Coming of age in a rural Welsh town isn't easy. Generations of LGBTQ+ folk have faced difficult choices between their identity and their heritage. This is something that Llandovery is looking to change. The pro-LGBT+ attitude of this historical farming town is a shining example of what can happen when a community comes together.
But this isn't something that happened overnight. The collaborative effort is down to the work of the forward thinking LGBTQ+ hub Heart of Wales, the owners of local businesses and the townspeople collectively. Following their success with multiple projects such as the Safe Spaces list, sports teams wearing rainbow laces, Bore Coffi, Trans meet ups, bake sales and an LGBT+ film club, Heart of Wales LGBTQ+ are undertaking their biggest venture yet - a Pride event.
The one-day event on June 25 has an exciting schedule, jam-packed with activities free for all the family celebrating 'Rural Pride' including a parade, picnic in the park with drag story-time, stalls in the town square for queer-owned businesses and local allies, performances, talks and lectures on queer issues and a film festival.
The final event of the day - the only ticketed event of the day- is an evening cabaret stage with a diverse platform of five LGBT+ artists, hosted by Llandovery's very own born-and-bred drag queen Miss Beaver. It will be a show-stopping ‘Eve with Beav’!
As with anything that takes place in Llandovery, according to organisers, the locals have demonstrated their encouragement throughout every phase of the hub’s achievements, and in less than a year Llandovery has become the proud host to its first Pride - an incredible display of acceptance.
Founder and chair of Heart of Wales LGBTQ+, Ella Peel, is a familiar face to S4C viewers as Hannah Francis in the soap opera Pobol Y Cwm. When she’s not appearing on both English and Welsh TV, she’s serving the community as an on-call firefighter and studying English Literature with the Open University from her hometown of Llandovery. She set up the Llandovery hub in response to the lack of support for the LGBT+ community in the area.
She said: "I love Llandovery, I have been allowed to thrive here. Queer people should also have the same love and support that I had growing up and ultimately have the freedom of choice to live their authentic selves within their hometown, if they wish."
On the run-up to the event, organisers have set up a fundraiser to help hire out venues to host various events on the day. More information can be found here.
