Afflecks has announced it will be throwing a garden party over the August bank holiday weekend, as a way to mark the city’s famous Pride celebrations.
The Afflecks Garden Party will take place on Saturday 28th August, the date the Manchester Pride parade usually takes place.
Despite the Pride parade being cancelled this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, Afflecks will be offering a safe space for all those celebrating the weekend with a garden party themed event at its famous Northern Quarter venue.
As a nod to this year’s original parade theme – The Garden Of Freedom – visitors will be encouraged to head down to Afflecks in fancy dress for a Pride garden party, with prizes to be awarded on the day for the best dressed guests.
With an ‘anything goes’ dress code, those in attendance can get creative with their outfits and truly embrace the spirit of Pride, with anyone and everyone welcome to join in the celebrations.
Having famously taken part in past Pride parades with their own float, Afflecks will be showcasing its one-of-a-kind, world-famous style this year by dressing the iconic building with lots of glitter, decorations and all things Garden Party-related.
There will also be drag DJ spinning tunes throughout the day, plus drag queens roaming Afflecks itself, providing fun and flamboyant entertainment to the masses.
Independent traders at Afflecks will also be embracing the Pride celebrations. As well as getting involved in the fancy dress festivities, select traders will also be offering promotions to customers in honor of Pride weekend.
Affleck’s own Gay Pride Shop is the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ shop, stocked with over 4,500 items, including Pride essentials such as flags, facepaints and fans.
To celebrate the weekend, the shop will be offering 10% off all their items to customers who use the secret code word “Pride is Protest” upon purchase. The Gay Pride Shop also shares a percentage of its profits with LGBTQ+ charities all year round, so shoppers will be giving something back to the community with their purchase.
Those with a sweet tooth can also head down to Mrs Hammond’s Traditional Sweets at Afflecks. Across Pride weekend, the shop will be offering Pride bags, including rainbow pick n mix, a lollipop and a pride sticker, for just £3.50, as well as pride and trans pride themed sweet cones for £2.50, which include a mix of rainbow or pink and blue sweets.
For chocolate lovers, there will also be chocolate bars available with custom-made wrappers in all the different pride flags for £2. Once again, all of the above offers will include a donation to LGBTQ+ charities.
Kerry Rooms, Retail Operations Manager at Afflecks, said: “It’s unfortunate that the Pride parade won’t be able to go ahead in Manchester this year. However, we wanted to mark the occasion and provide a chance to celebrate safely over the weekend.
“Our ethos is all about embracing individuality, standing out and welcoming everyone, which is why we love Pride weekend, and have always been a venue that has an affinity with the LGBTQ+ community”
“We love any reason to celebrate and The Afflecks Garden Party is no exception. It will be the first event of its kind here and we have no doubt our customers will love what we have on offer throughout the weekend. Whether browsing, shopping or just taking part in the festivities, we want to make sure everyone who comes into Afflecks gets into the spirit of Pride.”.
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The Afflecks Garden Party
Date: Saturday 28th August
Time: 10am – 6pm
