Grace Savage to headline Stort Pride cabaret at South Mill Arts with compere Don One and rapper Lewis Sycamore

The countdown to two days of Stort Pride celebrations has begun.

While June was Pride Month across the world, Chelle Peppiatt and her team have organised events to boost awareness and visibility on Friday and Saturday, July 25-26.

Chelle said: “Pride is a commemoration of the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. Pride continues all around the world because LGBTQIA2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and trans, queer and questioning, intersex, asexual or agender and two-spirit, plus) people continue to face discrimination and challenges globally.

“In Bishop’s Stortford, we have been celebrating Pride since 2021 with an annual two-day celebration.”

The programme begins with a Pride Cabaret at South Mill Arts. The compere for the evening will once again be Drag King Don One.

The singer, rapper and actor is best known for their television appearances, introducing Joe Lycett live on Channel 4’s Late Night Lycett.

The show, from 8pm, will also feature Cheshunt rapper Lewis Sycamore, whose work is hard-hitting, energetic, introspective and soulful.

The artist is also an environmental campaigner. His song Somewhere supports The British Bee Charity, with every stream in a year raising money for the cause.

Singer, songwriter and four-time UK beatbox champion Grace Savage completes the line-up.

She has been shortlisted for Best Songwriter and Best Female Solo Act at the Unsigned Music Awards, and in 2021 she won the award for Best Sound and Music at the LGBT Feedback Film Festival and Best Score at the Swindon International Independent Film Festival for her debut film score in a BBC-commissioned short, Her & Her.

She has also appeared at Glastonbury, Wilderness, The Great Escape, Beatherder, Womad, Lovebox, Shambala and Latitude festivals.

On Saturday, July 26, supporters will muster in Castle Park from 9am before a Pride Walk of Solidarity to Jackson Square.

From 10am to 3pm, Stort Pride and The Little Arts Workshop will host a Pride day filled with family-friendly activities in the precinct’s community space.

Chelle said: “Stort Pride continues to provide places of safety to the LGBTQIA2S+ community on the third Wednesday of the month at The Little Arts Workshop, Millside Industrial Estate, Southmill Road, from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.”

To book tickets for the cabaret on Friday July 25, see https://southmillarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873671564.