The Brunswick Centre a sexual health support/prevention charity
consisting of 2 departments Support &
Advocacy helping people infected or affected
by HIV or AIDS and MSM supporting Gay, Bi
or men who have sex with men who may be vulnerable,
isolated and in need of support. Check out
our website on www.thebrunswickcentre.org.uk
(this is also having major make over ).
The Pink
Picnic was taken on by the Brunswick centre
in 2004 following a chance meeting in Mission
in Leeds by Richard Blackburn who had recently
gone to work for the charity and Mel Pick one
of the previous organisers. After a lengthy
discussion at the Brunswick Centre it was decided
that MSM a department within the BC would take
that responsibility on but not having done this
kind of thing before we were relying on friends
and associates to help and they did!
We linked
up with KMC out & About (LGBT events in
Kirklees) The community really rallied round
borrowing and begging off local people/businesses
and giving there time & commitment in order
to make the event happen and on the day it all
came together perfectly and 2500 revellers arrived
enjoyed and went home happy!
2005 saw
a fantastic turn out 4500 pink picnickers which
considering the weather right up to the day
before was amazing but the event though fantastic
was getting a bit too big for us…… it saw the
arrival of the Pride Sisters and KMC with a
massive information marquee partly due to Javier
Santana Acosta who had worked for the Brunswick
centre for 6 years but was now working at the
safer Communities Partnership at KMC so…
2006
this will be the last year we at the Brunswick
Centre organise the event but that does not
mean the end as we are now looking to formulate
a committee who will take the event on to remain
the biggest and best loved event in Yorkshire.
