Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Pride parade call for sponsors
Organisers of the Pride Canterbury 2018 festival are calling on local firms to dig deep to help sponsor the popular event.
Due to take place in the Dane John Gardens on Saturday, June 9, it is estimated to cost around £70,000, half of which will need to come from sponsorship.
Billed as a colourful, inclusive, family-friendly event, it is staged by the LGBT+ community
And committee chairman Edd Withers believes, with more than 10,000 visitors expected, it will bring big benefits for backers.
He said: “It’s a free festival but there is a lot more to putting on an event like this than people might imagine and many of the costs are unavoidable and have to be paid up front.
“But we think its popularity and benefit to the city is a great opportunity for local businesses to promote themselves and perhaps sponsor the two stages.”
Last year, organisers were disappointed the city council decided not to support the event and turned down an application for a £1,000 grant.
“We have applied to the council again and hopefully they will back us this time because the event is an asset to the city,” said Mr Withers.
The festival is now in its third year and is the biggest of its kind in the south east outside London and Brighton.
Last year, the performers included top drag artists, tribute acts and local bands and had good feedback although Mr Withers says the committee is always looking to fine-tune it.
“We obviously want it to be even better and hope to announce the line-up in March.”
It is not just an event for the LGBT community, say organisers, and everyone is welcome.
The festival will start with a colourful parade through the city to the Dane John Gardens where there will be two performance stages and food and drink stalls.
Anyone interested in sponsoring the event go to sponsorship@ pridecanterbury.com. For more information about the event see updates at www.facebook.com/ pridecanterbury.