"What we’ve tried to do for the tenth anniversary is bring back some of the favourites that people love, and introduce new artists' says Chesterfield Pride organiser
Chesterfield Pride has grown from a little gathering in Queen’s Park ten years ago to the region’s biggest LGBTQ+ celebration that draws thousands of visitors to Stand Road Park.
Dan Walker, who organises the event, said: “Whenever I start a project I try and do the best I can and build it as big as I can. When we started, we had ambitions to make the event as good as possible – we’ve achieved that over the years. We’ve just won East Midlands Community Event of the Year so we’re on the right track.”
This year’s event is on July 19 and features a stellar line-up. Dan said: “What we’ve tried to do is bring back some of the favourites that people love, and introduce new artistes. To coincide with our tenth birthday we thought we’d move the event to a Saturday, make it a bigger event and extend it to 9pm from 7pm.”
Nineties boy band 911, who topped the charts with a cover of A Little Bit More, headline the main stage. Diana Vickers from X Factor, whose single Once hit number one, and award-winning cabaret star Myra DuBois also make their Chesterfield Pride debut.
Big Brovaz and Booty Luv are back again to wow the Pride audience with their amazing show. Dan said: “Kelly Wilde is returning – she has done every event, she’s a fantastic supporter and people love her.
“New is the iconic girl group Supersister who were very popular among the LGBT community in the early noughties with the song Coffee. They’ve not really performed together for 25 years. They are from Sheffield and I met them in a club in Manchester 25 years ago and stayed in touch with them via social media. Every year for 10 years I’ve asked them ‘When are you girls coming back to perform?’ Earlier this year they performed at a big festival in London and I said to them ‘You have no excuses, you’re doing my event’!"
Returning artistes include Berri who had a number two hit in 1995 with Sunshine After The Rain; Donna Marie who specialises in Lady Gaga songs; Dene Michael from Black Lace; and Rob King who was a contender on Britain’s Got Talent and later a judge on All Together Now.
Drag queens Fatt Butcher, Bernie de Bra and Chesterfield’s own Jellycube will also entertain the crowd.
The event will showcase local unsigned singers including Lexi Whiteside and Poppy-Mai and provide a platform for vocalist Matt Croke from Sheffield who has been starring in Aladdin in the West End.
Sixty stalls, lots of fairground rides and a variety of food vendors will be among the attractions.
Dan said: “I want everyone to have a great time.”
More than 2,000 tickets for Chesterfield Pride have now been sold. Advance tickets cost £10, admission on the day is £15 and free for under 16s (who must be accompanied by an adult). Book online at Skiddle or visit the website, chesterfieldpride.co.uk