Fife Pride: What to expect and what's on as Pride returns for 2023

Fife Pride’s annual march kicks off at Fife College’s St Brycedale Campus at 1.00pm. From there, it wile head down Kirk Wynd, past the Old Kirk, before heading along the High Street‘s pedestrian zone, turning up Whytescauseway to the Kirkcaldy Town House, where the afternoon and evening events will take place in a marquee until 7.00pm.

The event will once again be hosted by drag queen April Adamas, who was at the helm in 2022 and 2019. However, this year she’ll be joined by Jo Crawford, in one of the first instances of a drag king hosting a major Pride event in Scotland.

A number of stalls have also been confirmed for the day. These include community groups such as Nourish Support Centre, Andy’s Man Club and Paige’s Music Butterflies taking stalls in attendance. A number of local businesses will be in attendance providing food and refreshments.

A host of music acts have been confirmed for the event so far. Among others, Ginger Fruits, a musical duo from Tayside, will return for their fourth collaboration with Fife Pride, while Glasgow-based boyband, Just The Brave, will also bring their energy and dance to the event. Demi McMahon, who appeared on BBC show Love Song, will also appear.

The event will be led by Kirkcaldy Pipe Band, who will take the parade from Fife College’s St Brycedale Campus to the Town House to kick off the festivities.

Headlining the event are Kinghorn rockers, Easy Ride, who also played last year’s event.

Paul Murray, secretary of Fife Pride, said that they are hoping for the weather to play its part as they look to welcome a bumper crowd.

He said: “We're hoping for sunshine for a start and we're hoping for a really good day. Obviously we did the first Pride since COVID last year and we had to delay it through to September just because of the operational issues we faced. We were conscious that wasn't the ideal time to have it because it's darker and it's going to probably be a bit colder at that time of year.”

The event has also moved back to its traditional date at the start of July to wrap Pride Month.

Paul continued: “Having it in holiday time just makes more sense. It’s the event’s natural home – the first Saturday in July has been the Fife Pride date for quite a while. We're really excited to be bringing it back on its proper date and we’re looking for loads of people to come along and just have an amazing time.”

This year’s event has continued to attract support from major companies. Asset management institution Aegon will he sponsors for the third time – the company also backed the recent Edinburgh Pride.

Andy Manson, chief marketing officer at Aegon UK, said: "It gives us immense pleasure to support and attend these two fantastic events again this year. We’re an organisation passionate about creating a working environment that celebrates all forms of diversity and individuality, and our ongoing support of Pride events is just one of the many ways Aegon engages with our local communities."