July 2025 Roundup
- LonGBoaT Wakefield
- Aug 2
- 3 min read
It’s been a month of joyful graft and creative chaos here at LonGBoaT Wakefield as we’ve been putting the finishing touches on our first-ever Wakefield Community Pride Fringe. From programming events to finalising stage times, briefing volunteers and planning the finer details—our team, volunteers and partners have been working round the clock to make this a Pride to remember.
Our Wakefield Community Pride Fringe, taking place on Sunday 10th August, is a grassroots-led, inclusive celebration of our LGBTQ+ community. Expect a day filled with live performances, local food, wellbeing spaces, drag, poetry, music, and activism—with pop-up events and community moments across the city centre and beyond. You can read more in our full press release here.
But July hasn’t just been about Pride prep—we’ve also been out and about across the district, shouting about local art, music, volunteering and visibility.
We were thrilled to launch our brand-new Volunteering Hub on our website! Whether you're looking to lend a hand at events, share a creative skill, or support behind the scenes, the hub makes it easy to browse opportunities, sign up for training and get involved in building Wakefield’s LGBTQ+ future.
The skies opened—but the community spirit stayed bright at this year’s first Crigglestone Pink Picnic. LonGBoaT turned up with merch, to show support and keep the energy going for this brilliant grassroots Pride celebration.
As part of the Wakefield Kirkgate Station Volunteering Day in July, we helped colleagues and historians from Wakefield to step into the shoes of Victorian Railway Workers. Photos will be used as part of a Transport for Wales project and our own history project.
In July, we shared an exciting new creative opportunity as part of our partnership with Northern Railway. The ‘Get Your Artwork On Track’ poster competition is open to artists of all backgrounds and levels, with a chance to have their work displayed at Stations. It's a beautiful way to bring creativity, travel, and pride together in a public space.
We also issued a call, on behalf of the Wakefield Civic Society, to local photographers and heritage lovers: if you love Wakefield’s buildings and have an eye for capturing the city’s beauty, we want your images! We're curating visual celebrations of Wakefield’s architecture as part of our ongoing commitment to local culture.
A surprise hit made its way onto the Yorkshire Brass playlist at Wakefield Kirkgate Station—our very own viral LonGBoaT tune! We added a cheeky little Easter Egg to the station’s soundtrack, and it brought surreal joy to passers-by and our community alike.
We helped support a beautiful moment in local arts heritage by amplifying the return of Ashley Jackson’s mural to its full glory. With the help of the Horbury Victoria Brass Band, the piece—based at Kirkgate—has had its music restored.
For July’s Wakefield Artwalk, we are proud to feature the expressive, inorgural exhibition of Briony Hallas in our Community Gallery for the 30th July Wakefield Art Walk; entitled "In Memory of Joe". The exhibition can be seen on the island platform 2/3 until mid september.
We closed out the month with a trip to the seaside! The Cleethorpes Pink Picnic was full of sun, sparkle and sea air. LonGBoaT brought info stalls, Pride merch and new connections to this vibrant coastal celebration.
That’s a Wrap on July!
From train stations to coastlines, volunteer hubs to Victorian flashbacks, July has truly shown the breadth of LonGBoaT’s reach. It’s all building up to something big—Wakefield Community Pride Fringe on 10th August.
We can’t wait to see you there. Until then:
Sign up to volunteer via our Volunteering Hub
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