Ms Parsons said while the festival was inspired by the original event, it was more of a recognition than a recreation.
“The original festival would happen over a week. So instead we’ve taken the name Bradford in the Pink and launched this project Back in the Pink, which is a jumping off point for highlighting and celebrating lots of different events and communities from the 1970s onwards,” she said.
Ms Parsons said she first heard about the original event while building an archive on Bradford’s LGBTQ+ history.
“I met some people who were involved 40 years ago because I’d heard about the festival, mainly through the posters at the Peace Museum in Bradford and at the V&A in London.
“They’re particularly beautiful posters, but it didn’t seem like anyone knew very much about the events or what had happened.”
During her research she met four people who had been at the original event, including Alan Richardson who designed and printed the original posters.
“He’s made a new poster for this event that people can screen print on the day and take home as a kind of memento,” she said.
“We wanted this day to be a fun, free day for people of any age to come and learn or reminisce or just soak it all in together in a safe and fun environment.
“That includes making space for people to share their stories with younger people or people who are new to the area so that we’re all aware of our history and our heritage.”
