Pride in Leamington gets support from popular town street food vendor Mister V

The event takes place at the Pump Room Gardens on Saturday August 17 and celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) life and culture.

Mister V is a brand well known to Leamington, with the Valle family running a popular takeaway in Park Street during the 80s and 90s. In 2014, Rino Valle and his partner Aaron brought the Mister V brand back to Leamington.

Since then, their street food stalls have proved popular at events around the country, and they recently celebrated being a finalist at the Midlands Food, Drink and Hospitality Awards.

In 2015, Mister V reached out to Warwickshire Pride to offer sponsorship of the festival, which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) life & culture. Renewing their support of the event for the fifth year in a row will provide the charity festival with a boost, but more importantly it continues a trend of the charity partnering with local businesses.

Rino Valle, owner of Mister V Street Food, said: “We’re very excited to be associated with Warwickshire Pride and the great work it does for the fifth year. Supporting local events is very important to us, especially one the promotes equality and diversity within our community.”

Warwickshire Pride’s chairman of trustees, Daniel Browne, said: “We are thrilled that Mister V have renewed their sponsorship of Warwickshire Pride for a fifth year. Being a small charity that organises a big, free festival for the community to enjoy, sponsorship from local businesses provides a boost and helps everything to happen. More importantly than that, we are pleased to be partnering with a forward thinking local business that genuinely supports the LGBT+ community.

"I personally remember Mister V’s takeaway when I was a child in the 80s and 90s. Going to Mister V was one of my favourite treats as a kid, and I had no idea that all these years later I’d be working alongside this legendary Leamington brand in this way. Everyone at Warwickshire Pride thanks Mister V for their support and we encourage everyone to come along to the festival this August and treat yourself to one of their amazing burgers.”

Warwickshire Pride 2019 will take place on Saturday August 17 at the Pump Room Gardens in Leamington Spa, with a Golden Pride theme to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that kickstarted the Pride movement globally.

The charity is currently seeking to connect with other local businesses that may wish to become involved in the festival. Anyone wishing to find out more can email [email protected], call 07580 532659 or visit www.warwickshirepride.co.uk.