Oxford Pride makes colourful start (From Oxford Mail)

Oxford Pride makes colourful start

7:20pm Friday 29th May 2009 in Search

AN image of rainbows, balloons and a colourful parade was unveiled tonight to mark the beginning of Oxford Pride.

The week-long festival will celebrate Oxford’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, and will include everything from workshops on preventing sexual abuse to walks around city sights which have gay links.

Oxford Pride chairman Mazz Image, pictured, centre, with artist Afroditi Aparti, said: “Everybody is bubbling over with excitement, especially with the weather being forecast for glorious sunshine.”

A 4.5m by 3m mural, painted by artist Afroditi Aparti, also pictured, was unveiled during the launch party.

It was painted at the Oxford Castle complex, which was formerly a jail, and will remain there until the end of the summer.

Ms Image said: “It is like the parade is breaking out of the jail. It includes some figures from the first Pride march in New York – the reason the march happened was to mark the occasion when people were arrested and taken into jail during the Stonewall riots in 1969.”

The main Pride event will be a parade through the city centre next Saturday, ending in a mass party at Oxpens Field.

See oxfordpride.org.uk for details.