
Alice Flynn (She/They), Basia Gorska (She/Her), Becs Lees (They/Them), Emeline Nevers-White (She/They), Gauthier Jardon (He/Him), George Turner (He/Him), Hats Taylor (They/Them), Kit Paschal (He/Him), Laura Ludtke (She/They), Milly ‘Anitah Oui’ Allwood Rose (She/Her) + Ollie Musson (They/Them)

In addition to our individual committee members, we are supported by the following grassroots groups + orgs:

• Dogmouth Theatre - A DIY Riot Grrrl Theatre company based in RDG, best known for producing Howling @ The Moon: Reading’s Biggest LGBTQ+ Cabaret + Sluts With Consoles
• Double Okay - A DIY Art Collective from RDG who host free arts and makers sessions once a month, as well as organising Sheer Obsession’s Suspenders, one of RDG’s best loved drag events
• Reading Queer Social - A monthly, free social event for RDG’s LGBTQ+ Community to hang out, socialise and meet in a safe and supportive space
• Reading Sapphic Social - A newly established social club for Sapphic individuals in RDG to connect with one another, make friends and have fun
• Serving.Bristol - A grassroots supper-club based in Bristol that donates all the proceeds from their events towards Gender Affirming Surgeries + Trans+ Healthcare costs 

Join our mailing list for updates on the event https://tinyurl.com/diypriderdg

 Email doubleokaygroup@gmail.com if you’re interested in volunteering!

Follow us on Instagram:

@wearedoubleokay

@rdgqueersocial

@reading.sapphics.social