https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/News from gay Blackpool and the Rainbow Quarteren-gb https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/coming-up-october-november/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/coming-up-october-november/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHere's what is in the diary for the rest of October and into the festive season. - Saturday 17 October, 12pm to 6pm: GROWL at Acqua Sauna. An afternoon for bears, cubs, chasers and admirers at 25–27a Springfield Road, with hot food at 4pm. - Saturday 17 October, 8pm to 10pm: Marigold Addams at Rende https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/flying-handbag-weekly-guide/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/flying-handbag-weekly-guide/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Flying Handbag at 44 Queen Street is the biggest name on the strip: a purpose-built LGBTQ+ bar with a sun terrace, food all day and a late licence. Here is how a typical week runs: - Monday: Monday Mayhem from 8pm until 3am, plus karaoke - Wednesday: QuizMania with Amber, 4pm to 8pm, and karaoke https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/garlands-weekly-drag-line-up/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/garlands-weekly-drag-line-up/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTGarlands on Talbot Road is free to get in and has drag on every single day of the week. This is the current resident line-up: | Day | Who's on | |---|---| | Monday | Shazza and Bonnie | | Tuesday | Shazza's Singalong and Bonnie la Blue's Big Camp Gameshow | | Wednesday | Guest cabaret with Bunny Hop https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/peek-a-booze-this-week/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/peek-a-booze-this-week/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPeek-a-Booze on Dickson Road keeps it cheap and cheerful, with something on every night. Here is what's on from Thursday 8 to Wednesday 14 October: - Thursday 8: Karaoke Thursday with Wayne - Friday 9: Winner Takes It All with DJ Keiron, and Ben Jarman returns - Saturday 10: the PeekaBooze show with https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/rainbow-quarter-explained/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/rainbow-quarter-explained/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlackpool has been a gay holiday favourite for decades, and since 2024 its village has had official backing as the Rainbow Quarter. Where it is The heart of the scene is Queen Street, Dickson Road, Lord Street and Talbot Road, in the Claremont area just north of the town centre and a few minutes' wa https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/rainbow-quarter-sunday-roasts/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/rainbow-quarter-sunday-roasts/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSunday roasts are now a Rainbow Quarter tradition, with a run of venues serving them every week, listed from 22 September through to the end of 2027. Places on the list include: - The Flying Handbag, 44 Queen Street - Peek-a-Booze, 72–74 Dickson Road - Mardi Gras, 41–43 Lord Street - 31 Queen Street https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/coven-queens-halloween-funny-girls/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/coven-queens-halloween-funny-girls/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFunny Girls went spooky on Wednesday 16 September with Coven Queens, its Halloween show, running Wednesday to Sunday until Sunday 1 November. Expect classic movie monsters, Broadway-style witches and some brand new monsters, with comedy, big musical numbers, dance and costumes. Fair warning: the sho https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/hot-girl-summer-final-weekend/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/hot-girl-summer-final-weekend/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTSunday 6 September was the last night of Hot Girl Summer, the first season at Funny Girls under its new owners. Over the summer it brought a new runway stage, a VIP area at floor level, Miss Scarlett's return after six years, a Riverdance number nobody saw coming, and those surprise chickens. The ne https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/manspace-peer-support-returns/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/manspace-peer-support-returns/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTLancashire LGBT's Manspace group is coming back after the summer. It is a peer support group for gay, bi and queer men and masculine-identifying non-binary people, and it meets online, so you can join from Blackpool or anywhere in the county. Sessions run on Zoom from 6pm to 7.30pm. The dates announ https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/air-show-weekend-rainbow-quarter/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/air-show-weekend-rainbow-quarter/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Blackpool Air Show filled the skies above the seafront on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 August, and with it came one of the busiest weekends of the summer. If you came for the planes and stayed for the evening, the Rainbow Quarter is a short walk inland from North Pier. A few ideas: - Funny Girls, 5 D https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/zahirah-zapanta-at-kaos/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/zahirah-zapanta-at-kaos/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTwo weeks after reopening, Kaos brought in its first big name. RuPaul's Drag Race UK star Zahirah Zapanta headlined a club night on Saturday 25 July. It was a cracking night, and it set the tone for the relaunched venue: late licence until 4am at weekends, new DJs and guest acts to pull people back https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/kaos-reopens-queen-street/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/kaos-reopens-queen-street/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTKaos on Queen Street reopened to the public on Saturday 11 July after a 12-week transformation under a new owner. The bar closed in April for the work, which went right down to the bones: new floors, toilets, bars and drainage. It was finished off with glitterballs and neon rainbow lighting. A pre-l https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/history-club-20-years-of-pride/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/history-club-20-years-of-pride/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOn Wednesday 8 July, the We're Still Here! History Club gathered upstairs at Aunty Social on Topping Street for an evening on two decades of Blackpool Pride. Community organiser Catherine Mugonyi, who helped shape the early Prides, shared stories, photographs and ephemera from those first years in c https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/funny-girls-turns-32/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/funny-girls-turns-32/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTFunny Girls marked 32 years in July, its first birthday under new ownership. The team marked the day by thanking the audiences who have brought birthdays, anniversaries, hen parties and reunions through its doors over the years. Those nights out are what turned it into far more than a venue. From it https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/lancashire-lgbt-pride-month-fundraisers/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/lancashire-lgbt-pride-month-fundraisers/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTAs Pride Month wrapped up, county charity Lancashire LGBT thanked everyone who raised money for it during June. One effort stood out for us: a sponsored walk all the way from Preston to Blackpool. Venues chipped in too, with Argento Lounge picking the charity for its LoungeAid fundraising. Lancashir https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/hot-girl-summer-review-new-look-funny-girls/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/hot-girl-summer-review-new-look-funny-girls/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTTwo weeks into the new era at Funny Girls, and the changes are easy to spot. If you haven't been since the sale, here's what to expect. The building - the cabaret bar has had money spent on it - there's a new VIP area down at floor level - a runway stage now takes the queens right out into the crowd https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/belvedere-hotel-for-sale/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/belvedere-hotel-for-sale/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTOne of the Rainbow Quarter's best-loved guesthouses is on the market. The owners of Lee & Chris's Belvedere on Dickson Road announced the sale in June, after five years and seven months in charge. Their other businesses are growing and need more of their time. Running the Belvedere has clearly been https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-sunday-community-day-wedding/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-sunday-community-day-wedding/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe final day of Blackpool Pride's 20th anniversary weekend, Sunday 7 June, was free for everyone, from noon to 6pm. The big twist for the anniversary was a wedding. Earlier in the year, organisers invited couples to send in their love story, up to 750 words, on why Pride was the right place for the https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-parade-20th-anniversary/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-parade-20th-anniversary/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe forecast was worrying and the sky stayed grey, but it didn't matter. Blackpool Pride's 20th anniversary parade set off from 11am on Saturday 6 June, heading from Sandcastle Waterpark along the Promenade to North Pier. There was colour, music and plenty of noise, with a Blackpool whistle crew kee https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/rainbow-quarter-street-party/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/rainbow-quarter-street-party/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhile the main stage was on the Headland, the Rainbow Quarter put on its own party. Lord Street became a free street party on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June, running from Springfield Road to Cocker Street. More than 20 local businesses organised it together. Gates opened at noon both days, DJs started https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-friday-90s-vs-00s/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-friday-90s-vs-00s/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlackpool Pride's 20th anniversary weekend opened on Friday 5 June with a nostalgia-heavy dance night on the Tower Festival Headland, from 6pm to 10pm. Ultrabeat and K-Klass headlined a 90s vs 00s line-up, joined by Romina Johnson, Blu James and local favourite DJ Jason Fubar. It was the warm-up for https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/just-be-me-musical-premiere/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/just-be-me-musical-premiere/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPride weekend started a day early this year with the premiere of Just Be Me – A New Musical in Concert at the Central Pier Showbar on Thursday 4 June. Written for Blackpool Pride's 20th anniversary, it was developed in Blackpool with a cast drawn from the town. There were no formal auditions: anyone https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-2026-everything-you-need-to-know/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-2026-everything-you-need-to-know/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEverything you need for Blackpool Pride's 20th birthday weekend, 5 to 7 June at the Tower Festival Headland. Friday 5 June, 6pm to 10pm A 90s vs 00s dance night headlined by Ultrabeat and K-Klass, with Romina Johnson, Blu James and local DJ Jason Fubar. Saturday 6 June - Parade along the Promenade f https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/funny-girls-sold-new-owner/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/funny-girls-sold-new-owner/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe biggest scene news of the year: Funny Girls has a new owner. Founder Basil Newby has retired and sold the Dickson Road drag cabaret to Kane Oliver, who comes from a theatre background and runs bars and venues across the UK. The venue had been marketed at £3.5 million by Christie & Co. Newby call https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/hot-girl-summer-opens-funny-girls/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/hot-girl-summer-opens-funny-girls/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe first show under Funny Girls' new owners opened on Thursday 28 May: Hot Girl Summer, running until 6 September. It kicks off with a Gloria Estefan medley, then the queens work through Cher, Madonna, Britney and Tina Turner. There's slick choreography, plenty of laughs, a big disco finale and, so https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/blackpool-mps-back-trans-community/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/blackpool-mps-back-trans-community/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTA week before Pride, Blackpool's two MPs put out a joint statement backing the town's trans community. Chris Webb (Blackpool South) and Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) said their support was unconditional, responding to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's updated Code of Prac https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/mr-blackpool-homecoming-grand-theatre/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/mr-blackpool-homecoming-grand-theatre/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTHarry Clayton-Wright's Mr Blackpool finished its spring tour where it belongs: a homecoming gala at the Blackpool Grand Theatre, with the run listed from 20 May. Think of it as a seaside variety show for the end of the world. Set in a near future shaped by climate collapse and late-stage capitalism, https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-20th-anniversary-line-up/https://rainbowquarter.co.uk/news/pride-20th-anniversary-line-up/Thu, 08 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBlackpool Pride is twenty this year, and the festival is going big to mark it. The full plans landed in mid-May: three days on the Tower Festival Headland from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 June, plus a two-day street party in the Rainbow Quarter. Heather Small tops the bill, with 911 celebrating their own 3