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After 8 years of revelling at prides around the country, I somehow have never made it to Manchester Pride until this year.
Having paid £28.25 for a weekend ticket, my expectations were high. Arriving on Friday night after 6 hours in a cramped car full of lesbians, and having already missed Anastacia’s performance, I was grumpy to say the least. We skipped the lestivities for the evening and went straight to our hotel. Arriving at the Travelodge, I noticed many women sporting quiffs taking their carefully ironed checked shirts out of their cars. I decided to befriend them and the stories they told me about the day were full of adventure and I was very jealous.
Bright and early on Saturday, we headed in to town for the parade. It was my third this year after London and Brighton, so I expected it to be much the same. Aside from the obvious similarities, the parade actually seemed to have even more of a party vibe, if that’s possible! It also felt a lot more commercial, with presence from many companies advertising their wares. I put my judgements on hold while I enjoyed the many freebies, including this fetching fire helmet and a large inflatable banana.
Next on the agenda was to finally head into the gay village for which I had paid my ticket money. I was delighted with the signposts for this area, as well as the fact that I was given a new wristband to add to the collection I have been amassing this summer. Inside, the party was already in full swing with acts on stage and drunk people tripping over their rainbow flags.
The area around the main stage was full of people enjoying the live music. Somebody dressed as easyjet cabin crew came over and sold me a pink shot with dry ice in it. How wonderfully camp! The atmosphere was friendly and although it was busy, it was easy enough to wander around and explore.
I 
quickly discovered that you are allowed to bring your drinks from anywhere in the village into the main stage area. At £2 per beer, I decided that this meant my ticket was a sound financial investment. My vendor of choice for the day was “beers for queers” as the business name made me feel that they were catering to all of my needs.
Ian McKellen appeared on the big screen and gave a beautiful speech as always, and I felt happy and sad and proud at the same time. Soon it was time for the headline and final act of the day, Pixie Lott. I wormed my way to the front and when she came on I was “that person” who gets on somebody’s shoulders and obscures the view. I loved it, she looked super-hot and gave a great performance.
The main stage area started winding down and we ventured into some of the bars on Canal Street. Amazingly, everywhere we went seemed to have lots of women and we felt very comfortable. Finally, we ventured into the lesbian bar, Vanilla.
We had to queue for what seemed like forever and when we finally got inside it was so crowded that we hardly had room to dance. Despite that, it was very social and lots of women came over and chatted with us. Nearly everyone was drinking vodka and Vimto, which I thought was a strange choice for anyone over the age of thirteen, and not something you should consume while wearing a white shirt.
The next day as we made our way back in to town, my hangover made me regret trying the weird local beverage. We returned to the main stage where the Sunday performances were beginning in the early afternoon. The atmosphere was completely different and there were far fewer people, all of whom looked hungover. Everyone was sitting on their freebie ponchos in front of the stage and it was much more of an Lfest-esque vibe. The acts seemed to have been picked to suit this and were much mellower than the day before, starting with acoustic performances. It worked really well.
We were all disappointed to leave, but none of us had booked Monday off work, so we left by 6pm for the long journey home. By this time, the party atmosphere was starting to pick up again, and I imagine the night would have gone on to be just as epic as the one before. I really wanted to stay to the end and see All Saints and relive my childhood, but I had to be a grown up and accept the responsibility of the work week ahead.
We all really enjoyed the weekend and it’s definitely worth the trek up North. I thought it was going to be cold because it always looks cold in Corrie, but the sun shined on us all weekend. The “Big Weekend” actually goes on into Monday, with performances right into the evening. There is so much going on that you would really need to take from Friday to Tuesday off work to be able to take advantage of it all and make your way there and back from London. With this in mind, the ticket price is actually very good value, and if you have foresight, unlike me, you can get the cheaper early bird tickets. It was fun beyond my expectations and I highly recommend adding it to your pride repertoire.
Review by Sarah L.
3 lesbians and a picnic blanket - that is what our trusty Planeteer kept saying in the car on the way to Herts Pride. This was a pre-conception we had come up with based on the published line up and the website and Facebook event. The marketing, as with most Pride events seemed particularly aimed at men, the Glam tent for example was 80% drag queens. There was no dedicated women's space, as has become common at Pride events, so you can understand where we were coming from with our thinking. How wrong we were!
This year, Herts launched its first Pride event. In Cassiobury Park in Watford, the whole county came together for one of the best Pride events I have been to in a long time. The atmosphere was like a county fair, a gay county fair.
There were market stalls, food vendors, a few theme park rides and the usual live music stage you would come to expect.
The event was very much grass roots. Free entry unless you wanted to access the bar and the Glam dance tent, which was £5 in advance or £10 on the gate. The acts on the live music stage were local acts, some of which were recently signed and about to release their first records.
We were amazed by how many women their were, and how many families too. Everything was set out so there was a good space in the middle which soon became a picnic chill out space. Herts LGBT Parents network has a large following and it was good to see a Pride event where the focus wasn't drink and drugs but a relaxed afternoon. I may have also been swayed by the local Nandos handing out free chicken wings and also vouchers for free chicken! Washing that down with a local cupcake and a coffee from Bootylicious, there was little more I needed.
The whole day was a huge success, with several thousand people in attendance. There is little doubt in my mind that Herts Pride will be back in 2014, bigger and better. They are already seeking feedback on the event from those who attended.
The Vibe with Pride Stage featured: Ricky K, Dorothy Thornhill & Tina Barnard, Sophie Ray, Roses and Pirates, Kelly Wilde, Angie Brown, Lemon, Mel Jade, Ever Young, Allan Jay, Simon C, Yazzir, Rosanne, Laurrie, Raya, Rajiv, GingerBrown, Strange Folk, My Little Empire and ENV.
The Health & Wellbeing Marquee featured many community stands, including library services, youth connexions, fostering, health services, recruitment and registrars.
Market Stalls included The Pink Shark, Nandos, The Hot Cake Company, Bad Sheep Boutique and Hertfordshire Trading Standards.
Food Vendors included Bootylicious coffee and Hire the Chef.
Herts Pride website: http://www.hertspride.co.uk/
Naomi
