Pride is coming to Hamilton…
The countdown has started to the first ever Pride events to take place in Hamilton next Friday and Saturday! Download our Pride Guide for more info: https://www.hamiltonourtown.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Pride-Guide-Final.pdf
Here’s what to expect on Saturday 29th July –
We are using Quarry Street & The Town Square
- 10:00 The Pride market including info stalls from the likes of LGBT Youth Scotland, and vendors such as Celebrate with Pride opens at 10am on Quarry Street.
- 11:50 We officially open Pride South Lanarkshire at 11:50 from the Quarry Street stage. We’ve special guest speakers and music from An Abba Dream, Edward Reid, Quoir – Glasgow’s Queer Choir
- 12:00 The Drag Bandstand will open on Quarry Street featuring the likes of Cherry West, Garry King, Ziggi Battles
- 12:30 The Town Square stage opens with a set from Clyde Ones Grant Thompson and we’ve music from Spice World, Reba Martel Kelly LLorenna and more
- 12:00 Fairground will be open and operated by Smith’s Family Funfair on Townhead Street. We’ve outdoor play activities on Quarry Street from Operation Play outdoors
- 16:45 Kelly Llorenna will be on stage on the Town Square
Through the day we have lined up guest speakers, superb performers across three performance areas, the Pride outdoor bar on the Town Square operated by the Junkyard and Free kids climbing in the Hang On Climbing centre. Mavrix Bar is hosting a weekend Pride celebration, Hemmingway’s have Pride Karaoke and we’re already seeing windows decorated in Pride colours.
Market – We have a small number of stalls available for businesses wishing to get involved. Please get in touch if interested.
Don’t forget to order your Pride South Lanarkshire merch. Order for delivery by Wednesday 26th July OR pick up at Dynamic Grafix on Quarry Street near the Drag bandstand on the day: https://pridelanarkshire.square.site/
Tickets are still on sale for Bingo Babes and Drag @ The Townhouse for the Friday night. Search results: South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture Online Bookings (sllcboxoffice.co.uk). Pride SL events have been made possible following successful funding bids to EventScotland, The National Lottery.
Photography scheme:
We’re delighted by a growing number of businesses accessing our free professional photography. As a reminder just one session could cost in the region of £300 if you were not in the BID area. However, not only do we provide you with the photography at no cost, we also include the images on our website and growing social media. In the past 3 months our Facebook page alone has seen 62,965 engagements, +27% on 2022. If you want to be part of this scheme, please contact us at malcolm.thomasharley@hamiltonbid.org
Planters in full bloom:
Work was completed recently to brighten up the town centre via our planters. An important aspect of the town centre is the visitor experience, and we aim to support this through schemes such as planters and regular reporting of fly tipping and waste issues.
August 12th – Scotland Loves Local – Hamilton Market
In support of the Scotland Loves Local campaign, Hamilton Market will be rebranded as the ‘Scotland Loves Local Hamilton Market’ on the 12th August. We’ll be on Quarry Street, operating the usual times of 10am – 4pm. Whilst this events focus will be the market and will not be a full-blown Gala Day, we will still have a range of excellent entertainment on the bandstand and the likes of jugglers, free style football and our outdoor play area on the street. As usual we aim to use the market to project a positive image of the town centre, supporting interest in the town and as a result extra visitors. Our association with the national loves local campaign is hoped to enable our messaging to reach a larger audience. In addition, and as usual we aim to increase footfall on the day to add to the 11,000+ extra visitors year on year recorded since March through our work with the Market. Businesses who are able to take a stall on the day will also benefit from direct income with no stall fee.
Stall availability for this date is low and therefore if you have not already signed up for your free stall, please get in touch now to secure your stall: malcolm.thomasharley@hamiltonbid.org
Networking / open day:
We’re back in the Beefeater on Townhead street for our 3rd Networking day of the year on the 24th August. This provides an opportunity to meet other business owners, engage with your ideas regarding the town and to get support from specialists in attendance. The times are the usual 10am to 2pm and drop in. More to follow on this.
