Sparkle - The National Transgender Charity

The Sparkle Guide 2026 is LIVE!⁠
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Check it out at spkl.uk/guide
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You can ⁠
- See what's going on during the Sparkle Weekend⁠
- Hear from our sponsors & partners⁠
- Get involved⁠
- Get updates from Sparkle Charity⁠
- See adverts from amazing LGBTQ+ organisations⁠
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Join us in Sackville Gardens from Friday 26th - Sunday 28th June for the UK's longest running celebration of trans lives 🏳️‍⚧️✨️⁠
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Get your tickets at spkl.uk/tickets⁠
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OPEN TO ALL! Join us at for the Sparkle Weekend Afterparty, in collaboration with 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈⁠
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We're joined on the night by , .mp3 and , who will be whipping up some awesome tunes to celebrate trans joy to! ⁠
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Best of all, no tickets are required!! We will fundraising on the night for Sparkle ⁠
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Location: VADA VADA, 7-9 New Wakefield St, Manchester M1 5NP⁠
Timings: 10pm - 3am⁠
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Accessibility:⁠
- Step free access, with a lift operational to other levels⁠
- Accessible toilet⁠
- Gender neutral toilet⁠
- No strobe lighting
- Free to attend⁠
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Sparkle Weekend FAQS! For everything you need to know and more...

We hope that we have answered the key frequently asked questions. If you have questions regarding tickets, check out our earlier post from a few days ago!

IF you have a question that isn't listed, feel free to reach out to us or ask one of our volunteers on site at Sparkle Weekend! We are more than happy to help you with any questions you may have. No question is too big, or too small.

We can’t wait to welcome you to the Sparkle Weekend 2026, to mark 21 years of celebrating trans lives!

For more information on the event, head to spkl.uk/guide

Sparkle Sanctuary Pop-Up - Q***r Book Swap 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈⁠📚️
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Join the Q***r Book Swap with ***rbookswapmcr on Sunday 28th June, 12.00pm - 5.00pm at the Velvet Event Space ⁠
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Q***r Book Swap will bring books, you can bring books that you want to give a new home and take books from the pool that we have.

There's no payment, or obligation to bring a book, it's just a way for people to get new-to-them books that generally are q***r (or have been donated by q***r folks).
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You can find more information about the Sparkle Weekend at spkl.uk/guide⁠
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2 WEEKS TO GO!⁠
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It's not long left until the Sparkle Weekend - the UK's longest running celebration of trans lives🏳️‍⚧️⁠
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Join us from Friday 26th - Sunday 28th June in Sackville Gardens, Manchester to celebrate!⁠
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Get your tickets today at spkl.uk/tickets⁠
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For more info, check out spkl.uk/guide

Main Stage Performer Announcement 🏳️‍⚧️🎉⁠
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The DJ Scissher will be performing at the Sparkle Weekend on Saturday 27th June, 9.00pm!⁠
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After years spent soaking up inspiration from the dancefloor, DJ Scissher has made a return behind the decks as one of Manchester's premier q***r nightlife disruptors. Shaped by the city’s rich club culture, her sound is rooted in the deeper, groove-led corners of house music and juicy, sun-drenched nu-disco.

Her sets are built heavily on tension, flow, and feeling…unfolding gradually from deep, hypnotic grooves into tougher, high-energy, and high-impact moments exactly when the room is ready.

As the co-founder and resident DJ of Hello Darling, she has helped transform the legendary The Deaf Institute into a safe, sweat-soaked sanctuary for inclusive clubbing. What began as a way to bring like-minded heads together has grown into a respected platform known for strong community energy and unhinged q***r joy.

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🎟️Get your tickets at spkl.uk/tickets⁠
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❓️Learn more about the Sparkle Weekend at spkl.uk/guide⁠
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Health and Safety at the Sparkle Weekend

💙First aid
We will be joined again this year by our lovely friends at Lifeline Ambulance CIC. If you find yourself hurt or in need of first aid, please speak to one of the team who will be happy to assist you.

The team will be with us all weekend plus on Saturday and Sunday 10.30am-6.00pm they will be hosting some first aid demonstrations covering CPR & cardiac arrest, seizures, strokes, and bleeding. Anyone can take part if they’d like to learn more.

💙Security

We will have security within the park and at the entrance to the park from Capricorn. The security team are approachable, responsive and there to assist you. They will be conducting bag checks on entry to event - this is to ensure yours and everyone else's safety.

💙Volunteers
As always we will have a lovely group of volunteers helping us to run the Sparkle weekend, they are there to support if you aren’t sure where to go, or if you have any questions. If you are attending Sparkle alone this year, have a chat with our friendly volunteers.

Your safety is our priority. If you have any concerns please speak to one of the team

Main Stage Performer Announcement 🏳️‍⚧️🎉⁠
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The Tacky Tarts will be performing at the Sparkle Weekend on Saturday 27th June, 1.20pm!⁠
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The Tacky Tarts have been performing at Sparkle since 2012 and attending for almost 20 years.

“For us, the audience is what we are about. If people make the effort to come to see us, they deserve to be entertained. If people are singing along, dancing and enjoying themselves and each other's company, that's a sheer joy. To be part of that is amazing . To interact and have a laugh with them along the way, and to be part of their lives is a privilege. It's also so much fun. We enjoy what we do, we love doing it. We have a ball doing it. If we can put a smile on someone's face and be part of a moment of their life, as a musician /performer, that's success and it's real.”
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🎟️Get your tickets at spkl.uk/tickets⁠

❓️Learn more about the Sparkle Weekend at spkl.uk/guide
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Thinking of volunteering at the Sparkle Weekend? Here's what some of our current volunteers say

🩵Three reasons to volunteer this year:
- Feel like you've made a difference and helped create joy for a marginalized community.
- Getting to see amazing performances, and maybe even having a chance to go backstage and talk to performers (I got to meet Divina DeCampo for a bit last year!)
- Tasty free food (thank you Wagamama for your support)

🧡My favourite memory of Sparkle Weekend is the Youth Zone. Seeing a trans child free to be themselves, playing with a cis kid who simply stumbled upon the event. Feeling joyful seeing them having so much fun. Hoping the cis child would remember this moment in the future, that it would combat the propaganda spread of transfemmes as somehow dangerous or predatory.

🩷I was helping support with a stall. One of the things on our table was pronoun stickers. I saw a young trans boy in the crowd, I took one of our "he/him" stickers and said, "and this one is for you sir". He took it from me, read it, and looked back at me as if I was the first person to see him without him asking for it first. I'll never forget his face.

Fancy volunteering? Head to spkl.uk/volunteer