LGBT History month has been celebrated in the Medway towns with various events taking place each February.
This years event was hosted by Nucleus Arts Centre in Chatham and was supported by MGSD Centre, Metro Charity & Creatabot partners of Medway Pride.
The artifacts exhibited were provided by artists from or allies of the LGBTQI+ Community of Medway & Kent.
Below are some images from this years exhibition which included a colaborative interactive work by Mark Delacour – Metro Centre and Hilary Cooke MGSD Centre on Pronoun use.
This event took place in February 2020 and became the launch event for Medway Pride. We have been invited back by Nucleus Arts for next years LGBTQI+ History Month Event.
Some of the exhibits from LGBT History Month
History of LGBT History Month
LGBT History Month was initiated in the UK by Sue Sanders and Paul Patrick as a Schools OUT UK project, which first took place in February 2005. The Month is an annual event in the United Kingdom taking place every February.
The event came in the wake of the abolition of Section 28 in 2003, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003as well as the government’s proposals to bring in a single equality act and a public duty, although this, in fact, did not come to fruition until 2010.
The Month is intended as a means to raise awareness of, and combat prejudice against the LGBT community while celebrating its achievement and diversity and making it more visible.
The first celebration in 2005 saw the organisation of over 150 events around the UK. The second logo for the organisation behind the month was designed by LGBT typographer Tony Malone in 2006, and was reworked by him in 2007 when it then became the corporate logo for the national committee.
From that point in time, each yearly iteration of the Month started to receive its own mark designed by students of the University of the Arts and later by design students at the University of Bedfordshire.
Hope to see you at Medway Prides next LGBT History Month Exhibition.
Plans were well advanced for #MPFestival2020 when COVID-19 presented itself and the social distancing restrictions were put in place.
Plans for a Parade from Chatham to Rochester Castle with 500 participants, including floats and acts were being completed, and a Pride festival in the grounds of Rochester Castle with stage events were in progress with negotiation for traffic management and security taking place. We were at a stage where contracts would need to be agreed and funds commited to secure the services required for a safe event to take place. Acts would need to be booked and contracted to perform.
This presented the Medway Pride Streering Group with difficult choices on waiting for futher government advice on future plans or to postpone the event.
It was a matter of safety that made the decision to cancel the easy choice to make.
Published: 20:12, 28 April 2020
Plans for Medway’s first Gay Pride have been pushed back to next year.
The celebration was due to take place in the Towns on Saturday, August 22.
Pride has been postponed in the Towns Picture:
However, due to the ongoing lockdown measures, the festival’s organisers have decided to hold the event next year instead.
A parade through Chatham and Rochester followed by a grand finale in the gardens of Rochester Castle had been planned.
A steering group of people from the Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre, the Medway Pride Community Organisation, METRO Charity and creative arts organisation Creatabot, are looking at the idea of staging a virtual Pride.
Chief executive of the Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre, Hilary Cooke, said: “Although it is disappointing that we have to cancel this year’s event, we look forward to continuing the positive conversations we have had with Medway Council, our partners, and sponsors of the event and believe that it is vital that Medway is on the map as an LGBTQ+ friendly area for all those who live here and might consider living here.”
Any funding which has already been raised for the event is due to go into next year’s festival on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
A Pride Parade in Canterbury last year. Picture: Chris Davey
Anyone who is interested in taking part in a virtual version of the festival can visit #VMPride2020 for information or contact us
During the summer of 2019 Hilary Cooke CEO of Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre began disussions with the Medway Pride 2019 team to discuss future plans. The result of these discussions led to the formation of a steering group to move plans forwards for a Medway Pride 2020 event.
Hilary invited Metro Charity and Intrested Parties to join the steering group. The group members are formed from the existing Medway Pride Team and representatives from LGBTQI+ organisations working in Medway & Kent.
The steering group began planning for a larger Medway Pride 2020 event #MPride2020 in August 2019.
Published: 06:00, 18 February 2020
Published: 06:00, 18 February 2020 | Updated: 20:23, 19 February 2020
Medway is to host its first LGBTQI+ Pride festival this summer with a fancy dress parade and packed programme of entertainment for the family.
Plans for the extravaganza are to be unveiled at an exhibition, entitled Outing Prejudice, at Nucleus Arts in Chatham High Street from next Friday (February 28) to Wednesday, March 4.
Organisers Hilary Cooke and Helanna Bowler-Irvinespoke to Keilan Webster at KMTV
The event on Saturday, August 22, aims to attract not only the LGBTQ+ community, but anyone who wants to celebrate diversity across the Towns.
Local talent will be showcased at Rochester Castle where there will be a grand finale. There will also be a procession from Chatham to Rochester.
The annual worldwide fiesta celebrates diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community, but everyone is invited to join the party.
The steering group behind Medway Pride 2020 includes representation from Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre, METRO charity which supports equality and identity issues and Creatabot, which uses creativity to promote health and wellbeing.
Hilary Cooke, chief executive of the MGSD Centre, said: “We look forward to continuing the positive conversations we have had with Medway Council in regards to the organisation of the event and believe that it is vital that Medway is on the map as an LGBTQ+ friendly area for all those who live here and might consider living here.”
Some of those who took part in Margate Pride last year Picture: Paul Amos (15047356)
Last year saw the largest number of Pride events throughout the world and, as a result, the idea of holding one in Medway grew.
In previous years, proposals have been scuppered because of a lack of funding, but organisers are determined that 2020 is the year that it will go ahead and are appealing for community groups and organisations to participate as well as individual sponsorship. Volunteers are also needed to help out on the day which runs from 1pm to 8pm.
Information on parade registration and how to get involved is yet to be released. To find out more visit contact us
Similar festivals are already held in Margate, Canterbury, Folkestone, Dover, Tunbridge Wells, Faversham and Sheppey with Gravesend staging its inaugural event this summer.
A sell-out crowd partied the night away at the Melanie C concert at Dreamland as part of Margate Pride. Picture: Dreamland Margate (15112189)
From Kent Messenger Published: 00:01, 04 November 2018
Medway’s first Gay Pride festival will go ahead next year, despite lack of council funding.
Organisers of the LGBT+pride event, which will include a fancy dress parade, live performances and stalls, have started a crowdfunding campaign this month.
It will be held in Rochester, based around the Castle Gardens and town centre on a Saturday in the summer.
It is being co-staged by Natasha Steer, a Chatham-based creative community arts co-ordinator, and Martha Abernathy, an American ex-pat living and working in Medway who is a trade unionist and LGBT rights campaigner.
Natasha said: “We want the first Medway Pride event to be a collaboration between services. We want it to be non-partisan but also supported by local parties and the local authority.”
Martha added: “Crowdfunding will give the LGBTQ+community and their allies in Medway the unique ability to support both the local community and the event.”
As a grassroots organisation, Medway Pride will look at various sources of funding as well as partners to be able to make the event happen.
Similar festivals have now sprung up in towns up and down the country to celebrate the culture of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other groups.
Medway Council has said it would welcome such an event, but does not have the money to organise one itself.
Deputy leader Cllr Howard Doe (Con), speaking to members last month highlighted a series of events organised by external organisations which have benefited from support from the council.
The Gay Pride march in Canterbury this summer
He added: “It should be borne in mind that there is currently no provision within any existing budgets for any costs that would be incurred in hosting such an event.
“We agree that planning for a pride event should be transparent and inclusive, and would look to the organiser to be so.”
Natasha and Martha began planning for Medway Pride 2019 and started to look for funding routes. All pride events are self funded with a mixture of grant, sponsorship funding and donations raised by the community. It was never a question of asking Medway Council to fund the event, but it was paramount to its success that the council was on board with the event going ahaead.
Medway Council are very supportive of the event, they are working to help the Medway Pride team meet its requirements, supporting road closures, and facilitating meetings with Medway Events and Heritage Teams
As time went by it became apparent that more help was needed to promote and fundraise the event
It was 2018 and with the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots, which began the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, that led to Pride Events fast approaching, two people, Natash & Martha, living in Medway began having a conversation wondering why Medway Pride was not a yearly event.
It wasn’t that the LGBTQ+ community was to small, Medway has always had a vibrant community scene with pubs and clubs serving the community, but Pride had not been a fixture in Medway. There had been Pride events with Local venues holding in house pride parties, and groups would travel to London or Brighton to attend their annual festivals.
These were small events and after these two events they concentrated and promoting Margate Pride to get that event on the annual calendar.
Natasha and Martha decided to hold a public meeting to see if the community wanted to hold a Pride event in Medway. The result was a deffinate YES with over 100 people willing to volunteer, So the plans began to promote a Medway Pride Festival.
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Last Updated: 06/07/2020 by Hilary Cooke Leave a Comment
LGBT History Month 2020
LGBT History month has been celebrated in the Medway towns with various events taking place each February.
This years event was hosted by Nucleus Arts Centre in Chatham and was supported by MGSD Centre, Metro Charity & Creatabot partners of Medway Pride.
The artifacts exhibited were provided by artists from or allies of the LGBTQI+ Community of Medway & Kent.
Below are some images from this years exhibition which included a colaborative interactive work by Mark Delacour – Metro Centre and Hilary Cooke MGSD Centre on Pronoun use.
This event took place in February 2020 and became the launch event for Medway Pride. We have been invited back by Nucleus Arts for next years LGBTQI+ History Month Event.
History of LGBT History Month
LGBT History Month was initiated in the UK by Sue Sanders and Paul Patrick as a Schools OUT UK project, which first took place in February 2005. The Month is an annual event in the United Kingdom taking place every February.
The event came in the wake of the abolition of Section 28 in 2003, the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003as well as the government’s proposals to bring in a single equality act and a public duty, although this, in fact, did not come to fruition until 2010.
The Month is intended as a means to raise awareness of, and combat prejudice against the LGBT community while celebrating its achievement and diversity and making it more visible.
The first celebration in 2005 saw the organisation of over 150 events around the UK. The second logo for the organisation behind the month was designed by LGBT typographer Tony Malone in 2006, and was reworked by him in 2007 when it then became the corporate logo for the national committee.
From that point in time, each yearly iteration of the Month started to receive its own mark designed by students of the University of the Arts and later by design students at the University of Bedfordshire.
Hope to see you at Medway Prides next LGBT History Month Exhibition.
Last Updated: 10/03/2022 by Hilary Cooke 1 Comment
COVID -19 & Medway Pride 2020
Plans were well advanced for #MPFestival2020 when COVID-19 presented itself and the social distancing restrictions were put in place.
Plans for a Parade from Chatham to Rochester Castle with 500 participants, including floats and acts were being completed, and a Pride festival in the grounds of Rochester Castle with stage events were in progress with negotiation for traffic management and security taking place. We were at a stage where contracts would need to be agreed and funds commited to secure the services required for a safe event to take place. Acts would need to be booked and contracted to perform.
This presented the Medway Pride Streering Group with difficult choices on waiting for futher government advice on future plans or to postpone the event.
It was a matter of safety that made the decision to cancel the easy choice to make.
Published: 20:12, 28 April 2020
Plans for Medway’s first Gay Pride have been pushed back to next year.
The celebration was due to take place in the Towns on Saturday, August 22.
However, due to the ongoing lockdown measures, the festival’s organisers have decided to hold the event next year instead.
A parade through Chatham and Rochester followed by a grand finale in the gardens of Rochester Castle had been planned.
A steering group of people from the Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre, the Medway Pride Community Organisation, METRO Charity and creative arts organisation Creatabot, are looking at the idea of staging a virtual Pride.
Chief executive of the Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre, Hilary Cooke, said: “Although it is disappointing that we have to cancel this year’s event, we look forward to continuing the positive conversations we have had with Medway Council, our partners, and sponsors of the event and believe that it is vital that Medway is on the map as an LGBTQ+ friendly area for all those who live here and might consider living here.”
Any funding which has already been raised for the event is due to go into next year’s festival on Saturday, August 21, 2021.
Anyone who is interested in taking part in a virtual version of the festival can visit #VMPride2020 for information or contact us
Posted: 06/07/2020 by Hilary Cooke Leave a Comment
Medway Pride 2020 Steering Group
During the summer of 2019 Hilary Cooke CEO of Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre began disussions with the Medway Pride 2019 team to discuss future plans. The result of these discussions led to the formation of a steering group to move plans forwards for a Medway Pride 2020 event.
Hilary invited Metro Charity and Intrested Parties to join the steering group. The group members are formed from the existing Medway Pride Team and representatives from LGBTQI+ organisations working in Medway & Kent.
Medway Pride Steering Steering Group Members
Chair – Hilary Cooke – CEO MGSD Centre
Member – Natasha Steer – Founder of Creatabot & lead on Medway Pride 2019 Team
Member – Martha Abernathy Member of Medway Pride 2019 Team.
Member- Mark Delacour – Director of External Affairs Metro Charity
Member – Helanna Bowler-Irvine CEO Gravesham Pride
The steering group began planning for a larger Medway Pride 2020 event #MPride2020 in August 2019.
Published: 06:00, 18 February 2020
Published: 06:00, 18 February 2020 | Updated: 20:23, 19 February 2020
Medway is to host its first LGBTQI+ Pride festival this summer with a fancy dress parade and packed programme of entertainment for the family.
Plans for the extravaganza are to be unveiled at an exhibition, entitled Outing Prejudice, at Nucleus Arts in Chatham High Street from next Friday (February 28) to Wednesday, March 4.
Organisers Hilary Cooke and Helanna Bowler-Irvine spoke to Keilan Webster at KMTV
The event on Saturday, August 22, aims to attract not only the LGBTQ+ community, but anyone who wants to celebrate diversity across the Towns.
Local talent will be showcased at Rochester Castle where there will be a grand finale. There will also be a procession from Chatham to Rochester.
The annual worldwide fiesta celebrates diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ+) community, but everyone is invited to join the party.
The steering group behind Medway Pride 2020 includes representation from Medway Gender and Sexual Diversity Centre, METRO charity which supports equality and identity issues and Creatabot, which uses creativity to promote health and wellbeing.
Hilary Cooke, chief executive of the MGSD Centre, said: “We look forward to continuing the positive conversations we have had with Medway Council in regards to the organisation of the event and believe that it is vital that Medway is on the map as an LGBTQ+ friendly area for all those who live here and might consider living here.”
Last year saw the largest number of Pride events throughout the world and, as a result, the idea of holding one in Medway grew.
In previous years, proposals have been scuppered because of a lack of funding, but organisers are determined that 2020 is the year that it will go ahead and are appealing for community groups and organisations to participate as well as individual sponsorship. Volunteers are also needed to help out on the day which runs from 1pm to 8pm.
Information on parade registration and how to get involved is yet to be released. To find out more visit contact us
Similar festivals are already held in Margate, Canterbury, Folkestone, Dover, Tunbridge Wells, Faversham and Sheppey with Gravesend staging its inaugural event this summer.
Posted: 06/07/2020 by Hilary Cooke Leave a Comment
Medway Pride 2019
From Kent Messenger Published: 00:01, 04 November 2018
Medway’s first Gay Pride festival will go ahead next year, despite lack of council funding.
Organisers of the LGBT+pride event, which will include a fancy dress parade, live performances and stalls, have started a crowdfunding campaign this month.
It will be held in Rochester, based around the Castle Gardens and town centre on a Saturday in the summer.
It is being co-staged by Natasha Steer, a Chatham-based creative community arts co-ordinator, and Martha Abernathy, an American ex-pat living and working in Medway who is a trade unionist and LGBT rights campaigner.
Natasha said: “We want the first Medway Pride event to be a collaboration between services. We want it to be non-partisan but also supported by local parties and the local authority.”
Martha added: “Crowdfunding will give the LGBTQ+community and their allies in Medway the unique ability to support both the local community and the event.”
As a grassroots organisation, Medway Pride will look at various sources of funding as well as partners to be able to make the event happen.
Similar festivals have now sprung up in towns up and down the country to celebrate the culture of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other groups.
Medway Council has said it would welcome such an event, but does not have the money to organise one itself.
Deputy leader Cllr Howard Doe (Con), speaking to members last month highlighted a series of events organised by external organisations which have benefited from support from the council.
He added: “It should be borne in mind that there is currently no provision within any existing budgets for any costs that would be incurred in hosting such an event.
“We agree that planning for a pride event should be transparent and inclusive, and would look to the organiser to be so.”
Natasha and Martha began planning for Medway Pride 2019 and started to look for funding routes. All pride events are self funded with a mixture of grant, sponsorship funding and donations raised by the community. It was never a question of asking Medway Council to fund the event, but it was paramount to its success that the council was on board with the event going ahaead.
Medway Council are very supportive of the event, they are working to help the Medway Pride team meet its requirements, supporting road closures, and facilitating meetings with Medway Events and Heritage Teams
As time went by it became apparent that more help was needed to promote and fundraise the event
Posted: 06/07/2020 by Hilary Cooke 2 Comments
Medway Pride
It was 2018 and with the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots, which began the LGBTQ+ civil rights movement, that led to Pride Events fast approaching, two people, Natash & Martha, living in Medway began having a conversation wondering why Medway Pride was not a yearly event.
It wasn’t that the LGBTQ+ community was to small, Medway has always had a vibrant community scene with pubs and clubs serving the community, but Pride had not been a fixture in Medway. There had been Pride events with Local venues holding in house pride parties, and groups would travel to London or Brighton to attend their annual festivals.
In 2013 & 2014 Rochester held Picnic in the Park events promoted by Kent & Medway LGBT Community Action Group with help from Metro Charity
These were small events and after these two events they concentrated and promoting Margate Pride to get that event on the annual calendar.
Natasha and Martha decided to hold a public meeting to see if the community wanted to hold a Pride event in Medway. The result was a deffinate YES with over 100 people willing to volunteer, So the plans began to promote a Medway Pride Festival.
Last Updated: April 30, 2020 by Medway Pride Admin 1 Comment
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