Hastings holds Trans Pride celebration

Taking place over eight days and featuring 15 individual events spanning Hastings, St. Leonards and Bexhill, the week offered community focused activities ranging from skateboarding, to life drawing, to an advance screening of Sundance award winning film Kokomo City, before ultimately ending the week with a lavish party at the Crown House and a picnic on the beach.

The week gathered a lot of attention on social media and support from locals, with hundreds attending and selling out the free events throughout. The town also got involved as trans flags were flown over the town hall and Muriel Matters House, and the seafront’s Bottle Alley was lit up in trans pride colours all week.

Events took place at the old Observer building, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery and the De La Warr Pavilion

Announced back in March, organisers Victoria Oldman and Zed Gregory founded Trans Pride Hastings to counteract the toxic conversation about trans lives in the media and offer some wholesome events for the local community.

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The pair said: “This year has been really tough for our community, we are under constant attack. We wanted to provide some safe and supportive spaces for our community to just hang out together. We live in such a great place, everyone wants to help, honestly we are blown away by this town.”

Victoria added: “We know the majority of the general public are behind the trans community. Trans Pride Hastings is here to make that support visible, to bring it together in solidarity, and to show local trans and non binary people they are valid, they are loved and they have the right to feel safe.”

Back On Friday March 3, a trans flag was flown above Hastings Town Hall by the borough council, celebrating Trans Day of Visibility

Following the success of this first year, organiser have said plans are already underway to continue the event into 2024.