We are proud to introduce the very first Isle of Wight Pride event IW Pride' to be held in Ryde on Saturday, 15th July 2017. We are excited to have the opportunity to help facilitate what we are sure will be a very special event! Pride events are a strong reminder to those who identify as LGBTQ who have lived through countless historical struggles including criminalisation of homosexuality, the AIDS epidemic, Section 28, and the prejudice and abuse felt by so many as they struggle to take pride in who they were born to be. There is still a lot of work to do internationally as well as making equality in law a reality in this country. It may be said that the Isle of Wight lags behind the mainland in support and visibility for the LGBTQ community and this is often the perception from visitors and tourists alike. Our vision for Isle of Wight Pride is for this to be an opportunity to celebrate and for us to take pride in how far we have come, how proud we are of our beautiful Island but also, just as importantly we need to highlight the work that still needs to be done. We really hope that we will also show that the Isle of Wight is a great place to live and a welcoming place to visit gaining us a reputation as a friendly destination for everyone. We recently conducted a survey to which we had over 1300 responses each one giving valuable thoughts, ideas and views on what an Island Pride event should look like. From the results it is very clear that island population want to see an inclusive, family friendly, all day event, with a parade. We have set up working parties who will ensure that we can make these ideas a reality. We hope that with the aid and support of our fantastic businesses here on the Island as well as national companies and retailers we can make this vision a reality. Ultimately our goal is that Isle of Wight Pride will be a celebration. It is a chance for us to stand together whether we are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Straight as an Island community, to show that Love Wins over hatred, intolerance and prejudice Thank you for taking the time to visit our website, we really hope you find it useful and we really are very excited to welcoming you to Isle of Wight Pride on Saturday, 15th July 2017! Facebook: www.facebook.com/iwpride Twitter: @iwpride

Address : Ryde Beach

Ryde

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