The first ever Pride event in the Staffordshire Moorlands took place at the end of June, and it was all the rainbow fabulousness we could have hoped for! Co-created by a steering group of local LGBTQ+ people and with events spread across the Moorlands it was a real joy to be part of.
The weekend culminated in a big party on Sunday afternoon in Leek town centre, with market stalls, talks, and lots of live music. Team QueerQuest were out in force chatting with people about the project and collecting stories and memories, favourite places, or places that had significant meaning for them. We had a MASSIVE map of the Moorlands that people could write and draw on, and project artist Jay Neville was on hand for those who wanted a professional to do the illustration! We’ll use these places and stories as inspiration when creating our geocaching trail.
Sadly there is very little documented LGBTQ+ history in the Staffordshire Moorlands, so it’s possible that QueerQuest might end up more as a creative interpretation of the stories we imagine have remained hidden in time – but we’ve got a few leads to follow and there are some really excellent projects happening at the moment around this exact topic, such as the LGBT+ Lives and heritage project by GRAIN photography and the Older LGBT+ People’s Group. We want QueerQuest to complement the work that’s already happening in the community, so are looking at ways in which we can collaborate with other groups to share these hidden stories and celebrate our beautiful local heritage. Stay tuned for more updates!
