Press Release

Highland Pride Spring Ball 2009 Saturday March 14th 7pm – 12am Thistle Hotel Inverness

Featuring the Graeme Mackay Ceilidh Band with late evening disco by Disco Bros and table service by the Kinky Butlers Sponsored by UNISON.

The Highland LGBT Forum (Highland Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Forum) is delighted to announce the 2009 Highland Pride Ball, to take place this coming Spring at the Thistle Hotel Inverness on Saturday March 14th.

The fund raising event will start at 7pm and will run until after midnight, with the late bar closing at 12am. The evenings entertainment will include a Ceilidh with music and dance calling provided by the Graeme Mackay Ceilidh Band, and a late evening disco hosted by Keldon of Disco Bros.

Throughout the night we will also have a selection of other events to help celebrate and promote LGBT acceptance and diversity in the Highland community, and a complimentary table service provided by The Kinky Butlers.

In 2007 the HLGBT Forum threw the very first Highland Pride Ball. It was a huge success and the evening closed with calls for a repeat Ball. The event was the single largest fund raising event for the Highland LGBT Forum, which received charitable status during the summer of 2008.

The new venue for our Spring 2009 Pride Ball means a larger and more diverse event attracting up to 200 guests, which we hope will build on the momentum created in 2007 and set the scene for an annual Pride Ball.

Rachel-Louise Koktava, Secretary of the HLGBT Forum, explains why, here in the Highland, a Pride Ball is the way forward: “Inverness is a growing city. It has yet to establish a strong, out, LGBT community in ways that other Scottish cities have. In Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling or Aberdeen Pride marches are an annual event – light hearted celebrations of diverse sexuality, tolerance and seamless integration within the community. Inverness, however, does not yet have any public venues that are seen as gay orientated. That is why its appropriate that here, in the Highlands capital, we throw our own party in our own way - to give members of the LGBT community one very special night each year when they can truly be themselves amongst friends, while also showing the wider community that being LGBT in the 21st century no longer carries the burdens that past generations have lived with. We would also like to thank our sponsors, UNISON, and other supporters, whose donations and encouragement have made this event possible.”

Attendance is by ticket only, and tickets may be purchased in advance by sending a cheque for £20 per ticket, payable to The Highland LGBT Forum, to PO Box 5735, Inverness, IV1 9DB, including your own name and address and a contact phone number or email address.

Tickets will be sent out by post in advance, so please allow plenty of time to ensure their delivery before March 14th. Special diets will be catered for, so please include details with any ticket requests.

For more details on the event, visit our website http://www.gay-ness.org.uk For more information, or to obtain alternative graphics or to arrange press coverage of the occasion, please write to the secretary, or email her on forum@gay-ness.org.uk.

Highland LGBT Forum
PO Box 5735
Inverness IV1 9DB
(Charity Registered in Scotland No. SC039528)