Rural Rainbows is a new project from Rainbow Heartlands. The aim of the project is to capture the voices and opinions of queer folk living across Perth & Kinross and find out how more queer focussed / accepting activities and opportunities can be made easier for them within their local communities.
We would also really love to hear from LGBTQ+ people living in the more rural towns, villages and hamlets across the region about their experiences of being queer in rural Perthshire and what safe spaces are on offer or possibly could be offered in the future.
Launching with a community survey throughout March 2025, we looked to understand perceptions on how life is for rural queer people, as well as their current / regular engagements and activities.
After the survey has closed and we have gathered the information, we will organise local community engagement sessions in towns across Perthshire taking place in March 2026.
What we would love is to see a programme of activities brought together that reflects what queer people want in their own communities. We have plenty of opportunities for people to get involved in getting this project up and running at any stage during this project!
Our community survey is now complete and we are going through the responses to make arrangements for community workshops.
Our workshop sessions coming up include Dunkeld & Birnam, Aberfeldy and Crieff, as well as an online session – please see details below:
These workshops will provide a chance for LGBTQ+ community members to share their thoughts on what activities could start up in the future, and also have the opportunity to get involved in making them happen with the support of Rainbow Heartlands.
The dates and locations of these vary during March 2026, with the following confirmed:
Weds 11th March, 11am – 1pm – Birnam Arts, Birnam
Thu 12th March, 11.30am – 1.30pm – The Birks Cinema, Aberfeldy
Thu 12th March, 6.30pm – 8.30pm – Strathearn Arts, Crieff
Weds 18th March, 6.30pm – 8pm – Online Video Chat
The in-person sessions will be hosted in a round-table, open format, and each of the venues have been checked for accessibility requirements in advance. Hot and cold drinks will be provided at each in-person session.
The online video chat session will be a relaxed open format to generate discussion, hosted on Zoom where a link will be provided to those signed up in advance.
Please select which workshop you wish to attend and provide any further information you think we should know beforehand.
View our Press Release about the programme below:
We would like to thank The National Lottery Community Fund for funding this project enabling us to take our next steps into rural areas of Perthshire throughout 2025-26 and beyond!