Author: Alex Jones

Irish pop legend Samantha Mumba will headline this year’s Pride in Liverpool festival, with a performance on the Barclays Main Stage at the city’s Pier Head on Saturday 30th July.

The multi-talented singer, composer, actress, model and TV presenter is best known for her 00s hit singles, “Gotta Tell You”, “Baby Come on Over” and “Always Come Back to Your Love”, but in 2020 released two brand new singles “Cool” and “Process”.

The Pier Head site for Pride in Liverpool will be open from 12noon and its stage, which has been programmed by Sound City, will spring to life from 1pm, as the city’s March With Pride arrives at the festival site following its journey through the city from St George’s Plateau.

The stage will be hosted throughout the day by Jordan Lee from Radio City & Hits Radio Pride and Jay Hynd from The Guide – both media partners to LCR Pride Foundation and the city’s annual Pride festival.

Andi Herring, CEO and Co-founder of LCR Pride Foundation – the LGBT+ charity behind Pride in Liverpool and the annual March With Pride – said: “We are ecstatic to have Samantha Mumba headlining this year’s Pride in Liverpool, as we finally come together to celebrate – in person – for the first time in three years.

“Samantha’s best-known songs contain some of the greatest choruses from the 21st century, so we’re looking forward to a – hopefully sunny – sing-along at the Pier Head!

“We have faced so many challenges in delivering our first festival since before COVID-19, but thanks to our amazing team, volunteers, suppliers and city partners we have ensured that the wait is over and we can finally come together again.

“We’re incredibly proud to have achieved this, even with a last-minute site move, and look forward to being visible, together and celebrating our city region’s beautiful LGBT+ community.”

March muster will begin from 10:30am on Saturday 30th July, with the march starting at 12 noon from St George’s Plateau. The march route and further information about the event will be announced in the coming days.

For more information visit www.lcrpride.co.uk

A major new event in Bootle which focused on ‘green’ measures that our local community can take to contribute towards saving the planet has been hailed as a success.

The Bootle Climate Action Festival was organised by Bootle-based social enterprise Regenerus and the Taking Root in Bootle community gardening network.

Ruth Livesey of Regenerus said that organisers were delighted that more than 200 people attended the event at Bootle Canalside, which proved to be the perfect venue.

She also thanked everyone who ran a workshop or looked after a stall at the festival, made possible by the support of the Linacre Ward councillors.

Ruth said the organisers were particularly pleased to welcome Bootle MP Peter Dowd to the event. who obviously enjoyed viewing the various exhibitions and chatting to stallholders.

The aim of the festival was to offer something for visitors of all ages, including the air quality interactive experience from Immersive Interactive, a great way to engage younger people in this key issue.

There was also information, advice and giveaways on topics including how to reduce our food waste, how to lessen our carbon footprint, better recycling, energy saving, understanding air quality and why we should be buying local and sustainable textiles.

Free bike safety checks were on offer to encourage cycle use, and visitors could also help to reduce their food miles by buying artisan products made in and around Bootle.

Thanks to a donation from Service Electrical Distribution Ltd almost 300 LED bulbs were given away at the event. These use around 70 to 80 per cent less energy than traditional light bulbs, and last almost ten times longer.

Bootle’s eco-friendly printer The Print Room UK also supported the event by producing eye-catching posters, with the Taking Root in Bootle team also getting in on the act by designing a ‘green’ display stand made by re-using old pallets.

Commenting on the event Regenerus Chairman, Cllr John Fairclough, said: “It’s easy to think that the climate emergency is such a big challenge that there’s not much we as individuals can do to tackle it.

“However, the message at Bootle’s first Climate Action Festival was that collectively all our efforts do add up and can make a difference, and we shared a lot of ideas about how we can do that little bit more in the future.

“As an organisation we are committed to doing what we can to address the climate emergency. This fantastic event was part of those efforts and it was great to see the interest of the many local residents who attended the event.”

The festival was also a flagship event for Canalside’s regeneration project. The site is projected to open to the public in the autumn and, following on from the success of today’s festival, the Council are hoping to host more community focused events in the future.

A major new event in Bootle later this month will put the spotlight on ‘green’ measures that can help to protect the local community and contribute towards saving the planet.

The Bootle Climate Action Festival will take place between 12 noon and 5pm on Thursday 14th July at Bootle Canalside, next to the Strand shopping centre, between Stanley Road and Washington Parade.
The event is being organised by Bootle-based social enterprise Regenerus and the Taking Root in Bootle community gardening network.

Funded by Linacre Ward elected members, the event is being sponsored by Liverpool John Moores University, The Printroom UK and Service Electrical Distributors Ltd, and is receiving extensive support from Southport Ecocentre.

Organisers say the festival will feature a series of talks and workshops, the opportunity to take part in an air quality interactive experience and the chance to get involved in a canal clean-up.

Free bike MOTs and repairs to encourage cycle use will also be on offer, as will a variety of free eco giveaways.

Meanwhile, exhibitions and displays from local organisations will focus on ‘green’ topics including how to recycle well, saving energy, healthy eating and cutting down food waste, growing your own food and shopping local, and walking and keeping fit.

Commenting on the festival Ruth Livesey from Regenerus, said: “This event will be a great opportunity for local people to find out what we can do in Bootle to help save our planet and protect our community for future generations.

“From clean air to reducing your carbon footprint, from the circular economy to buying local, we’ll have exhibitors on hand who will be able to provide expert information and advice on these and other key ‘green’ themes.

“We’re really excited about this event, and hoping for good weather and a very good turnout on the day,” added Ruth.

Sefton Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Skills, Cllr Marion Atkinson, commented: “Sefton Council have declared a climate emergency and a big part of our commitment is supporting grassroots activity like this.

“Climate change is a problem for all of us and small changes can have big, positive consequences. I hope this festival will encourage local people to consider their own impact on their environment and how they can support and encourage others to make a change too.

“I am delighted that Regenerus have chosen Bootle Canalside to host their climate festival. This is exactly the type of community event that we want this space to be used for and I know we will host many more community events as we move forward on our completed site later this year.”