Manchester Pride Fringe

<p>So another summer in Manchester and another Pride comes around. The big weekend and parade takes place across the bank holiday weekend of the 23rd- 26th. However for the second year running the Pride fringe will be running right across August.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thegayuk.com/BarryHeap">by Barry Heap</a> | 6th July 2013</p><p></p><p>The fringe this year is a mixture of music, performance, sport and culture. The programme is an opportunity for Manchester to showcase the range of talent and diversity the city has to offer. The talent on show is a mixture of professional and grass roots level from the LGBT community. </p><p></p><p>All of this is made possible by the Pride Fringe Fund grants programme. This is funded by tickets from the big weekend and donations in the pride buckets that are around the village. It allows art projects and performances that may not be commercially viable or successful a chance to get the experience and begin to find a wider audience. Fourteen of the events involved have benefitted from this grant and it really gives a chance to invest back into the wider community.</p><p></p><p>At the launch this was showcased by a poetry reading from Young Enigmas. They are a collection of local Lgbt poets who are this year’s writers in residence. There was also a preview from “Someone’s Borrowed, Someone’s Blue” a musical comedy from New attitude theatre company. They sang a hilarious reworking of “Believe” which became “can you believe that Cher’s still alive”.</p><p></p><p>Aside from local talent there are also touring performances of musicals and plays with the only UK date this year from Ennio Marchetto, billed as “the living Cartoon”and“Up4ameet” starring X-factor’s Lloyd Daniels and big brother Nikki Graham and Benedict Garret. On the cinematic front along the Poutfest Film Festival dedicated to what’s new in queer cinema. The Wizard of Oz is also getting a screening for those wishing to revisit a beloved classic. A series of musical concerts celebrating the work of LGBT performers are also due to be performed across the city.</p><p></p><p>On an altogether more sporting theme, homophobia in football is key point with a rehearsed reading of “The Other Team” and the Homophobia VS Football conference giving fans a chance to address the argument that they are responsible for the climate of fear within the beautiful game. The Manchester Sharks water polo team are also offering an opportunity for anyone fancying the chance to try their hand.</p><p>It’s fair to say that the pride fringe offers something different for everyone away from the usual pride experience, if you want to invest back into the local community or just see naked celebrities.</p><p></p><p> If you want the rough and tumble of a new sport or just to kick back to the latest in cinema, you’ll find something on offer. We will be covering the highlights over the next few weeks. The programme itself is spread over August . The full programme of events across the Pride Finge along with dates and prices is available as a download from www.manchesterpride.com/whatson/fringe</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> </p>