The Story of Queer Spirit Festival

Emerging out of decades of community-building and activism, Queer Spirit Festival works to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ people to explore spirituality, self-development and healing. Queer Spirit is a nature based, heart focused festival celebrating the creative, loving, magical spirit of LGBTQ+ people, promoting well-being, spirituality and healthy relationships in the community, and spreading awareness of the hidden spiritual history of queer people in service such as healers, priestesses and shamans in pre-Christian cultures around the world.

The roots of Queer Spirit reach back through the decades and link together the Gay Liberation Front, the Women's Spirituality Movement and the lesbian-led protests at Greenham Common, the Edward Carpenter Community, Radical Faerie Tribe, Queer Pagan Camp, Queeruption, LoveSpirit Festival, Quintasensual: all of which were focussed on the creation of nurturing, creative, community; were set up as safe spaces for healing and growth, places were queer people can truly be free to be ourselves, free of the fear or judgement of others, where our queer spirit could shine forth.

The vision of a large queer, spiritual festival, where people from any religious/spiritual paths could feel at home and could celebrate together, came to both Al Head and Mark Whiting (aka Shokti) in 2003 during an ecstatic gathering with 100 witches, shamans, druids, faerie magicians and other saucy sorcerers at a 10 day Queer Pagan Camp in Dorset. QPC was a ground-breaking, life-changing camp, that ran for many years, bringing together dozens of experienced and new magic workers, creating a melting pot of energy that birthed several other projects, including the Albionfaeries, the British clan of the global Radical Faerie tribe.

The Radical Faeries came into being in the late 1970s, as a result of some gay men rejecting the increasing commercialism and consumerism of the emerging gay culture, and instead pursuing the search for the essential, spiritual nature that underlies our queerness. European faerie gatherings began in the mid 90s, and the Albionfaeries have been active since 2005, with several gatherings held each year. Faeries have always celebrated gender-(and species)-fluidity, and the tribe is now made up of queers of all kinds. 

In 2015 Al and Shokti felt the call again – and felt Spirit was saying NOW! So they teamed up with good friend Miqhael Kannemeyer, a South African born healer who came to the UK in his childhood, a community builder, gay rights and ecological activist since the 1970s, and a founding director of the Helios Centre in London; and Andrew Heritage (aka Buzzy), tech wizard and founder of Quintasensual Festival, a queer, tantric-focussed, healing gathering that met for some years in Somerset.

Summer 2016 all the root strands came together in the wondrous experience that was the first Queer Spirit, at Thoulstone Park in Wiltshire. 400 people came, and although the weather could have been better we had such an amazing time there was clamour all round for us to return the following summer. The second festival in 2017 was an even more exhilarating ride, and even had a documentary made at it - commissioned by Czech TV - available HERE on You Tube.

We then took a year off and returned in 2019 at a different venue – the third Queer Spirit Festival took place at Whittlebury Hall in Northamptonshire. Here we had a great big field to stretch out and play in, but no trees on it! And we had to cope with the sound of Grand Prix practice every day next door at Silverstone Racecourse! Although the festival was hugely popular, with 500 attending, the team resolved to find a more magical spot for future events!

In Bridwell Park we found it! This piece of land has been lovingly cared for over centuries, we get to share it with the beautiful 800 year old oak trees, a lake, woodland, and a herd of deer! 600 came along to the 4th Queer Spirit  in August 2023, and there's plenty of room for more! The welcome that has come to us from the landowners – Lord Ivar Mountbatten and his husband James Coyle – has been utterly amazing. To be working with a gay couple who are as excited about Queer Spirit as we all are, is a huge blessing from the Universe. As is to be on land bearing the name of the ancient British Goddess Bridie, or Brigit – the Maiden aspect of the Goddess celebrated in the calendar at Imbolc (February 1st). The springs, where once people would have gone for healing waters, to make prayers and receive blessings, are still active on the land. A perfect setting for us queer spirits to reclaim our ancient associations with the Goddess, with the spirit, with water, air, fire and with the land, the earth.

Queer Spirit remains a grassroots emanation. We have received no corporate sponsorship, no funding grants – The festival is volunteer led and is now organised by a large team of over 20 people, with each section of the festival having its own group to run it. Our aim is that the organising team should reflect the diversity of the festival attendees, and we invite anybody who has enjoyed the festival and would like to help out in some way to get involved. Spreading the word around to more groups and communities is a great way to help us!

We are happy to offer discount tickets to community groups, and we are proud that through ticket sales and donations we have successfully met the costs of staging the festival, despite that cost more than doubling between 2019 and 2023. Queer Spirit has been set up as a non-profit Community Interest Company, and any surplus income after production costs will be used to make the festival bigger and better.

 If you would like to donate to support the festival, you can do so here

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