Snowed in!!

MORE heavy snow hit the Midlands this morning causing disruption on the roads and rail and has hit Christmas trading with a bang.

 Last weekend saw the biggest hit to the Gay Village with trading patterns damaged significantly due to the heavy snowfall during last week.

A local bar owner commented,
"People are not venturing out in the bad weather we are experiencing, bus and rail services have been disrupted, and taxis are few and far between, people are just staying in the warm."

Last weekend should of been one of the busiest of 2010 for most of the gay village, however customers we just snowed in with nowhere to go!

Birmingham Pride 2011 Route Finalised

The Birmingham Pride Team are pleased to announce the the route for the 2011 Parade. Festival Director Lawrence Barton has been negotiating the route with Birmingham City Council and other stakeholders. The route takes in the main parts of the city centre, allowing access to all parts of the community before heading into the heart of the gay quarter.

We want a significant parade for the 2011 festival to highlight and promote the diversity of the LGBT community and to celebrate with the wider community. If as a local business you would like to take part please contact the Pride team on 0121 622 4218 now for more information.

Lets make a difference!

Malmaison show their Pride

The Birimingham Pride 2011 team are pleased to announce that Malmaison Birmingham in the fabulous Mailbox development,  have come onboard for the 2011 festival.

More details will be revealed soon, but its an exciting time for next years festival....keep your eyes pealed.

Pride Hub Exclusive!!

Dean and Matt Clayton-Sharpe owners of the New Purple Bar and Lounge have revealed that the grand opening will be Saturday 27th November! Purple is now more than just a colour! The Team promise to deliver a great selection of Coctails, premium drinks and delicious bar snacks.

They have also created a Birmingham Pride cocktail with a percentage of  the sales going directly to the the festival, they have also expressed fundraising ideas too, so the Pride team are very excited about them coming on board with Birmingham Pride 2011.

The Street will be flooded with all things Purple next week, so pop in and say hello to your new bar team!

Purple Bar and Lounge http://www.purplebarandlounge.co.uk

10-11 Latitude, Hurst Street

Birmingham, United Kingdom, B5 6SE

“Millinery with a Message” Diana’s Legacy Design a Hat ‘Open’ Competition

Check out this event.... (Click on the image)

Sing it for Pride says Lee!!

Lee Pichford, Manager of Missing Bar has recently been to the music studio to lay down a few tracks with a several other vocalists  including Stacey Jane who was the winner of Birmingham Pride has got talent 2010, for the 1st Birmingham Pride Charity CD.

The CD will be sold in venues in aid of Birmingham Pride 2011. We will shed more light on the details shortly...watch this space Priders!!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lee for all of his fundraising idea's and look forward to the next chapter! Ta bab!!

The Fountain - A BIG PRIDE THANK YOU!

The team at Birmingham Pride HQ would like to say a massive 'Thank You' To Eric, Jon and the team at The Fountain for their donation of £200 towards Birmingham Pride 2011. Thank you for all your support.

You can visit the fountain on Facebook check out their gorgeous hotel rooms, they look fabulous!  www.thefountaininn.com

How nice is this room? Book yours NOW!!

Thanks again guys!! 

New Patrons announced for Birmingham Pride...

Five new patrons have been announced for Birmingham Pride 2011. Clare Short, Michael Cashman MEP, Margot James MP, Zoe Tyler and John Beard have agreed to become part of the citys Pride event. John Hemming MP and Cllr Lyndon Binding have also offered their support.

" Pride for the first time in our history has secured Patrons. We hope this will significantly bolster our efforts to promote the event" - Samuel Johnston, Festival Co-ordinator.

Click on the patrons tab on www.thepridehub.com for more information

Read more in this months Midlands Zone Magazine.... www.midlandszone.co.uk

Are you the face of infiniti?

Well infiniti, is a brand new monthly LGBT night, with 5 rooms of music, the night promises to cater for all music tastes all at once, with Chart, Rnb, Indie, Rock, Electro, Funky, Debstep, Reggae, Bashment, and a live lounge to entertain everyone. Not only that but drinks are priced at only £1 to £1.50, there is also a £300 money balloon being thrown into the dancefloor. You can win David Guetta tickets from a raffle ticket your given when you walk in, and the Finals of the Face of Infiniti Competition are to be held on the night too with over 170 contestants entered. Have you got the face?

19th November Club DV8

www.infinitibirmingham.com

Get up and Shout!!

Now firmly established as a major event within the city’s lesbian and gay calendar SHOUT has something for everyone, from political debate to classical music, from a ramble in the city centre to a queer cabaret whether you’re gay, straight, lesbian, bi, trans, queer or confused there’s something to inspire, challenge or entertain you.

Visibility and Invisibility are major themes of this year’s festival providing opportunities to increase the visibility of the LGBT community within the city and to make arts and culture a more visible part of our own lives. But the festival themes also enable us to ask challenging questions about the invisibility of some sections of our own community in particular those who are old, have a disability or are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

THERE’S PLENTY TO SHOUT ABOUT AT THIS YEAR’S SHOUT FESTIVAL!

 
SHOUT Festival runs from 4th -23rd November
For More information visit: http://www.getreadytoshout.org.uk

The Fox Man turns 50!

This Sunday the Fox was full to the rafters with local scene goers celebrating Andrew King's (venue owner) 50th Birthday! There was an all star cabaret line-up from Birmingham's Kopy Kats, and Andy's favourite Black Country bombshell Aunty Tilly!

We would like to wish Andrew the best and hope that his hangover has now subsided - Tequilla worm anyone?!!

The Youthful Andy King

Skydive for Pride 2011

Mykee Mackenzie, part of the Pride Hub team  is arranging a community sponsored skydive event to raise money for Birmingham Pride 2011. He is looking for representitives from every Venue , and entry is £50 which will go towards the cost of the jump.

The jump will take place in March so there's plenty of time to pluck up that courage and get jumping for Pride 2011


For more Information contact Mykee on 0121 622 4218
or email mykee@birminghampride.com

Collections

Pride Collections are going well and have been for the past few months!! We would like to thank all the venues that are participating with this scheme so far:

The Village Inn
Eden Bar
The Fox
Equator
The Loft Lounge
Missing Bar

More venues onboard soon...

Not every venue is suited to this scheme, due to levels of business, staffing levels and opening hours but every venue contributes in their own way which is greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you to you all!!

The Angel has landed!

 Last Thursday saw the launch of the Birmingham's Gay Village brand spanking new bar - 'The Angel'  its the  newest cosmopolitan bar-restaurant on Hurst Street. The bar has recently undergone a four month transformation by the new owners the Nightingale Club.

The high ceilings and huge windows make it a must for people watchers alike. Treat yourself to contemporary surroundings that  are complemented by excellent customer service, quality fine wines, beer and spirits and a menu of delicious gourmet eats which the chef promised to comprise of Tapas and Italian based treats.

'The Angel' can be found at 125 Hurst Street. T: 0121 622 6220

Pride rounders match a huge success!!

In August ‘Lee Pitchford’ Manager of Missing Bar had arranged  a community rounder's match in collaboration with Birmingham Pride 2011 to raise funds to help stage the 2011 event. It promised to bring out the competitive streak in all gays alike most adopting skimpy vests and shorts in order to distract current ball hitters.

The event  had all the traditional rules with an official school teacher as referee. The rounders match was a huge success and raised £550 towards Birmingham Pride 2011.

Birmingham Pride would like to say a big than you to all that took part which shows how we can all come together to support our community  and have a fantastic Birmingham Pride 2011.

Lee also arranges the successful night 'The Big Gay Night Out'
For more information visit www.thebiggaynightout.com or contact Lee @ Missing Bar on 0121 622 4245