"Queerness is togetherness": Falmouth Pride 2023
12 May 2023
The annual Falmouth Pride celebrations took place on Saturday 29 April, the first of many in Cornwall Pride’s calendar this year. Film BA(Hons) student, Jordan was there and shares her highlights from the day.
Cornwall Pride is young. It has sparkled for the last fifteen years and grown exponentially over the past three. The new tradition feels, in true Cornish fashion, like it has arrived right on time. And our little seaside town of Falmouth is one bright blossom of surging pride.
Firth, another student who went along to Pride, said: "The march was very fun, it felt like everyone there was in a big supportive family. The live events and stalls were really good too. It felt incredibly safe and welcoming."
It was estimated this past year that over 9% of Falmouth’s population now openly identifies as LGBTQIA+. During Falmouth Pride, the whole town pulsed with life - from the parade from Prince of Wales Pier down Market Street through to the Events Square. This year, the parade walked as an unstoppable symbol in motion: LGBTQ+ lives are here to stay.
Falmouth Pride is a time and space for the entire community to connect with one another, to be together, to dance, to sing, to laugh, to glow as one. This year, the festival outdid itself. Heating the stage up for the sunny day ahead were classic Plymouth queen Layla Zee Susan and the exuberant king Adam All. Adam’s performance was an ever-shifting set-piece, filled with perhaps the best costume changes I have ever seen.
It is a time where we can come together and remember that through our common struggles and joys, we are not alone.
Student Nicole Kiser said that Cornwall Pride is an event like no other. "It is a time where we can come together and remember that through our common struggles and joys, we are not alone.
"There was so much I could rave about this year from the inclusion of LGBTQ+ literature being available to the stellar line-up that just keeps getting better every year. But at the end of the day the best part is that no matter what, my friends and I can express ourselves and make some noise without fear."
My personal highlight was the comedy set from the legend Alex Gibbon, whose set laid the groundwork for an event which was as much challenging and intersectional, as it was fun.
Falmouth Pride is a reminder of how far I’ve come. A reminder that I’m not alone. My queerness is not separate from the town and people around me. Queerness is togetherness.
In the big show of it all, the most beautiful parts of Falmouth Pride were all the LGBTQIA+ friends around me, the wide supportive network which is physically there. Actually there, right in front of me. It’s not every day we get to feel that.
A close friend of mine, Patrick, said: "Falmouth Pride is a great time… but to me, I find them no more important to my journey and wellbeing than seeing my friends happier in their identity as they express their true selves in day-to-day life."
Falmouth Pride doesn’t sleep either. It queues its way into bars, into houses uphill, in happy parties under stars. At the end of the day, when all does get a little quieter, moonlight twinkling on the waves, Falmouth Pride is a reminder of how far I’ve come. A reminder that I’m not alone. My queerness is not separate from the town and people around me. Queerness is togetherness.
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