Bradford Pride is just a few weeks away – on Saturday May 26th, in fact. It takes place in Centenary Square, from 1pm until 6pm, and headline act Scooch are joined by bucketloads of others, including comedian Jonathan Mayor, Sordid Secret and Bradford’s very own Marigold Addams. There’s live music throughout the afternoon with performances from Jess Gardham, Ryan Jagger and Tina Turner tribute, Kinisha.  And later on, the official afterparty will be held at [...]

The organising team for Calderdale’s only Pride event is pleased to announce that Calderdale Pride 2012 will take place at the Halifax Piece Hall on Saturday June 16th from noon until 7pm. ‘The team,’ they tell us, ‘is working hard making preparations for the release of our star headline act for 2012. We have some fantastic artists including Valentino King, Chasing Dragons, Whiter Than, Pracilla, singer songwriter Darren Smith (and Calderdale Pride’s Got Talent winner)’ [...]

              Leeds-based choir Gay Abandon hosted their successful Alternative Therapy cabaret night at Leeds Seventeen on March 17th. The night of comedy and singing raised £1500 for the West Yorkshire MS Therapy Centre. Acts included Mysti Valentine (pictured, above right), Ms Clitty RubQuick, Rosie Wilby and of course the Choirs Rock winners, Gay Abandon. The choir would like to thank all the sponsors of the event and everyone who [...]

The Real People Theatre Company will be presenting its 12th successive show for York International Women’s Week in early March – Paper Bag People. ‘Through poetry, life stories and discussion with the audience,’ they say, ‘they will be exploring the thorny issues of mental health, domestic violence, homophobia, addiction and hidden disability. Challenging and rewarding at the same time! ‘Why? Because it’s as if people walk around with paper bags over their heads, unable to [...]

An event is being held on February 27th to out what people would want from an LGBT Centre in Leeds. It’s hoped that the meeting will discover if there are any people interested in helping make this idea a reality. If you’re interested, please come along to the meeting or contact Paola Vietri by email at Paola.Vietri@a4mhd.org.uk   Date: Monday 27th of February Time: on a drop in basis, between 4.pm and 7pm Venue: Leeds [...]

February is, as usual, national LGBT History Month, and several towns and cities in Yorkshire are celebrating it. The Bank Street Arts Centre in Sheffield is hosting an exhibition called ‘Coming Out: Emerging From Adolescence’ by Jeremy Williams, from February 21st-March 3rd. It’s ‘a series of six images documenting the stages of realisation that take individuals from youthful innocence through to adult awareness’  including (pictured) ‘Isolation’. Wakefield is developing a range of initiatives and events, [...]

Bar Eleven in Halifax turned retro and grooved to the sounds of the seventies with a night of music and live performance in aid of Stop Hate UK and Calderdale Pride. The event’s organiser, Gary Kirkland said: ‘A massive thank you to everyone who supported us in raising an incredible £800 towards good causes.  The night was a huge success which really exceeded our expectations. The night’s success really is a testament to the charitable [...]

Doncaster’s elected Mayor, Peter Davis recently attended a meeting with the Doncaster Pride committee with the entire agenda given over to two main topics: that of raising the LGBT awareness across Doncaster, and the committee’s desire to see a more inclusive approach to LGBT issues across the Borough; and the second a plea from the committee for the Mayor to intervene and assist in policies and strategies to help tackle homophobic bullying in Doncaster’s schools.  [...]

Gay author and editor of Shout!, Mark Michalowski has just released his latest novel – which happens to be his first e-novel. The Ghosts of Mercury is part of a new series of Space: 1889 & Beyond books and novellas, based on the famous ‘steampunk’ role-playing game, published by Untreed Reads, a company specialising in e-publishing. ‘Steampunk isn’t a genre that everyone’s familiar with,’ Michalowski explains. ‘Think of it as science fiction – often set [...]

On Sunday September 25th, Yorkshire’s well-heeled came together to paint the town pink for the 2011 High Heel-a-thon, held in aid of The Haven and Sue Ryder. Women and intrepid men from across the region donned killer heels for the annual charity. The event comprised a one-mile walk around Leeds city centre, followed by an afternoon of entertainment at the Gateway on East Street including a Zumba warm-up, live music from local girl band Finesse, [...]

                As if two local Pride events last month weren’t enough, August sees three – Leeds Pride, Wakefield Pride and Doncaster Pride. (And if you have any spare energy and dosh left, there’s even a fourth: Manchester Pride!) Leeds Pride is the first of the three – taking place on Sunday August 7th. As usual, the main stage in Millennium Square will be happening from midday through to [...]

York Pride on 30th July – the biggest celebration of the LGBT communities in York and North Yorkshire – will include a poignant tribute to David Kato, who was murdered earlier this year because he was gay. Kato, a Ugandan gay rights activist based at York University’s Centre for Applied Human Rights in 2009/10, was well known in the LGBT community of York. He was tragically murdered in his own home in January 2011, shortly [...]