#most prides now are parties with a march and some information stalls

[wild-at-mind]

I get why people like the whole queer existence is resistance thing. I don't personally, because I think it puts a tonne of intracommunity pressure to exist in the 'right' way, I.e. the way that is 'radical' to the person currently scrutinising you. As a person with OCD that manifests in self scrutiny that I have to constantly concentrate on to avoid it becoming self hatred, I'm never going to be a fan of that. I kind of feel this way about any kind of assimilation conversation with regards to queerness really. I think it's an important conversation within irl communities who already care for each other- who shows up for others outside of their own interests and who doesn't, etc. But the internet makes things so impersonal and cold. It encourages people to make very serious snap judgements about others who they don't even know, and to encourage others to believe that about them. None of these people are in community together in any meaningful sense, or they wouldn't treat each other so ungenerously.

Anyway I had a bit of a realisation earlier- I think we have to tell ourselves our existence is inherently radical all the time because we're always getting the subtle message from our community and the wider activism community that having a good time or enjoying yourself is somehow bad, or insulting to people in dire straits. But instead of challenging that idea we say no it's OK because I'm doing activism simply by being here. I think it's fine to feel that way and in many ways existing as a marginalised person really is radical. I just want to make sure we aren't internalising the idea that we can't ever be happy or having a fun frivolous time without justifying it, and passing that idea along to others without meaning to.

[serenumhq]

COME OUT FOR LONDON PRIDE

‘London Pride, a time of celebration. The heart of the city is closed to traffic, becoming a safe space, a welcoming environment, where people can support each other and truly celebrate who they are. For many years now, Wizarding society has been carefully integrating with large Muggle celebrations. Parades, protests, marches, live performances in Trafalgar Square, have all proven difficult to ignore when the magical community essentially lives on their doorstep. It’s entirely accepted now, and as a member of said community, nobody would question your willingness to attend. Even Purebloods are often able to make an appearance without being scrutinised although it is no secret many families still feel as though it is beneath them. The Parade begins at 12 pm, and is expected to last until 5 pm. Hundreds of floats are making their way through the winding roads and familiar buildings, each celebrating a sexuality, a gender identity, a charity, a brand... Of course, the music, the effects, and so many of the brand names will be entirely unfamiliar to our witches and wizards, but that doesn’t make the view any less enjoyable or exciting. In Trafalgar Square, a large stage has been erected, a few stalls offering rainbow facepaint, glitter lipstick, and Pride flags. Alcohol is flowing freely and various performers are entertaining the crowd. The bars and pubs of Soho have come to life, flags and banners in every window, music pounding as you walk by, offers on drinks, and rainbow coloured foods are advertised as businesses do everything within their power to draw people in. Gringotts has frozen the Galleon to Pound exchange rate, as they always do when they know wizards will be attending a popular Muggle event, and the Ministry has issued its usual warning, reminding the population of the Statue of Secrecy. With the ‘no magic’ rule in mind, your muse is free to enjoy any part of the celebration, and be proud of what makes them them.’

INFORMATION:

The event has OFFICIALLY BEGUN and will come to a close on the 28th of June at 9 PM GMT. After this time, we ask you do not post any further event starters, though you are more than welcome to continue threads taking place during the event. That being said, if you would rather drop them and your writing partner consents, there is no pressure to finish them. The choice is entirely yours. EVENT TAG: #serenum:pride There are three main locations to this event. You are free to have your muse wander between them, and because the parade route travels throughout Central London, your muse does not technically need to stay within the bounds of these three parts.

Trafalgar Square: There is a large stage and a very big crowd. The square is lined with stalls, feel free to invent stalls for your muse to visit, we trust you all to know the kind of stalls that appear during Pride events but a quick Google search should help you out. They can sell food, merch, alcohol, or offer things such as makeovers, and facepaint designs. The crowd is incredibly large and penned in so this might not be the most comfortable place for anybody with claustrophobia or relating issues. There is a small queue to get into the square, but people are free to come and go as they please.

The Parade: The parade begins on Portland Place at 12 pm, moving down Oxford Circus, along Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus, Lower Regent Street, the Pall Mall, passing Trafalgar Square before finishing on Whitehall. Barriers line the street and large crowds have gathered but as always towards the back of the crowd you can avoid being caged in by people and still get a decent view of the parade. This is a perfect place for almost anyone to be. Just down the road and across Golden Jubilee Bridge, you will find the London Southbank with gorgeous views of the River Thames, and the London Eye situated on the river’s edge boasting rainbow lights in solidarity. Feel free to Google any of the places mentioned here and have your muse visit them. Although no events occur along the Southbank, it is a nice place to relax with large patches of greenery, and plenty of Buskers.

Soho: Soho is London’s gay district, located beside Chinatown there are some incredible restaurants nearby. But don’t let those distract your muse from the string of adult toy stores, gay bars, clubs, and culturally relevant bookshops. Your muse is able to visit any one of these places, we only ask that nsfw content (including visits to adult toy stores) be tagged accordingly. These only need to be placed under a ‘read more’ if you plan on being descriptive rather than vague, but everything should still be tagged with a trigger warning regardless. This is where people come to drink, celebrate, and potentially get lucky, so it’s definitely the rowdiest of locations. An amazing environment for those who like to party. Just around the corner you can find Soho Square Gardens, a miniature park where the party goers can relax before finding a new source of alcohol.

RULES:

Any nsfw content is allowed but must be placed under a ‘read more’. Trips to adult stores must be tagged but only need to be placed under a ‘read more’ if the mun plans on being descriptive. This is down to your discretion and we trust you to use your best judgement.

Your muse does not need to be LGBTQIA+ to attend. They can attend in support of relatives or friends, or simply attend as an ally, that is entirely up to you.

Unfortunately, as we all know, a part of London Pride is the presence of homophobic protesters who stand in a small barricade blocked by a row of Police Officers. We want to keep this space positive and welcoming, though if you do wish for your muse to come across a hateful group, we ask you tag ‘tw:homophobia’ and refrain from using any slurs. If a non-playable character in your thread decides to use one, please see the example below to familiarise yourself with how we would like you to handle the situation. Homophobic and transphobic words, along with any other form of discriminatory language will not be tolerated on the dash and we urge you to remember this can be a very sensitive topic. Please treat it with respect. Your muse is not allowed to interact with the protesters. (You are able to use the term Mudblood, of course) ‘He looked towards the crowd of protesters, listening with obvious frustration as they hurled insults and slurs at the people passing by.’

Your muse is entirely allowed to drink and partake in drug use, though if they decide to use drugs we would like you to use the tag ‘tw:druguse’. Please do not use any potentially triggering or major plotlines such as substance related injuries or an overdose without first consulting us admins.

Your muse does not have to stay in the same location for the duration of your thread, they are free to move between locations as your plot plays out.

The Ministry has declared a strict ‘no magic’ rule to protect the statue of secrecy. Whether your muse obeys this rule or breaks it is entirely up for you. We only ask they are careful about how and where they use magic.

[andrewrosswatson1987]

PREVIEW: ‘GRAMPIAN PRIDE 2019’ MUSIC IN ABERDEEN CITY; MAY 25, 2019

Grampian Pride 2019 opens with a parade down Union Street at 10:30, and’s free to take part.  Please arrive in Albyn Place by 10:00 at the latest to form up. Come 11:00 is Family Fringe, also free.  Great entertainment at a range of venues in Aberdeen City Centre, including Aberdeen Arts Centre, Blackfriars, Brewdog, Carmelite Hotel, Siberia and The Wig. At Brewdog there’s Aberdeen alternative rock four-piece, Holistics.  These guys will be playing their first ever show on Wednesday (May 22) so that will be excellent preparation for their Brewdog set on Saturday.

Next’s Pride Village at Queens Links, from 13:00-20:00.  This’s free, too. Tickets required, please book your tickets, here. Fantastic entertainment for the whole family, plus charity stalls, health checks and more. Visit the entertainment page for more information, here.

Casting an eye over the Main Stage, for example, there’s the likes of Toronto’s Lynx.  From reciting books of the Bible in a cult, to headlining the likes of Saturday’s Grampian Pride 2019, lead vocalist and fearless leader, Lynx, tours the world advocating a sense of belonging and being who you are. They put their sound down to watching Twin Peaks, James Bond and Tarantino films. Subversive with soundscapes full of dangerous, spy movie intrigue. Then there’s Callum Geddes, or Seigatt, who won the Grampian’s Got Talent on March 24. At only seventeen, he’s an Aboyne singing and piano talent that should take the day by storm.  A singer songwriter sort of sound, think Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.  Other Grampian’s Got Talent finalists were also offered the opportunity to play their own slot onstage, too.

Another big name in Booty Luv.  The London dance group are sure to get bodies moving.  They’ll be knocking out all their hits to really get the party started. The group comprises two R&B vocalists, Cherise Roberts and Nadia Shepherd, both of whom were in hip-hop and R&B group, Big Brovaz. They’ve had five top twenty hits in the UK.  They have also achieved international success, gaining hits in Ireland, Poland, Netherlands and Germany. Angry Man Car Park are another local act, too.  The Aberdeen four-piece indie rockers are influenced by Catfish And The Bottlemen, Radiohead, Peace, Placebo, Blossoms, The Cure, The 1975, Foals and Royal Blood. Banchory is where the next act, Catherine Matthew-Milne, is from.  A tour de force of soulful vocal histrionics, powerful and from the gut.  Underlying all this is the passion with which it’s delivered.

Winding towards the end of Pride Village comes Rozalla.  In 1988, an English producer and manager, Chris Sergeant, brought the Zambian to London placing her with a production duo, consisting of Nigel Swanston and Tim Cox, who produced her most successful singles and her debut album.  She also supported Michael Jackson on the European leg of his Dangerous tour, and had a song on the soundtrack of Al Pacino film, Carlito’s Way. James Hughes takes the stage with only an hour to go of Pride Village.  The X Factor got as far as the Judges Houses’ on the 2016 edition of the show.  This involved rubbing shoulders with none other than The Pussycat Dolls singer and leader, Nicole Scherzinger.  Now he’s coming to Grampian Pride 2019 to sing his heart out and help end towards the night with an emphatic bang. Then 20:00-23:00 is Party In The City with DJs, performances and other entertainment at a range of venues including Blackfriars, Carmelite Hotel, Codonas, G Casino, Siberia and The Wig. Codonas £6 (£1 to Grampian Pride), all others free. Carmelite Hotel’s got Aberdeenshire solo musician, Fergus Upton.  Influences from various artists and genres. Edgy tones, catchy melodies, diverse of sound and constantly evolving.  He played the launch event almost a month ago. So live music will play right across the day; Family Fringe, Pride Village and Party In The City.  The day will end with the Official After-Party from 23:00-03:00. Cheesy dance, disco, hip-hop, pop and R&B.  This £10 with 100% of the proceedings going to Pride. For tickets click, here. Date: Saturday, May 25 Address: Union Street (Parade), City Centre (Family Fringe), Queens Links (Pride Village) Time: 10:30-23:00 For more information click, here. Sponsoring are BP, Chevron, Codonas, Northsound 1, Shell, CNR International, Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels Association, North East Scotland College, Siberia Bar & Hotel, Spirit Energy, UNISON Scotland, Unit 51 Aberdeen, Unite the union, University of Aberdeen, Wood, The Balloon Studio, CMS Early Talent, Grosvenor Casinos, Myprideflag, Carmelite Hotel, Bar and Grill, Melt and BrewDog Castlegate Granite City Events. They had the following thanks: “With out our sponsors, Grampian Pride would not be free.  Some people would not be able to remember our history, celebrate our present and embrace our future with us.  Grampian Pride is about inclusivity and for that we thank these sponsors.  Whether they've given a little or a lot they have done so with love for our community.”