The largest Pride festival in Devon and Cornwall is seeking new trustees to oversee and help with the running of the annual event.

Plymouth Pride Event has grown over the past four years to be the most successful LGBT festival in the region, last year attracting over 4,000 visitors.

New trustees are needed to fill the roles of chair, secretary, and treasurer, as well as other general trustee positions as the existing post holders step down due to their own work commitments and for health reasons. The organising committee also want to find fresh faces to join them and help with some of the tasks which need carrying out.

The roles are all voluntary, and Plymouth Pride Event makes no secret of the fact that organising the festival has become a year-round commitment.

Last year, the festival was expanded to include a week of activities in and around the city leading up to a main event at Plymouth Guildhall and the Piazza.

The festival has close links with Plymouth City Council, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, and NHS Plymouth, as well as a host of businesses and community groups.

Plymouth Pride Event treasurer David O’Brien said: “We are financially very healthy, and we benefit from a huge support base among local businesses and a loyal following among LGBT communities all around the region.”

Secretary Prudence de Villiers said: “Rather than let Plymouth Pride Event stand still, we would like to find new people with fresh energy and ideas and who have the vision to build on what has been successfully achieved to date and take the festival to the next level.

“We are confident that we can find new volunteers who will want to help keep the rainbow flag flying over Plymouth this year. However, there is no time to lose if there is to be Pride festival as normal, as there is still relatively a lot to do to hold an event this year.”

Plymouth Pride Event took place during August last year as it was timed to follow on from Cornwall Pride in order to encourage visitors from other parts of the country to stay locally and see more of the region.

It is a registered charity and its trustees act as a steering group to oversee the festival organising committee.

Anybody interested in becoming a trustee or joining the organising committee, should contact Plymouth Pride Event before June 1 by emailing info@plymouthprideevent.org.uk or in writing c/o 36 Looe Street, Plymouth, PL4 0EB.

Further details about the vacancies and more information about the festival can be found by logging on to www.plymouthprideevent.org.uk, or by emailing info@plymouthprideevent.org.uk, or by telephoning 07753 339965.

Plymouth Pride Event is a registered charity raising awareness of the city’s LGBT communities. It works in partnership with Plymouth City Council, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, NHS Plymouth, Out Youth Group, Plymouth Pride Forum, Heart Radio, The Swallow public house, Zeros Nightclub, Eddystone Trust, Intercom Trust, Fyne Times, ‘In Other Words’ Books, She Bang, University of Plymouth, and the TUC South West.

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