A DATE has been announced for the return of Burnham-on-Sea's first ever Pride event dubbed Pride-on-Sea.

The second instalment of the well-received event will take place at Manor Gardens from 12pm until 6pm on Saturday, July 27, following a Pride march from Highbridge train station at 10:30am, and preceding an after party at the Victoria Hotel, hosted by Ryder Emcee.

Despite best efforts to secure all the funding necessary for the event, organisers are asking for locals' help to make up the remaining £1,000 needed to facilitate acts, sound and lighting, staging, security, marshals, and toilets.

A CrowdFunder page has been set up to raise the extra funds needed, which has already received over £100.

On the fundraiser page, a spokesperson for Pride-on-Sea wrote: "As you can imagine, hosting this event isn't cheap, we have secured grants, and have 70% of our needed funds in place, but we still need to raise additional funds.

"It is a free event, and we are proud that we have ensured it is accessible to all, and as such we will not consider an entrance fee, please do donate so that we can ensure Pride on Sea 2024 is an epic event.

"It really does make a massive difference to what we are able to achieve."

To donate to the fundraiser, visit https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/pride-on-sea

On Facebook, organisers added: "We believe that you should not be charged to celebrate being who you are, that is why we are committed to bringing a free-to-attend Pride, and free-to-attend march to our towns - not just this year, but for every future year.

"We work very hard to fundraise from grants and donations from businesses, but we recognise that some people want to donate as individuals because you support what we do, and we are very grateful for that.

"That’s why we've created a CrowdFunder page where if you would like to donate you can do so easily, knowing that 100% of your donation goes towards ensuring a quality event that’s free for everyone to enjoy."

Last year, as well as bringing the first Pride event to the area, Pride-on-Sea organised a pride art exhibition, among other smaller events.