When Polly Shute was on the board for London Pride, she noticed that lots of the LGBTQ+ events in the city revolved around men and did not focus on the female and non-binary audience. After she left Pride in 2018, Polly decided to do something about it and put on her own event.
One thing led to another and eventually Polly found herself miles away from London in a tiny town hall in a small Pembrokeshire village. She and her business partner had ended up proposing a wellness festival for LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people to be held in Wales, the first of its kind in the UK, and were now hosting a village consultation in Lawrenny.
Two people turned up to the consultation - one older woman who just wanted to know what on earth 'LGBTQ+' meant and another from the Women's Institute, Polly said. "I must admit, we probably were a bit apprehensive when she was clutching the WI magazine," said Polly, "but she was actually clutching the June edition of the WI magazine from 2021 which had a transgender woman on it." You can get more news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
This marked the unlikely beginning of the Out & Wild Festival which will run for the second year this June, which is also Pride Month, when it returns to the supportive community of Lawrenny. Designed to help queer women and non-binary individuals make connections and improve their mental health and wellbeing, the festival will offer yoga, meditation, massages, mindfulness workshops, poetry and spoken word, as well as the usual festival line-up of comedy and music. This year there will also be the addition of hot tubs and ice baths.
Ticket sales are expected to double this year, from 400 to 800 people, and last year 40% of attendees were single. With only one bar in the whole of London catering for queer women, of the 75% of attendees who came to the festival from outside of Wales, there were many who wanted to make new friends and maybe even find a special person, said Polly.
It was also an escape from the city for many people, Polly said. "It's an escape because it's six hours to get to Pembrokeshire but it's also an escape because it literally is a village with about 250 inhabitants. It really feels safe and supportive. The view is beautiful and there's lots of nature around and it's a place where you can meet people. It's very restorative."
The festival, which is also open to LGBTQ+ allies, will include the chance to hike around the national park, try stand-up paddle boarding and open water swimming, and take part in sports like football, rugby and tennis. The festival has received funding from the Welsh Government and Polly said the support from the local and wider community in Wales had shown her that Wales was realising its ambition of becoming the friendliest LGBTQ+ nation in Europe.
When: June 9 – 12, 2023
Where: Lawrenny, Pembrokeshire
Tickets: You can book tickets here.
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- Emily Atack sent message of support from Welsh presenter who was also subjected to harassment and obscene pictures
- The 100 people changing the face of Wales
- I was racially abused as a Welsh-Nigerian foster child, then I found some letters in an attic and it changed everything
