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Cornwall Pride Beach Party 2007 - Great Success
The weather was perfect for what is believed to be the 1st ‘open & out’ Gay Pride presence & community gathering for a beach picnic in Cornwall.
“We are delighted. It was everything we had envisaged, planned and hoped it would be.” said a spokesperson from the Cornwall Gay beach picnic.
Website: www.gay-in-cornwall.co.uk
Most people just chilled in the hot summer sun, body surfed or paddled in the sea. A few brave souls played volleyball. There was a real and genuine friendly community atmosphere. Lots of networking taking place. Men and women, previously strangers, were quite happily chatting with each other at the picnic.
This was a non-commercial, return to the real roots of original gay pride. A simple aim of creating a gay presen
ce and visibility for the gay community itself in Cornwall… achieved. Well over one hundred people attended the gay picnic. Some having travelled in specifically from out of Cornwall for the day. The location of the gay picnic held at Hayle beach on the bank holiday weekend Saturday. The picnic located by the presence of a large Gay Rainbow flag fluttering high and proud in the gentle summer breeze over the golden sandy beach.
Even the beach day gay Rainbow flag had local Cornish gay history. The flag previously covered the coffin at the funeral of Cornish born ‘out’ gay man Andrew Roger Smith. Andy died as a result of HIV/AIDS in Cornwall in 1996. Andrew & his partner Malcolm had publicly fought gross Cornish institutional authority HIV and gay discrimination in Cornwall before Andy died.
Malcolm Lidbury, a Cornwall gay pride steering group member and the former life partner of Andy said, “Andy would have loved the gay beach picnic and he was certainly there in spirit”
Many who attended the picnic expressed the hope the steering group would organise a similar successful gathering next year.
The Cornwall gay pride steering group will continue to run diverse social community evenings & events throughout the year to encourage a greater sense of gay community and greater awareness of the continuing need for genuine progress in real gay equality in Cornwall.
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