Lochaber Pride appeal for help to hold summer event

With 21 Pride events throughout Scotland in 2019, it was a big year for LGBTQIA+ communities and Lochaber is looking to join in next year, writes Richard Mason.

Lochaber Pride is hosting a volunteer information evening and get together next Monday evening (December 16) at The Wildcat cafe.

The group was set up in October by partners Ryan Laskey and Tom Slay, who met in Sydney and moved to Fort William recently, where Ryan grew up.

Ryan said: ‘The first pride event was a protest in response to the events in 1969 New York where police raids targeted the Stonewall Inn and arrested gay people back when it was illegal.

‘It has now evolved quite beautifully into a community event, but still with that element of protest to campaign for equality.

‘We want everyone, no matter how they identify, to feel welcome and will use the event to help educate about things people want to know more about such as terms like non-binary and help people to become more informed.’

The group ideally wants to hold an event in summer 2020, hosted at the Nevis Centre with a space for performances, crafts stalls, and an information area where people can speak about things like mental health, HIV and other queer issues.

The term ‘queer’ is now used by LGBTQI people to refer to themselves as a group and is no longer thought of as derogatory.

‘There is a big queer community in Lochaber,’ continued Mr Laskey, ‘bigger than some people might think. Some trans people I have spoken to moved to Lochaber because people generally have a relaxed attitude, they feel safe and can become part of the community.

‘While it’s great that people can feel safe here, homosexuality is still illegal in 72 countries and is punishable by death in 12.

‘Some of those countries are popular holiday destinations, often visited by people in the UK.’

The A in LGBTQIA stands for ‘ally’ – a term that denotes those who are allied to the cause of equality for queer people.

It means everyone is welcome to the volunteer event at The Wildcat cafe in Fort William to engage in ways to make a Lochaber Pride event a reality.

Details of the volunteer event on Monday can be found through the Lochaber Pride Facebook page.