Margate Pride 2022: Sugababes and Don One at Dreamland plus parties, art and a parade

Sugababes at Dreamland

Following on from their incredible Glastonbury performance which saw the Avalon stage closed off after thousands of fans gathered to watch the girls, British girl group Sugababes are set to delight fans for Margate Pride this August.

The group, Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhan Donaghy, will perform hits from their back catalogue of tracks including About You Now, Push The Button and Overload.

Joining them will be some of Pride’s favourite acts, including The Fabulous Lounge Swingers. The three-piece swing band will be performing Pride-themed pop hits, monster mash-ups and unique covers of classic Pride anthems.

Also taking to the stage will be drag king superstar Don One. Expect to be fully entertained by a king that has smashed their way through the sequinned ceiling, starring in the 5* West End Show ‘Death Drop’, then going on to play Prince Charming in Sleeping Beauty alongside Divina De Campo.

Hosted by comedian Jack Rooke, fans can also expect to be entertained by Hungama, London’s queer alt Bollywood club night, with BBC 3 host Ryan Lanji, Sadie Sinner, Prinx Silver, Daniel Molyneaux, Laura Blake, Nimmo, Amy Zing and the Margate Pride queens (DJ and dancers).

Sugababes and the Margate Pride crew will be at Dreamland on  Saturday 13 August.

Tickets costing £30 plus booking fee are on sale now via www.myticket.co.uk  www.dreamland.co.uk and www.axs.com

Photo Steven Collis

And there are even more events for Pride with it entering its seventh year and promising the biggest festival to date.

A two-week-long queer arts festival will be held, culminating in the Pride procession where everyone is welcome to celebrate all of Thanet’s queerness and LGBTQIA+ life.

The Margate Pride Festival runs from August 5-20 and the parade along Margate seafront will be held on Saturday, August 13 at 4pm. This year it will not include floats.

Organisers are focusing on making space for the community, community groups and charities.

Oval Bandstand entertainment and rally before the parade (Aug 13)

Photo Steven Collis

From 11am, the Oval Bandstand hosts performances and speeches from local queer artists and allies, including family storytime with drag queen Dame Jame, Boogie bounce dance class with Kanndiss Riley, The Neptunes Choir, Drag Energy workshops with JazBazMaz, Mx Margate performance with huge celebrity judges, then the Social Singing Choir perform. All before the not-to-miss rally with campaigner for LGBTQIA+ rights and founder of LGBT+ History month Sue Sanders, Ronnie from African Rainbow Family, Max from Not A Phase and Rob Yates deputy mayor of Margate.

The bandstand will have a BSL interpreter and also Mobiloo – an attended mobile toilet service with hoist.

Then the parade will leave at 4pm and move along the seafront towards town, ending at the clocktower, with many more events happening all over town to celebrate pride.

After parties

Photo Frank Leppard

Sundowners will have the terrace open all day, full of wonderful drag and the best sea views in town.  The Sundeck has queer disco DJs playing all day til 9pm. Dreamland has a day’s queer programming including Nimmo and Sugababes playing at sunset. Walk around the old town, most businesses have something pride related planned.

After the sunsets the party keeps on going, with locations across town hosting Pride events. Cockles and Muscles at Margate Arts Club is a pride fundraiser with DJs including GalPals, Tolu (Honey Revlon), Lanta, Dorris, Jonjo Jury, Oli Keens.  And the after-after-party at the Lido Cliff Bar has KDA and Queer House Party playing til 4am.

Art events

Photo Frank Leppard

Margate Pride’s PAM has grown to be a platform to celebrate queer artists. Turner Contemporary hosts ‘MOVED: Queer Film is a Portal’ Pride curation inhabits Quench Gallery for group show ‘Adult By Nature’. Pride Portrait Project by Elissa Cray grows the archive and is partnering with Sé Mali by delving further into queer spaces in Margate for’ The Pride factory’. Residencies, Open Calls, performance and workshops are an integral part of Margate Pride Festival. The Pride Art Map – PAM

Margate Pride partners with LGBTQIA+ Youth group ‘BeYou’  to present their exhibitions ‘I.D’ at The Margate School and this year has the third Red Flags III: Not A Phase- the Margate Pride exhibition that seeks to Represent, Educate and Disrupt, is back in collaboration with @notaphaseorg.

The ‘Brink’ Residency returns, with opportunities for emerging artists at Resort Studio featuring two exhibitions over its seven day duration..

Elissa Cray presents new portraits and landscapes building the archive of the ‘Pride portrait project in this years ‘PRIDE FACTORY’ installation. Collaborating with Sé Mali, PHD researcher of queer spaces and placemaking at UCL, the project expands to explore both the people and spaces of  Margate through photography, audio, film and a series of community happenings.

Stephen Daly presents his photographic series ‘The Art of Drag’ in multiple empty shop  windows on the High Street.

Hotel Michele gallery presents ‘Les Painters’, an exhibition by three queer female artists: Kavel Rafferty, Jane Dinmore and Mia Pollak.

Davy Pittors gallery presents ‘Proclaimer’ a new film and works by Lo Lo No.

Sister Joan salon presents new site specific work by Margate Pride poster artist Jenny Boat.

Tom Thumb Theatre hosts a night of queer cinema curated by Ruby Rare.

This year’s programme is supported by Arts Council England, The National Lottery’s Awards for All, Social Enterprise Kent, Kent County Council, Spacehive Crowdfunder with the support of the Margate community, local businesses and individuals.

Find more at margatepride.org.uk