John S Johnston: 03 May 1979–11 May 2020
It was with great sadness that Pride Saltire East Lothian learnt about the untimely loss of our Chair, John S. Johnston. It was his vision and enthusiasm that helped to found our group in 2018. John was a respected activist and volunteer who championed the LGBTI community in East Lothian, Scotland and across the UK. He was a much loved son and brother, and our deepest condolences are with his family and friends. He shall be missed immensely by us all.
About Us
We’re are a vibrant pride group for East Lothian’s LGBTI community and our straight allies. If you haven’t heard of us before, we launched in February 2018.
Our mission is simple. As there hasn’t been any LGBTI events in our area for a few years, we decided it was time to do something about that. We believe there is real value in creating community events. We want to bring a wider outreach and engagement to the people of East Lothian in a warm, friendly environment.
Our name and our branding both reflect the fact that East Lothian is the home of Scotland’s Saltire flag.
Events
LGBT History Month
Representatives from Pride Saltire were at the launch of LGBT History Month, which took place at the Scottish Parliament – and was hosted by Jenny Gilruth MSP and organised by the team at Pink Saltire.
Then throughout February, and working with The Brunton in Musselburgh, we went on to celebrate LGBT History Month with a diverse programme of live comedy and films, which attracted audiences from both East Lothian, and its surrounding areas.
Pride Saltire Festival
Our aim is for the Pride Saltire Festival to take place during the month of May, at a location somewhere in East Lothian.
Our first Pride Saltire Festival was held on Saturday 11 May 2019 at Cockenzie House & Gardens in East Lothian. This free event was like a big garden fete, and the sunny weather encouraged members of the East Lothain communities to come and join us. We were like one big rainbow family.
The Brunton in Musselburgh also help us again, by launching our Festival Weekend with a comedy and movie double-bill featuring Jan Irvine and the film Pride.
Partners
Pride Saltire is extremely grateful for the generous support given to us by our East Lothian partners:
If you want to keep up to date with what is going on with Pride Saltire, we suggest you come back and visit our site from time to time, and connect with us on Twitter and Facebook – using the links below: