Posted on Thursday 8th August 2024
From left to right: Louise Jutton (library staff), Dawn Jutton (Staffordshire Poet Laureate), and Ben Cunliffe (archives and heritage staff) put the finishing touches on their ‘Pride in Our Past’ parade float.
Staff from Staffordshire County Council’s Archives and Heritage service will make history this weekend by taking part in the first-ever Stafford Pride Festival.
The team will join the Pride Parade to introduce their new ‘Pride in Our Past’ LGBTQ+ Community History Project. They will also use the occasion to spread the message that everyone is welcome at the soon-to-open Staffordshire History Centre. Both the project and history centre are being funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund who have provided £4,858,699 towards the new centre.
Joining the parade will be Victoria Wilson, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for Communities and Culture who said:
“We’re all really excited to be part of the first-ever Stafford Pride Parade and to celebrate our new project.
“Staff have been busy designing the mini float and we can’t wait until Saturday. We’re determined to make our service as inclusive as possible and as part of the Staffordshire History Centre project, we’ll be working closely with communities to diversify our archive and museum collections and create new content for the History Centre when it opens later this year.
“The project and our new history centre are being funded by the Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players and we’re extremely grateful for the funding.”
The ‘Pride in Our Past’ history project will champion diversity and inclusion. It will document and share lived experiences and expand LGBTQ+ representation across collections. It will also help preserve LGBTQ+ histories for current and future generations to enjoy and learn from.
The new Staffordshire History Centre, on Eastgate Street in Stafford is due to open later this year. The project will incorporate Staffordshire Record Office and the heritage building that formerly housed the William Salt Library. A four-storey extension will allow for 50 more years of archives storage, while a modern exhibition space will give visitors the chance to explore the collections.
People can see the team’s specially themed ‘Pride in Our Past’ float during the Pride Parade on 10th August, preceding the main festival event in Victoria Park.
More about the Pride in Our Past History Centre project.
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About The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.
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