Pembrokeshire is now looking back on the county’s first pride event, as the Pembrokeshire Pride festival drew to a close on the evening of Saturday, July 16.
The three-day festival was held at Boulevard Showbar on Charles Street in Milford Haven, which saw gigs, stalls and much more on supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
The first event was a ‘Thursdays are a drag’ show by the showbar’s resident drag artist Miss Kitty, which was followed on the Friday night with a Tina Turner tribute act.
Saturday was the grandest and final day of the festival, which started at 11am that morning, as stalls opened showing support.
There were hopes that the public car park beside the showbar could be closed in order for the stalls to be held there. However, the planning was unsuccessful, meaning all stalls were held inside the venue itself.
Each attendee was greeted with a smile, a warm welcome, a pride sticker and the chance to have their face painted rainbow colours.
There were approximately 12 stalls from organisations across Pembrokeshire, including PAVS and Mind Pembrokeshire, who were offering pride badges along with details about what support they offer.
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Another stall was held by Emburs Dessert Shop of Pembroke, showing off their pride-related chocolate cakes and lattes.
The emergency services were also present, with Dyfed-Powys Police officers manning a stall in their rainbow-coloured uniform.
The final event of the festival was that evening, when Jaymi Hensley from boyband Union J gave a performance for the festival to close on.
Drew Baker, owner of the showbar, said: “It’s been a long time coming, to have a pride festival in Pembrokeshire.
“The events have been hugely attended, more than we could have expected.
“We’re already planning ahead for next year, hopefully building up to a much bigger festival, and fingers crossed a parade.
“The event is ‘Pembrokeshire Pride,’ so this year’s was all in the showbar, but who knows? Maybe next year, it could be in Haverfordwest, or Tenby, or Pembroke.
“Pembrokeshire Pride is not just about a one-off event. It’s about lots of events throughout the year offering support and fun and just having a massive inclusive community in the county.”
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