The story so far ... at Fife's first Pink Heritage Day

Richard McArthur outside the Adam Smith Theatre. He is organising Fife's first Pink Heritage Day. Pic: George McLuskie.

The free event - taking place as part of LGBT History Month 2018 – will see the heritage day held in the Kingdom for the first time when it is hosted at the Adam Smith Theatre on Saturday, February 17.

Fife’s first Pink Heritage Day is being organised by Pink Saltire and Fife Pride and will run from 11am to 1pm.

Richard McArthur, organiser, said: “The event will provide a glimpse into our LGBT history, looking at how far the movement has come in Scotland and the more recent changes in our country.

“We wanted to hold this year’s Pink Heritage Day in Kirkcaldy as it ties in with the second Fife Pride event which is taking place in the town this summer.”

He continued: “The day will include a selection of memorabilia from the past 30 years focussing on the campaign for LGBT rights in Scotland, mainly focussed around the scene in Edinburgh and Glasgow, which we know had people from all around the country involved in the fight for equal rights.

“It is important for people to share their stories and have their voices heard. People didn’t have the same freedom to speak out in the 70s as they do today and back then there were no places like bars or clubs for members of the LGBT community to go where they could express themselves.

“It is important to show what the struggles were – how homosexuality was socially frowned upon and how society has changed over the years.”

Richard said the event will feature an LGBT History Timeline for people to read which dates back to 1603. The timeline takes in when the campaign began to make homosexuality legal in the UK in the 1950s; through to the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 and the Equality Act 2006.

There will also be a memorial quilt to symbolise local deaths due to AIDS, along with Scottish tapestry which features the stories of people from the LGBT community.

Richard will give a talk on the history of the LGBT movement and there will be a chance to see a short film about the LGBT community in Fife, called Queer Kingdom.