Saturday, 8th July is Wokingham Pride! This is a free, family friendly event held in Elms Field. This year they have some great bands joining them. Everyone who supports the aims of Pride is invited to join in for photos at Wokingham Town Hall at 11.30 am, and then a small parade down to Elms Field for a picnic and music from around midday.
In support of Wokingham Pride, the Station Tap is putting on two events. There will be a drag brunch with artist SemiColon from 10am 12 noon and a drag evening (18+ only) from 6.30pm followed by DJ Miss Delilah from 9pm to 3am. This follows the highly successful afterparty which the Station Tap hosted last year.
Organiser Rachel Bishop-Firth said: “This event is possible because of the fantastic support which we have had from the Equality Forum, Wokingham Borough Council and Wokingham Town Council.”
The Wokingham Pride team has been giving out flags in the town centre. Businesses, schools, churches and community groups who would like flags and posters can get in touch via the Wokingham Pride 2023 Facebook page and group.
Rachelle Shepherd-Dubey, who is a councillor for Winnersh said: “It’s great to see so many young people and supportive families come and join the event – we appreciate the acceptance of diversity, inclusion and equality In Wokingham”.
Entertainment includes the following:
Greymatter: Georgey and Emma are founding members of all-girl British pop rock band Greymatter, who have three albums available worldwide. Between them, the girls have performed across the UK, Europe, and the USA, and have graced many well known stages and events throughout their 20 years performing together, including London Pride at Trafalgar Square three times. Over their years performing together they have won many LGBT Best Band Awards.
As a duo the girls perform a stripped down, acoustic, and intimate set. They deliver beautiful enduring rich melodies with a perfect balance of interweaving harmonies, carefully interlaced with heart-felt lyrics about life, love, heartache, yearning, and passion.
Georgey Payne, songwriter for the band, wrote and produced the Worldwide No1 download chart topping LGBT Charity singles from The L Project It Does Get Better and We’re All Human. These LGBT charity songs and videos can be found on YouTube, and can also be downloaded on all good download sites.
The Country Chicks: The Country Chicks are a newly formed UK Country girl band. You can expect rich harmonies and a mix of new and old sing along classics! They will have you all up clapping, stomping and dancing – so grab your Cowboy/girl hat and get ready for a chick-tastic time! At Wokingham pride three of The Country Chicks will be performing an acoustic set.
Candy Rock: Gaby and Ella met at a talent competition in 2011. Gaby was in a duo Vanilla Candy and Ella was in a rock band Elliots Sleeping, and starting to perform as a solo artist. A few smiles, and a pair of tight leather trousers lead to their first date. They didn’t intend on performing together but when Gaby’s music partner took a break to have her first child Candy Rock was formed. They ended up performing with a local party band Monkey Shock when their previous singer left, and continued to perform as a duo throughout lockdown, from their study with one performance reaching more than 1,000 viewers. Now Candy Rock mainly performs as a four-piece band bringing a mix of rock, pop and disco classics.