With Brighton Pride’s future looking shaky over the past few months, Wild Fruit promoter Paul Kemp put together a concept for Brighton’s gay businesses to work together on a weekend of parties, no matter what the outcome of Pride.

Fortunately Pride now seems to be going ahead almost as per usual, and the Gay Brighton Dance Weekend will only add to the fun.

We caught up with Paul to find out more about what he has in store.

What’s the idea behind the Gay Brighton Dance Weekend?
In light of all the recent concerns and questions over Brighton Pride we thought it a good idea to bring local businesses together to promote the city and the range of events that are happening over the weekend regardless of what was or was not going to happen at Preston Park this year. Although we are not on the park this year we are pleased that the event is at last happening.

What kind of parties have you got in store?
There are a huge selection of parties and events with something to suit everyone in Brighton this year. The weekend will be starting out chilled and building up to the kind of over the top celebrations everyone has come to expect of Brighton with some fantastic parties such as DTPM at Audio.

London’s famous afterhours party Beyond will be hosting a massive late, late bash at Honeyclub. There’s the absolutely huge Dance Nation multi brand, multi room event at the massive Tru venue and Wild Fruit’s ultra glamorous and over the top ‘Kings & Queens’ party on the Sunday at Oceana which is the most luxurious and decadent venue in Brighton, it really does have to be seen to be believed, it’s like an ocean going cruise ship!

 "The weekend will be starting out chilled and building up to the kind of over the top celebrations everyone has come to expect of Brighton with some fantastic parties."

Perhaps the biggest party of them all is on the Saturday night, Dance Nation. Who’s involved and what will be happening at the event?
We are so excited about this event because it’s the first time there’s been a Pride Saturday night party at Tru and it’s a fantastic chance to work with Gaydar on a large event. Tru is one of the city’s biggest and best venues so there’ll be three full-on dance rooms and over six bars with extra bar staff to ensure that thirsty party goers get lubricated as quickly as possible.

We’ll be pulling out all the stops with extra lighting, décor and sound so be prepared for a real mega party with some of the UK’s best clubbing brands such as Wild Fruit, Lovechild, Macho city and Tonker. The Hoxton Whores will be special guests and since there’s a real plethora of parties aimed at the girls in Brighton that night Dance Nation will have a definite sexy ‘boysy’ feel to it.
 
Hoxton Whores will be headlining the party... are you excited to have them back at Wild Fruit?
Oh yes, we can’t wait for the Hoxton Whores to play at Dance Nation. They’re some of the most influential DJs and producers in the world and to have them on board is fantastic. Last time they played for Wild Fruit they went down a storm, it’s also a bonus that they had such a great time with us and that they enjoyed the Tru venue which is the home of Wild Fruit.

Which other gay businesses in Brighton are taking part in the weekend?
All the city’s favourites including Legends, Charles Street, Wild Fruit/Aeon Events and Revenge, it’s a great example of the business community working in unison.
 
Aeon Events has run the Wild Fruit Dance Tent at Brighton Pride since some of its earliest days. Are you disappointed to be off the park this year?
After having spent many years building the dance tent up to such a high level and having hosted the tent since the very beginning we are of course disappointed not to be on the site this year. We were offered the chance to be back operating the tent again this year at the last moment but unfortunately the financial figures did not stack up for us and this ultimately prevented us from taking part this year.

There have been plenty of discussions and disagreements over Pride this year but as a business we feel that it’s essential to put all that aside and focus on the fantastic weekend and the community this year. Like everyone we want the weekend to be a huge success and we wish Revenge well with running the bars and programming all the dance tents for 2010.

"Be prepared for a real mega party with some of the UK’s best clubbing brands such as Wild Fruit, Lovechild, Macho city and Tonker. The Hoxton Whores will be special guests...Dance Nation will have a definite sexy ‘boysy’ feel to it."

But you’ll still be doing fundraising... where will the money be donated?
Fundraising for the voluntary sector is absolutely key to the Pride weekend. Wild Fruit has always been one of the biggest fundraisers and this year like all the businesses in the Gay Brighton Dance Weekend we’ll be focusing on raising much needed and essential funds which will go to The Rainbow Fund at Sussex Community Foundation.
 
What do you make of the fiasco surrounding Brighton Pride that has take place over the last year?
Well, the problem cannot be simply brushed under the carpet that’s for sure. It’s our understanding that there’ll be an enquiry after the event, which is the very best time for this to happen. With the date of Brighton Pride being so very soon it’s important for everyone to focus on making the celebrations happen in true Brighton style and for us all to look forward to an amazing weekend in the city.
 
On a personal level, what does Pride mean to you?
Pride is a great time for everyone to come together and party but for me the message is still one of equality, especially when considering the tide of homophobic bullying in schools etcetera. Whilst many of us enjoy degrees of equality in our communities we should all focus on the lives of LGBT people who live in countries where they are denied equality or basic human rights, the fight for equality is worldwide (including Europe) and by no means over!
 
What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Gay Brighton Dance Weekend/Pride?
Since we are not on the park this year we have put all our effort into our parties so I’m really looking forward to meeting up with all my friends and having the time of our lives at all the events especially Dance Nation and Wild Fruit ‘Kings & Queens' both of which will be real high points in the whole weekend.
 
Anything else you’d like to add?
Yes, have a great pride, don’t forget what it’s all about, stay safe and be proud!

The Gay Brighton Dance Weekend runs from 5-9 August. For further information on Dance Nation, brought to you in association with Gaydar on Saturday 7 August, and all the other fantastic Aeon Events parties over the Brighton Pride weekend, visit www.aeonevents.co.uk.

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