THE THREE-DAY festival which marked the launch of Pembrokeshire Pride came to a close last night.
Pembrokeshire Pride is a new local group dedicated to organizing LGBTQ-friendly events and providing advice and support to the local queer community.
The “Pride Weekend” took take place in and around Boulevard Showbar, Milford Haven, and kicked off on Thursday (Jul 14) with a performance from well known drag queen Miss Kitty.
West End performer Karin Bello brought her ever popular Tina Turner tribute act, Typically Tina, to the celebrations on Friday, while Jaymi Hensley (Union J) closed the festival on Saturday night.
“Pembrokeshire Pride isn’t simply a festival for local people to celebrate all that’s good about our diverse community,” organisers said.
“There’s going to be a series of events throughout the year, and Pembrokeshire Pride is also a way of linking people with advice, support and information – giving everyone who believes in inclusivity the opportunity to stand up to hate crime and declare our solidarity with everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation.”
The group says it is working closely with Pembrokeshire County Council, emergency services, educational establishments and youth groups.
“We are also keen to work with other businesses and organisations and would welcome contact from anyone interested,” it added.
“Pembrokeshire Pride also wants to be able to offer a safe space for young LGBTQ+ people in Pembrokeshire to get access to the support and advice they might need – but age, colour or religious persuasion will be no barrier to anyone who wants to get involved.
“We simply want to set up a support mechanism for anyone who needs it.”
Neyland town council gave out a number of donations to the community at its most recent meeting. They agreed to give a donation of £200 to Pembrokeshire Pride to help with the costs the event.
After the event, Drew, Founder and Chairperson of Pembrokeshire Pride said: “What an incredible three days we have had!
“When I decided it was time that Pembrokeshire had a pride event of it’s own I honestly didn’t know how it would be received, was there a desire for it? Would the community want to come along? Well, the past three days have shown me how much Pembrokeshire has embraced having its very first Pride Event! Our daytime event on Saturday saw over 300 people come through the doors which is so much more than we could have anticipated.
“Last night, our third and final night of celebration, I stood at the back of the room and had a few tears just witnessing the love in the room. I want to thank each and every person who made the past few days possible but especially the community for coming together and showing that love is love no matter what’
“We are now getting together to plan even more events throughout the year and also to begin making Pembrokeshire Pride 2023 even bigger!”
