About Us
Our Values: Queer, Creative, Authentic, Compassionate, Accountable
Happy Valley Pride is an award-winning, rural northern LGBTQIA+ led, co-created community-driven arts charity that reaches over thirteen thousand people of all ages, sexualities, genders, ethnicities & abilities annually. We exist to support the LGBTQIA+ community in West Yorkshire, promoting equality and diversity to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, through arts, education and engagement.
We bring together all ages, sexualities, genders, ethnicities and abilities in a creative celebration of equality & diversity with a grassroots annual week long arts festival, year-round community events, youth engagement programme and art-focussed mental health project.
Created in response to a piece of homophobic graffiti seen in Hebden Bridge in the summer of 2015 aimed at a LGBTQIA+ child, our first ever project brought our community together to turn that piece of homophobic graffiti into a message of defiance & solidarity. We
have been celebrating LGBTQIA+ life & promoting tolerance, understanding & friendship through access & participation in community created art & culture ever since, working with over 3,000 5-18yr olds, 50+ community volunteers, 80+ artists, 20+ schools & reaching 10,000+ audiences each year.
We promote equality & diversity to make our community a happier & healthier place & eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity by breaking down the barriers in our society, encouraging conversation & sharing learning.
Advocacy, empathy & fun are the key tools to our success to date. Our activities focus on reducing social isolation, increasing opportunities for
everyone to access & participate in live events, & creating & delivering artistic activities which provide new opportunities for meaningful connections.
We deliver a week-long Queer Arts and Pride festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ life in Hebden Bridge and surrounding areas annually in late July, featuring national & international artists as well as championing local talent.
We run a diverse range of events throughout the year of equal quality to our festival, bringing new & emerging queer art to our audiences as well as cherished big name acts.
We produce an annual youth engagement project working with local schools to raise awareness and educate about LGBTQIA+ life, and we run campaigns supporting & positively affirming the local LGBTQIA+ community.
Our patrons, human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, Trans activist & artist Kate O’Donnell, iconic singer Horse McDonald and award winning poet Jackie Kay not only help steer us forward but actively take part in our festival every year.
Safeguarding is embedded into our ethos here at Happy Valley Pride.
