The fourth  Chester Disability Pride Parade takes to the city’s streets next week in a brilliant burst of colour, sound and movement. 

Hundreds of people are expected to be involved in the Monday, 8 July event which aims to celebrate the talents and raise awareness of the 14.1 million people in the UK who live with a disability.  

The parade will set off from Chester Town Hall and make its way to Exchange Square (Chester Market) on a route which takes it through the heart of the city.

And the huge procession will feature 8 brass musicians who all play as part of Leeds based band Back Chat Brass, plus a vibrant array of banners, flags and whistles. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own homemade banners and placards.  

The first Disability Pride Parade took place in 2019 when more than 100 people paraded from Chester Town Hall to Storyhouse. In 2024 it remains one of only four such events in the country, along with Reading, Leeds and Mansfield. 

This year’s event also launches Storyhouse’s annual Kaleidoscope Festival which is returning for its fourth edition. 

The festival, which runs until 11 July, celebrates diversity, inclusion and unique abilities, and as usual it will include a fantastic and varied programme of events and activities including performances, workshops, music, dance, art, a makers’ market. 

Storyhouse communities manager Nicola Haigh says: “This is our fourth annual Disability Pride Parade and the event gets bigger and more vibrant and popular each year. It’s a real celebration of the fantastically diverse and very talented community we have here in Cheshire. 

 “Chester is one of only a handful of places across the world that celebrates Disability Pride in this way, and the parade has quickly become an established part of the city’s calendar. Everyone is welcome at what I know will be a truly inspiring event.” 

For more details of the festival see https://www.storyhouse.com/seasons/kaleidoscope/