Town's first Pride 'creates a space for community'

Organiser Pip Gardener (right), with artist Near L (left), said it was important to say LGBTQ+ people had existed in Fenland as long as they had existed elsewhere

A town's first Pride event would create "a space for community - and we all need community", said organisers.

The event is taking place in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on Saturday with drag artists, musicians, stalls, workshops and circus acts.

Organiser Pip Gardener said the enthusiasm shown by those wanting to take part had made it "a really great, a really fun, a really exciting thing to be part of".

They hoped Fenland Pride, being held at Queen Mary's Centre, would become an annual event.

Fenland Pride Art Exhibition is running in tandem at Wisbech and Fenland Museum until 13 July

"I think there's a misunderstanding about what Pride is. It creates a space for community and we all need community," said the organiser.

"Even if you don't understand identity, you do understand the human importance of connection and being able to form friendship and have joy and celebrate, and that's even more important when a lot of spaces don't let you do that all the time."

The event is being organised by the Kite Trust, an organisation that supports wellbeing and creativity of LGBTQ+ young people in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and surrounding areas, after it secured funding for a year.

It is being held in tandem with an art exhibition at Wisbech and Fenland Museum, showcasing a collection of artworks created by LGBTQ+ people aged 13 to 30 from across the county.

They include Near L, whose work was inspired by finding out they were intersex.

"When I was growing up, I always thought I was different, alien, as my body changed in ways I didn't expect, and I want to show people like me who are in that situation they're not alone, it's something a lot of us experience," they said.

Near L said it was "incredibly important" to see their artwork on display, which took them "over a week of planning and about 20 hours of actual painting"

The artist, who has sometimes felt "very lonely", welcomed Pride and said: "There's quite a lot of open-mindedness I wasn't expecting and it's really great to see."

Pip Gardener said: "There are so many LGBTQ+ people across Cambridgeshire.

"Please do reach out to the Kite Trust, we can help you find them, but also know that they are in your communities and people just like you wanting to make friends and wanting to make connections."