An informal partnership started in 2019, when the franchise offered its services to support Crawley Pride’s 2020 debut event, providing flyers and various promotional materials on a complimentary basis to help publicize its festivities. However, the event was canceled much like everything due to the global pandemic.
Fast forward to 2021 and the organizers of Crawley Pride managed to secure council permission to hold the town’s first-ever official Pride event. Although the planned parade was canceled due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the FASTSIGNS Crawley team set to work providing banners, stage backdrops, wayfinding materials and selfie backdrops for the two-day Festival, which took place at Goffs Park.
More than 1500 people attended the inaugural pride event, and the overwhelming success has secured Crawley Pride’s position as an annual event. This year, FASTSIGNS Crawley has been selected as the official partner of the event, which will take place Saturday and Sunday, August 20 and 21, and incorporate the organisation’s debut parade march alongside a two-day festival with fairground rides, community stalls and live music. As well as supplying stage backdrops, directional signs, entrance arches and flags, the franchise has committed to sharing office space with the organizers of the town’s Pride, enabling them to store materials and hold ad hoc meetings.
Melanie Martinez, director of FASTSIGNS Crawley, said: “We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to support the local LGBTQU+ community’s efforts in bringing Pride to our town in such a significant and important way. From our very first meeting with the Crawley Pride team, we have felt a huge synergy with their passion and ambition for the event and are humbled to be able to further the cause and contribute to its success in any way possible.”
Vincent Mitchell, business and events manager of Crawley Pride and director of Vincent Martin School of Dance and Musical Theatre, added: “FASTSIGNS Crawley has been a lifesaver; the team there clearly cares about the LGBTQU+ community and has been passionate about Crawley Pride since day one. We are thrilled to have them on board as an official partner.”
For more information on FASTSIGNS Crawley, visit https://www.fastsigns.co.uk/854-crawley