The LGBTQ+ Blackpool Year: An Annual Calendar

Blackpool's LGBTQ+ year has a rhythm of its own. Funny Girls changes its show with the seasons, Pride takes over the seafront every June, and the Illuminations bring the autumn crowds. Use this calendar to plan a visit, or to make sure you never miss a local favourite. Exact dates change each year, so check our monthly what's on pages for the details.

January

• Christmas by the Sea and Funny Girls' Christmas show wind up in the first days of the month.
• Funny Girls usually runs a short January show, then opens its spring show in the second half of the month.
• A quieter month in the quarter, so hotels are at their cheapest. Great for a relaxed weekend.

February

• LGBT History Month runs all month, with heritage talks and events.
• Rainbow Weekend: Pride's winter fundraiser fills the quarter's bars with drag, cabaret and karaoke for a weekend, usually early in the month.
• National HIV Testing Week: extra testing sessions, including evening outreach in the Rainbow Quarter.

March

• Trans Day of Visibility on 31 March celebrates trans and non-binary people.
• Funny Girls' spring show is in full swing.

April

• Easter brings the first big holiday crowds of the year to the quarter.
• Drag brunches and touring tribute shows start to fill the diaries of the town's show venues.

May

• IDAHOBIT, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, on 17 May.
• Funny Girls holds a bank holiday party show and then opens its summer season in mid-May, running into early September.
• Pride preparations ramp up. It's the time to sign up to volunteer, book a stall or register a parade group.

June: Pride

• Blackpool Pride is held over a weekend in early June on the Tower Festival Headland, by the Comedy Carpet: a Friday dance night, the Saturday parade along the Promenade, a ticketed main party with big-name headliners and a free Sunday community day. Youth Pride gives under-18s their own space.
• The Rainbow Quarter Street Party takes over Lord Street on Pride weekend, with music in the afternoon and performances into the evening, organised by more than 20 local businesses.
• Pride Month brings fundraisers and rainbow window displays across the town.

July and August

• Peak summer season: the busiest time for the bars, guesthouses and Funny Girls' summer show.
• Some quarter bars throw themed beach parties on bank holiday Sundays.

September

• The Illuminations are switched on, usually in early September, and run into early November. Autumn weekends get very busy, so book rooms early.
• Funny Girls' summer show closes and its Halloween season opens mid-month.
• Bi Visibility Day on 23 September.

October

• National Coming Out Day on 11 October.
• Halloween: drag takeovers, costume parties and Funny Girls' Halloween revue, plus half-term crowds.
• The town's men-only venues host occasional bear and pup weekends.

November

• The full Illuminations end at the start of the month; a shorter display stays on for the festive season.
• Funny Girls' Christmas show opens in mid-November and runs into early January.
• Trans Day of Remembrance on 20 November.
• Christmas by the Sea, the free festive village on the Promenade, opens late in the month.

December

• World AIDS Day on 1 December.
• Christmas party nights across the quarter.
• New Year's Eve: a drag cabaret countdown at Funny Girls and late licences across the Rainbow Quarter.

All year round

• Every Tuesday: free fast-track sexual health clinic on Dickson Road, the LGBTQ+ choir and several peer groups.
• Every Wednesday and Sunday: Liberty Church's free meal and Sunday worship.
• Monthly: the LGBTQ+ swim (last Thursday), the gender outreach drop-in (a Thursday lunchtime), the Phoenix Clinic (second Wednesday) and the Lytham daytime friendship group (first Wednesday).
• Daily: free drag at Garlands from mid-afternoon, and something on at the Flying Handbag most nights.

See our weekly regulars page for the full day-by-day list.

Dates change from year to year, so check before you go.