Festival stands proud for Warwickshire’s diversity

Organised entirely by one hard-working man, the day-long festival at the Pump Room Gardens will include non-stop live entertainment, bouncy castles for both children and adults, almost 50 different stalls and plenty of food and drink.

That one man is 28-year-old Daniel Browne - who has juggled organising the event with his jobs as a counsellor, hypnotherapist and care worker for people with learning disabilities, as well as running his own charity, Push Projects.

Daniel said: “It’s been incredibly stressful, but I was really keen to do this. Most counties in England have a ‘pride’ event and Warwickshire was lagging behind.

“There are a lot of gay and lesbian people living in Leamington and Warwick. I wanted something for them.”

He added: “Although it’s an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) event, it’s also about celebrating all types of diversity.”

Opening at 11am by Leamington and Warwick MP Chris White, the event, which ends at 8pm, features street, folk and dub step dancing, with confirmed performers including Leamington hairdresser and Britain’s Got Talent contestant Chica Latina, Leamington musician Shanade, anti-homophobic bullying campaigner Shaun Dellenty, drag queen Sassi Afrika and dance and dubstep performers Lost in the Wreckage.

Volunteers are helping Daniel to run the proceedings, at which visitors will be able to find out what support is available on a range of issues in the Leamington and Warwick area.

Altoria in Warwick Street is hosting an after-party, with proceeds from tickets going to Push Projects, which supports young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Warwickshire.