Whats happening during Dublin pride?

Annasopra

The Dublin Pride Guide is here - I typed up a very quick summary of events below

https://issuu.com/dublinlgbtqpride/docs/dublinlgbtqprideguide2016/13?e=25186033/36199556


* AA P13
open meeting Friday 24th June 8pm Outhouse, P13

* Outhouse events, P28
Soapbox - 11th June
Goodmod festival 11th June
Cabaret 24th June
Pre parade breakfast - 25th June
GOLD post parade - 25th June

* Gay Health Network sexual health and wellbeing workshops, P29
June 14th - Asking for it - info on hookups
June 21st Apps and etiquette
June 28th How to get a boyfriend
July 5th sex, drugs, alcohol
July 12th sex - what kind so you want
July 19th - self confidence


* TRANS Fusion - trans pride, P 30 - P31
June 11th - 19th see full schedule here http://www.teni.ie/news-post.aspx?contentid=1545

* NXF, P33
June 29th launch of burning issues report

* Belong To, P35
June 19th - 23

* Dublin Pride official events, P27, P36,37
June 22nd Opening party
June 23rd Political debate
June 24th Club night at Odessa
June 25th Parade
June 25th Pride village
June 25th after parties
June 26th Ceremony of remembrance

* Pre and After Parties, Club nights,
Mother 25th
Pantibar 25th
Odessa 24th, 25th
Spinster - Bad bobs - 25th
The George, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th
Czech inn 23rd, 24th, 25th
Profile dublin 25th
Bear Pride 24th and 25th June
Daddi, 25th June
Button Factory, 25th June


*Fun run
17th June, P49


* Pavee point
25th June pre parade tea and coffee, P 61

*Gloria
18th June

Hunchback

Thanks for that - that's really handy.

My OH is going up to Dublin to meet up with mates and enjoy the festivities (while I stay at home, happily, to mind the dog).

This is really convenient, and good timing for him

NikoTopps

Joey ya babe!

Did all the work for us x

ongarboy

Note, Mother are having an open air block party in Tivoli theatre in Francis Street on the night of the parade 25th. DJs include Jake Shears from Scissors Sisters and Panti. Should be fun. Tickets for this should be purchased in advance as they most likely will sell out prior to the day itself.

sierraecho

ongarboy wrote: »

Note, Mother are having an open air block party in Tivoli theatre in Francis Street on the night of the parade 25th. DJs include Jake Shears from Scissors Sisters and Panti. Should be fun. Tickets for this should be purchased in advance as they most likely will sell out prior to the day itself.

After last year I think I'll pass on this. Disaster of an event.

ongarboy

sierraecho wrote: »

After last year I think I'll pass on this. Disaster of an event.

Really? I'm going to this event for the first time this year. They mention a revamped offering (possibly to address what you are referring to).

Out of interest, what happened last year that put you off it?

sierraecho

ongarboy wrote: »

sierraecho wrote: »

After last year I think I'll pass on this. Disaster of an event.

Really? I'm going to this event for the first time this year. They mention a revamped offering (possibly to address what you are referring to).

Out of interest, what happened last year that put you off it?

For me it was the massive queues at the bar and toilets which there was a lack there of. I'd heard from friends of some rowdiness but i personally didn't see it. The place was not setup to handle the numbers of people they gave access to. If there is a revamp I hope they address these concerns from last year.

On another note and this is not something that's their fault, The weather was not very favorable but made a bad night worse.

ongarboy

oh dear...lets hope they're better prepared this year then!!

Hunchback

sierraecho wrote: »

For me it was the massive queues at the bar and toilets which there was a lack there of. I'd heard from friends of some rowdiness but i personally didn't see it. The place was not setup to handle the numbers of people they gave access to. If there is a revamp I hope they address these concerns from last year.

On another note and this is not something that's their fault, The weather was not very favorable but made a bad night worse.

Funnily enough, I felt that despite the amount of people in the place, the biggest problem was with the lack of atmosphere and craic

hotmail.com

It seems the festival has been slimmed down and shortened this year. Does anyone know why?

Annasopra

hotmail.com wrote: »

It seems the festival has been slimmed down and shortened this year. Does anyone know why?

Nope

Dublin Pride aren't great at communicating in the last year or two.

sierraecho

Joeytheparrot wrote: »

hotmail.com wrote: »

It seems the festival has been slimmed down and shortened this year. Does anyone know why?

Nope

Dublin Pride aren't great at communicating in the last year or two.

Really, Did a new team take over recently or is it time for a change of the organizers?

Last years event didn't have as much energy as previous years too. Maybe it was due to the Marriage Referendum celebrations being a month before hand last year (and of course the less then favorable weather)

Annasopra

sierraecho wrote: »

Really, Did a new team take over recently or is it time for a change of the organizers?

Last years event didn't have as much energy as previous years too. Maybe it was due to the Marriage Referendum celebrations being a month before hand last year (and of course the less then favorable weather)

There was a new team about 2-3 years ago but the team at pride has always been changing. People come. People go. There was a big row about 2 or 3 years ago not letting lgbt noise speak at the speeches part and a good few left then.

Yeah I agree though perhaps time for some new blood. There is a lot of issues from what I can see in how its currently constituted.

hotmail.com

They seemed to be boasting about how many events were on during the festival in previous years and now it seems like a rather low-key affair! Were the events outside of the parade and parties not well attented?

sierraecho

My only hope is that this year the weather is a lot more favorable. Get soaked and unable to take cover was a real downer last year.I'd take overcast skies not a bother as long as the rain stays away.

Nokia6230i

Folks, as someone who IS involved in Dublin Pride they/we are always looking for folks to get involved.

Appreciate it's a voluntary role but no matter what age you are it looks good on CV.

Pride Parade is the biggie; bear in mind 2015 saw 63,000 attend/at it.

Currently we've 4,500 Walkers & North of 25 Vehicles/Floats & we do expect those to be joined in with along the route to Merrion Square.

Volunteer Stewards for Contingency, Section Chiefs & Deputy Chief Marshall are reqd.

If you've a background in event work that'd be a major plus.

Parade@DublinPride.ie if you want to offer your services please. Thanks,

gazzer

I think we are going to go to Nealons for around 5 on Sat. That is where we usually start our day each year. There seems to be a good few events starting late afternoon but to be honest I dont want to spend 15/20 Euro at that hour of the day for entrance and then be stuck to that one place all day. Id prefer to check out a few pubs.

Panti Bar will probably be crazy but I might go for a drink there too, then onto the Turks Head and Czech Inn (they have a David Bowie tribute act). Might have one in Oscars and Front Lounge also. Not sure about the George. It will prob be busy as hell in there.

ongarboy

sierraecho wrote: »

My only hope is that this year the weather is a lot more favorable. Get soaked and unable to take cover was a real downer last year.I'd take overcast skies not a bother as long as the rain stays away.

I think the forecast for Saturday is now looking dry and about 19 degrees which is perfect for the parade and a few al fresco pints!!:D

bicloset

1st timer to pride and thinking of heading into the city centre to watch the festivities? Anyone know a good discreet spot to watch the parade, being stuck in the thick of things isn't my thing. Also any other first timers looking to meet up and watch the parade give us a shoutðŸ‘

Ash885

Happy Pride everyone! Let's hope the rain stays off.

Heading to the block party myself and then the G afterwards. Hope everyone keeps safe at any rate!

applesock

Anyone know if dogs aloud in the parade and into merrion square ? Nearly sure I saw a couple of people last year,

Nokia6230i

applesock wrote: »

Anyone know if dogs aloud in the parade and into merrion square ? Nearly sure I saw a couple of people last year,

Yes dogs're allowed so long as they're on a leash/lead at all times, you as the responsible dog owner make sure they're fed & watered (disposable water thingy maybe & doggy-poo receptacle if possible but that's only a personal recommendation) & don't put themselves or others in fear given the expected crowds on site at Parnell Square & indeed at Merrion Square also.

Bear in mind at prep stage on Parnell Sq. there will be a number of floats pumping out choons just in case your dog isn't used to house/techno etc.

Obviously DCC by-laws re canines at Merrion Square take precedence.

Happy Pride, Happy Pride Parade!

applesock

Nokia6230i wrote: »

Yes dogs're allowed so long as they're on a leash/lead at all times, you as the responsible dog owner make sure they're fed & watered (disposable water thingy maybe & doggy-poo receptacle if possible but that's only a personal recommendation) & don't put themselves or others in fear given the expected crowds on site at Parnell Square & indeed at Merrion Square also.

Bear in mind at prep stage on Parnell Sq. there will be a number of floats pumping out choons just in case your dog isn't used to house/techno etc.

Obviously DCC by-laws re canines at Merrion Square take precedence.

Happy Pride, Happy Pride Parade!

Brilliant thanks for the reply. Just didn't want to bring him incase we couldn't get into merrion square. Oh yeah I was thinking of taking a few supplies with me for him for the couple of hours.

Thanks so much. Happy Pride

suicide_circus

Man there were some grim faces in that parade!

jackinthemix94

suicide_circus wrote: »

Man there were some grim faces in that parade!

Why?!

donkeykong5

jackinthemix94 wrote: »

Why?!

Maybe they are grim because they are not getting all the attention as the football is on

User banned for constantly trolling this forum

suicide_circus

jackinthemix94 wrote: »

Why?!

No idea, it just seemed really downbeat when I passed it

baby and crumble

TBH as someone who has organised groups to march in the parade for a few years now, this years has to have been the poorest organised from a participant stand point- although I will admit it looked like great fun for viewers! (I will also say as someone getting a little bit long in the tooth for big crowds and with increasingly shorter patience levels, this may not be the feeling of other marchers/ group organisers)

In previous years you were given a number for your group and those numbers corresponded to a place on the railings around the square where everyone gathered, which was planned before the groups started congregating. This year it was just manic, no-one knew where anyone was meant to be, I was trying to find the groups we were in between. Total nightmare, the area around the Garden of Remembrance just isn't big enough for all the groups now. I felt really sorry for the big groups of young people, trying to marshal them must've been like herding cats. I was talking to some of the BelongTo crowd and there was 250 young people. In one group alone. That's enormous.

And I have to say, the amount of f*cking little teenagers just pushing in onto the parade at random points was huge. At this stage the parade is so big it needs a proper road closure a la the Paddys Day parade, with barriers to stop people just jumping in. Trying to keep a group together in that atmosphere is really really difficult. And yes, each group has to have stewards but the little s*its don't listen to you when you ask them to cop on. What are you meant to do, have a fight with a gobby 15 year old when you're trying to keep your own group together? Plus the walking speed set is seriously fast, you're down O'Connell St in like, 10 minutes. I don't even walk that fast to get a bus!

The parade committee does a great job, it's an ENORMOUS undertaking for volunteers, and they clearly do the best they can, but it's getting so big now. I'll freely admit I'd say the works on O'Connell St played havoc with the organisation, so I'm probably being a bit harsh on the organisers. But it's honestly made up my mind that this was probably my last year organising a walking group.

So maybe all the craziness in the waiting area contributed to any glum faces!

Nokia6230i

Hey Baby (and Crumble)! All feedback's appreciated & your thorough detailing of the issues as you saw them is most kind; every festival, event, parade makes mistakes, needs to learn from them.

It's not all about criticism but constructive criticism too.

Midweek we'd 4,500 signed up to walk spread across a number of groups; I haven't the running order to hand as I type this but I will revert back with an approximate figure regarding number of walking groups and quantity approximate of a total as even during week people were registering despite closing date being a number of weeks ago for logistical reasons (pairings/sponsors and so forth).

On top of this was the 30+ Vehicles/Floats some of which were flat-bed trucks, others buses, lorries etc. which by their very nature present logistical and health & safety challenges given amount of registered footfall as well as amount who join in along the route esp. from Uppr. O'Connell St. onwards.

Unfortunately this year I was present for all training sessions but not the Parade itself for which I am gutted, kicking myself and won't be repeating going forward.

In the past I have been one of a team to lay out the numbers on the railings in hope they correspond space wise with the number & names of groups we have and, most importantly the quantity in those groups.
Some groups will have single figures, others triple figures & gauging the spacing for same on the day is a bit like how long's a piece of string but we do our best & we have done in the past.
We don't & won't always get this right.
I did it in 2014 & 2015 with a team of 2-3 others and it was a case of get it done & hope for the best; this is an issue that needs to be looked at for 2017 to see can we professionalise it with better guesstimates on the part of those laying out the numbers, myself included.
It's one aspect I don't look forward to doing but it's a necessary evil.
The design of the "square" also poses challenges from this p.o.v. & there are limitations from set-up to departure; in 2015 I felt the square was getting quite crowded with vehicles & wanted to release G.M. further down to No.1 at the Gate Theatre along with those back to the entrance to Garden of Rememberance to give breathing space.
Over-ruled however by AGS; we have our way, so do the events team but AGS have final say.
So effectively we're trying to put 100 or so walking groups & vehicles into one length, Parnell Sq. Nrth. for as long as possible & use both the GoR side, the Hugh Lane side and as far down to the Rotunda for "overspill" as is safe to do so from our & their perspective.
They're stakeholders in this also & have to be respected from an access p.o.v.
In 2015 I recall going from 1 at the Gate Theatre to 40 or so heading back down for the Rotunda & then coming back across the Square to HL Gallery side and going from the Church backwards if that makes sense.
We still hadn't enough room; we're victims of our own success & long may it continue from that perspective; we're the 2nd Biggest Parade in Ireland + that's important to note; 5-10 years ago we were an afterthought relatively speaking.

Regarding BelongTo contingent, we generally ask that it's 1 Steward for every 10 People, we'll go to 15 if necessary, if stretched but 16+ = 2 & there's no deviating from that; ergo BelongTo should've had 25 Stewards from within their group who also should've attended the various training sessions which were multiple & certainly the closer to the Parade we got, better attended.

If a steward attended one meeting they didn't have to attend another; their names would've been duly noted on the sign in sheets for spot checks on the day but ultimately we would've liked if all 25 had come along to at least one session; sessions were also delivered on the day/morning of the parade but as you can understand this can be tricky & it is my intention to take up the slack for 2017 both on the day & in the run up; the more training sessions we do in advance, the more opportunities for queries to be resolved prior to the event & the less training has to be done on the day & the smoother the event goes off would be the thinking, my thinking anyway.

So much is common sense but common sense can't be taught & although from year to year little changes, little changes are made based on previous years experiences & feedback which is most welcome on forums like this and indeed in time, hopefully, via social media (FB/Twitter) a shout out for opinions will be sought that way & perhaps via Survey Monkey or all three; please contribute & tell us how you think it can be improved, changed. Thanks.

I reckon for the last 2-3 training sessions we got guts of 150+; names & contact deets (E-Mails/Phone Numbers if reqd.) were taken & the General Steward Training checklist detailing 12 specific points to note was forwarded on by the Chief Steward after each session in case there wasn't enough to go round on the day/night.

The e-mail Parade@DublinPride.ie is always there to reach out to & the Chief behind it is most accommodating & knowledgeable & prompt & efficient regarding information circulation & communication in advance & all questions are answered either by e-mail or at the training sessions.

I appreciate your concern about uninvited teenagers (and indeed young & old/er adults) joining in; unlike the St. Patricks Day Parade we reach out to society; we try to be more inclusive rather than exclusive regarding crush/crowd safety barriers. It's a family fun day out & a celebration of LGBT Life & struggles that continue both subtly & overtly in Ireland today & beyond unfortunately & our presence is required; taking a year off isn't an option, it's like saying all's well in the world of homosexuality where clearly it isn't.

The gobby 15 year olds to use your terminology present a risk; my simplistic option would be to ask them to join the group in advance of the Parade as an actual member of TENI, BelongTo, Bi-Ireland etc. Get them activated. But on the day don't approach them if you feel it will cause ructions; there's always plenty of assistance both sides. It's easy for me to say it now with hindsight but I would've stepped in and spoken to these kids at their level & attempted to reason with them, asked them to move on, move along & to join in the Parade from O'Connell St. where most people not with a group join in.

I do security in another life & I find reasoning with people rather than antagonising them & putting yourself at risk the way to go; in future if you can't get help, encourage those in your group to ignore the little scrote & s/he will soon get bored & move on.

I'm most delighted to read you saying the following "The parade committee does a great job, it's an ENORMOUS undertaking for volunteers, and they clearly do the best they can, but it's getting so big now. I'll freely admit I'd say the works on O'Connell St played havoc with the organisation, so I'm probably being a bit harsh on the organisers. But it's honestly made up my mind that this was probably my last year organising a walking group.".

We are all volunteers; from the Chief Steward to the Deputy Chiefs to the Section Chiefs to the Flag Bearer (which is one of the most under-rated positions in the Parade & one of the most stressful from a commitment & organisational p.o.v. having done it for another Pride in 2015) to the stewards of each vehicle & walking group & the Parade wouldn't go ahead without them.

Many give up of their time in advance for the training sessions (those handouts don't print & staple themselves, the chairs don't magically lay themselves out or spirit themselves away afterwards, the running order doesn't unfortunately come together on a first come, first served basis, it's a bit like the seating plan at a nuptials regarding who to place with who & indeed who not to place with who; FG & AAA don't make for good bedfellows for example!), taking time off work, sometimes coming straight from work/college to deliver training, to attend training so it's a big undertaking.

The works on OCS didn't help nope, no. There had to be a split in the vehicular floats & foot traffic before they amalgamated again which required serious organisation to reconnect them; with the cross-city works this will not be an issue in 2017 to my knowledge.

I would encourage you to remain on, remain involved. Please don't let this be your final year. Continuity is so important & you can hand on tips to others in your team who step forward to steward be it for one year or more; experience can't be beaten.

Perhaps you might wish to become more involved? Perhaps you might wish to be a Deputy Chief Steward, a Section Chief maybe?

Both these roles are hugely responsible ones and might suit you better than, as I think you are, a contingent steward?

Maybe, and I'd welcome your opinion here, we need to look at upping the number of Deputy Chief Stewards from 2 to 3 or maybe more like 4 or 5? Or doubling from 1 to 2 the Section Chiefs or both? Might that've helped this year? Would appreciate your feedback here please. Thanks.

I'm at pains to say (and I'm in my Late 30s) it to every steward no matter whether with a contingent, a general one who floats around & is assigned a role or flits & fits into one on the day or who takes responsibility along with our responsible flag bearer to organised sufficient numbers for that lengthy & wide flag such that it doesn't drag/droop to put this, your role, down on your C.V. Be proud of it, what you've done whether it be for 1 Year or 10; it shows responsibility & leadership to an employer or other voluntary organisation & you can bring what you've learnt to other groups for similar events.

Please please please do me a favour, apart from staying involved.

Feel free to give further feedback here.

DM me with feedback & I will pass it on.

Send your feedback directly to Parade@DublinPride.ie

Be suggestive, be constructive please and let's eliminate any errors in 2016 & see what we can improve for 2017 as per your experiences this year.

Thanks.

baby and crumble

Hey Nokia.

Thanks for the response. I do understand that it's a massive amount of work and like I said I don't envy you all.

Just to clarify, the joining in I was talking about happens on OConnell St. This year we must've had 20 of them just pushing in on top of us as we were trying to walk, holding banners. As steward I tried to ask them to be a bit respectful (and to be fair a number of them were, and asked) but I know you'll always get the odd few who are just in it for the party. Look, i was an energetic 16 year old once, I do get it. It just rubs the wrong way.

I want to clarify as well about BelongTo. They were fantastic- we were quite close to them and their stewards were absolutely brilliant. The kids with them were super lovely so that wasn't a complaint at all! I was just saying it was a lot of young people to keep together waiting!!

I think re: the numbers, it might actually be sufficient to section off the waiting area into blocks- like, groups 1-5 in this space, 6-10 in this, etc. I just know I found it nearly impossible to figure out where we were meant to be, which really made the day super stressful.

But well done to all involved. The guts of it all went off fantastically. It was just the scrum before the off that rubbed my group up the wrong way!

ongarboy

Wow, just reading above about the sheer logistics and responsibility of this completely voluntarily mammoth task of organising the parade blows me away. Well done to all involved who gave up so much of their own time to make it happen!

I attended the Mother party at Tivoli and it was good fun and thank God the weather remained dry! One major bone of contention, which was forewarned to me in an earlier post on this thread, was the bloody queues for drinks at the gig. We waited 45 mins!!:mad::mad: There were only two stalls selling drinks which was a ridiculous oversight for the crowds that were there. I have to say the queuing system for arriving at the venue and for the loos was well managed and swift however. I think next year if I'm about, I'll give that a miss and just soak up the atmosphere in the city as the craic was class in a few of the gay and non gay bars we visited on the way up to Francis Street. Pantibar also had some serious queuing going on however.

Annasopra

Thanks Nokia for all of your feedback and response.

I'm personally very concerned about Dublin Pride.

I agree with a lot of what B and C said. Queueing for the parade this year was the most chaotic I've ever seen.

I also feel the mandate of the pride board is starting to become really questionable when there hasn't been a company agm in a very long time. There has been from what I can ascertain no company agm for 2014 or 2015.

Nokia6230i

Not on top of the AGM side of things Joey as I'm not on (the) board but would highly suggest you address this through an e-mail to info@DublinPride.ie or by PM'ing the/ir FB Page > https://www.facebook.com/DublinPride/

I'm in no way representing Pride in any official capacity lest it seem that way; just making observations, providing feedback & opinions based on my past experience & going forward. Am delighted to be involved in capacity I am at the moment & will hopefully remain so long term; again I encourage others to become involved at whatever level they can or want to based around their work/college/family/social commitments. Thanks.

wakka12

The atmosphere was quite nice in the city during pride I thought! Maybe a few too many teeny boppers but apart from that it was good fun.
The queues for any gay events or bars were unreal though, even for bars near any gay venues it was difficult to get in without either pre booked tickets or waiting in line for about 45 mins. Maybe I was a bit naive but anyway I was quite shocked by the shear size of the crowds.
On par with St.Patricks day really and Im sure the day attracts much less foreign tourists than ST.Patricks day so it must have really brought the locals out!

Annasopra

Fair enough nokia I have adressed these concerns privately.

But I see no problem in highlighting them publicly as well.

The Pride company should be completely open and transparent. Because of a lack of openness and transparency in the past we saw very questionable (and indeed illegal) practice such as theft from pride funds and lack of transparency of where funds went. BEFORE THIS CURRENT BOARD

To me it is slightly worrying there has been no company agm for 2014 or 2015.

Seamai

As with last year (and I'm sure every other year) there was a lot of alcohol being consumed both in the parade and along the side lines which I thought made for an edgy atmosphere post parade. Later, I heard a bunch of young guys telling someone that they had been drinking since before noon. The Pride website says that drink in the parade will not be tolerated but do nothing about it, last year when I emailed them associated with some of the messy behaviour I witnessed on Saturday evening, I hate sounding like a killjoy but some people need to grow up a bit.
On a different note, I'm not sure that I'm all that much in favour of the big multinational companies marching behind their banners in the parade. I know the organisers have to get their money from somewhere but do we really want the event to become too commercialised as has happened in other cities? I see the inclusion of these companies as little more than advertising vehicles and TBH quite dull.