By Jack Holmes

For the first time No. 70 Oxford Road, formerly the Cornerhouse cinema, will welcome a host of LGBT events as part of the Superbia weekend.

The specially-commissioned and curated programme will be part of the huge number of events taking place over the same weekend as Manchester Pride’s The Big Weekend, running from Friday 26^th August until Sunday 28th, with the hugely popular parade taking place on Saturday 27^th.

The events have been curated by Superbia with support from Manchester Metropolitan University which has donated both space and staff as part of an ongoing relationship funded by the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

All of the events are free entry and family-friendly at this alcohol-free programme and will take place in an accessible building, which will be open through the weekend for people to drop in and find out what’s happening.

Alongside this, Manchester Pride’s flagship event, The Big Weekend takes place in Manchester’s world renowned Gay Village, featuring Will Young, Katy B and Fleur East, as well as many more.

Dr Andrew Moor, Reader in Cinema History at Manchester Met, said, “We are delighted to be partnering with Superbia, the idea is that we compliment Manchester Pride by offering something alternative. We have great panels on Islam, community, charity, sobriety as well as loads of comedy and music and we’re hoping this is the start of something big.”

The Superbia events taking place at 70 Oxford Road are as follows:

Friday 26th August

6pm–10pm: The Superbia Weekend Launch

Welcome speeches and live music from The Sunday Boys and Husk, followed by a one-hour cinema screening of specially-selected LGBT short films presented by Queer Media.

Saturday 27th August

11am: Pre-Pride-Parade Meet-Up

The café opens to the public providing a great location to meet up before the Parade. Swing by, grab a coffee and check out our weekend programme of events.

Time TBC: Post-Pride-Parade Arty Party!

After the Parade is over we invite everyone to keep hold of their flags, banners, ribbons, flyers and whistles and join artist Nicola Dale for a group project to help turn your Parade souvenirs into a giant work of art. All ages welcome to take part! 4pm: Author Gregory Woods in conversation with Dr Andrew Moor: Renowned poet and academic, Gregory Woods discusses his poetry and his new book, Homintern: How Gay Culture Liberated the Modern World.

5.30pm: Panel event – ‘Islam, Gender and Sexuality’

Academic Leyla Jagiella and Samia Rahman of the Muslim Institute discuss LGBT issues from a Muslim perspective.

7pm: Film screening – Oriented

Documentary on the lives of three gay Palestinian best friends.

7–10pm: Superbia Cabaret!

An evening of cabaret, open mic and comedy, starring Kate O’Donnell, the Addictive Comedy crew, and more!

8pm: Presentation: ‘Queer Noise: The hidden history of LGBT music in Manchester’

Historian and archivist Abigail Ward takes us on a journey through Manchester’s nightlife past.

Sunday 28th August

11.30am: Presentation: ‘OUT! Manchester Pride’s LGBT history website’

Abigail Ward explores this amazing new digital resource from Manchester Pride for LGBT Manchester history.

12pm: Panel event: ‘LGBT people, recovery and sobriety’

LGBT artists, recovery activists and com-munity members discuss their work and experiences with sobriety and recovery.

2pm: Panel event: ‘Communities and Charities’

Manchester community and support groups discuss their work, aims and campaigns, including representatives from TransBareAll, BiPhoria and Rainbow Noir.

You can find out more details about the Superbia weekend on Facebook and Twitter. You can find out more about tickets for The Big Weekend here.

Which events are you planning to attend over the Manchester Pride weekend? Let us know @HumanityHallows