BARNSLEY Pride is back this weekend to celebrate its 15th year in the town centre.
The event takes place tomorrow and will celebrate the visibility, equality and inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community in Barnsley.
Macauley Jacobson, from Hoyland, is one of the event’s organisers and he’s looking forward to what will hopefully be another day of celebration.
He said: “The recognition of pride in towns like Barnsley exemplify the appearance of the LGBT community.
“A recognised and well supported pride shows that Barnsley stands for equality.”
This year’s Pride event will start on the main stage in Mandela Gardens, with craft and music sessions in the Civic also available.
There will also be an 18-plus stage in The Garrison, and the group has a sponsorship with Urban Burger, who are putting money they raise back into Barnsley Pride.
Macauley added: “When it comes to organising the event, it normally takes us a year to put everything into place.
“When you stand back and look at what is achieved, it can be quite emotional for those organising.”
Pride isn’t the only event happening tomorrow, with the return of Brassed On, a popular music festival in the Glass Works, also returning for another year.
Barnsley’s Big Weekend continues on Sunday with ‘What’s Your Move’ day, which will feature sports, dance and much more.
It’s also hoped that Barnsley Pride can become more than a day event - and the group have recently trialed new events.
Macauley said: “We’re a day event at the moment, but there are plans to bring it out more into the community.
“We recently did a wellbeing walk in Locke Park that was well attended by members of the community, it’s events like this would be welcomed throughout the year.”
