The ninth Reading Pride is shaping up to be another fabulous, frenetic day out.

Last year, the event attracted more than 15,000 people and Reading Pride 2012 promises to be bigger and better, with outrageous performers, stunning outfits and oodles of style.

People from across Reading are welcome to celebrate lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) communities at the festival, on Saturday, September 8, from noon to 8pm.

The circus-themed Pride Parade will make its way through the town centre before heading for the festival site at King’s Meadow.

There will be performances from Angie Brown, Kitty Brucknell, Tight Fit, Stevie Moore, Greymatter, L Project, Hazell Dean, Kelly Wilde and many more.

Scott-Austin Shaw of LGBT Campaign Steering Committee emphasises that it is a fun day for all, but urges Pride party-goers to remember the serious side of the endeavours.

He said: “We, as a community have so much to be proud of, and yet have still much more to fight for.

“June 28, 1969, is, and always should be, a landmark date within our history. It was on this day that the Stonewall Riots broke out due to continuous persecution of LGBT people at the hands of the police in New York City. Enough was enough and these people stood up and made their voices heard loud and clear.

“Pride is the time where we should be proud and enjoy ourselves, and yet it is the perfect time to reinforce there are still issues that we face.

“Pride really needs to be a platform of expression, a platform to shout loud, and a platform to assert the fact that although we are a community, we are part of the wider and more general community and deserve the same rights and privileges and should never settle for anything less.

“To all those attending Reading Pride this year, I wish you all a great time, enjoy yourselves and maybe spare a thought for those who fought and inspired such an event to even exist.”

Visit www.readingpride.co.uk

Ambulance service to set up LGBT support network

The festival will also see the launch of a support network for ambulance staff.

South Central Ambulance Service’s (SCAS) Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Network will celebrate the culture and contributions of its LGBT personnel and is open to all trust staff, volunteers and contractors.

SCAS’s chief executive officer Will Hancock said: “I believe the LGBT network will be a force for good in SCAS and provide a further way to support our staff for the benefit of our patients.

“Diversity flourishes in healthy teams, creating the rounded individuals that we need at SCAS to deliver excellent services to our community that are personalised according to any individual’s needs.”

As well as SCAS’s LGBT Network, Pride party-goers will be able to find out more about the ambulance service and its career opportunities and volunteer roles, such as becoming a Community First Responder. The SCAS team will also be recruiting Foundation Trust public members and clinical staff will provide medical cover for the event.

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