This bank holiday won’t be a drag for Manchester’s LGBT community as the Village People Weekend will play host to a number of macho men and exciting acts in aid of HIV charities.
The Canal Street festival will see the great and the good from Manchester’s most celebrated LGBT postcode turn out to have some bank holiday fun and raise some money.
Those going to the free event, taking place at Sackville Gardens, will be treated to performances from village drag queens, DJ’s, The Showbears, Angie Brown and international drag super group and stars of Ru Pauls Drag Race, DWV.
Paul McAvoy, a disc jockey in the village for over 12 years, has organised the extravaganza and feels it will be a brilliant occasion to raise money for a good cause.
“I wanted to do something involving actual village venues and DJ’s and drag queens rather than them working all weekend,” he said.
“This is the community coming together to raise money for HIV, it’s about the people in the village, who work village rather than the whole of the UK.”
People will be dressing-up as their favourite Village People member- and those who do don a cowboy, builder, red-Indian, policeman, soldier or leatherman costume can get 10% off at fancy-dress shop Luvababes in the Arndale.
The bank holiday event has been paid for entirely by sponsors and nothing will be coming out of any charities pockets, something that Paul said hasn’t been done in the village before.
All the money collected at the events will go directly to HIV charities with people encouraged to give a suggested donation of £3.
Infamous drag pop group DWV will be serenading audiences on Sunday afternoon with their hits Boy is a Bottom, Gaycation and Silicone.
And so far £3,000 has already been raised through meet and greets with them alone.
Paul also dropped some news that will delight fans of the world famous Ru Pauls Drag Race.
“Getting DWV has given the event a more awareness and taken it to a different level,” he said.
“I’m a full time manager at AXM, and we are looking at bringing over Ru Paul stars more regularly”.
The Village People Weekend also coincides with The 17th Great British Bear Bash, a huge LBGT event celebrating all things big and hairy, so the village will be jam packed full of burly men from all over the country.
Celebrations start at 1pm at Sackville Gardens off Canal Street on May 4.
For more information check out the events facebook page.
Image courtesy of Village People, via Youtube, with thanks
