OUR long wet summer may be coming to an end, but we’re guaranteed a bright and sunny start to September, with Fermanagh’s first ever Pride celebration set to kick the month off.
Taking place on the first weekend of the month, the celebrations will begin on Friday, September 6 on a relaxing note, with a coffee morning in aid of transgender youth charity Mermaids at the Aisling Centre at 10am, followed by a movie night hosted by Fermanagh Film Club at the Enniskillen Hotel at 8am.
The party begins in earnest on Saturday, September 7, when Enniskillen will play host to its first ever Pride parade.
Leaving the Find Centre on East Bridge Street at 12.30pm, the parade will include a ‘train’ specially decorated by the young people at Find. It will make its way up the town, through the Diamond, and down to Enniskillen Castle.
Then, from 1pm, there will be a festival vibe around the castle.
Starting with speeches from the Fermanagh Pride committee and vice-chair of Fermanagh and Omagh Council, Cllr Elaine Brough, there will also be music featuring lots of local talent as well as a Lady Gaga tribute act, and a performance from drag act SPLAT, featuring Kinawley man Mark Mulligan.
With the team keen to create a family-friendly atmosphere, there will also be plenty for all ages, including the Party Bees, face painting, balloon modeling, market stalls, a teacup ride and mechanical bull, and food vendors.
This will be followed by ‘Pride pre-drinks’ at JT Ryan’s bar from 5pm, followed by an after party at the Devenish Bar.
Speaking to the ‘Herald, Fermanagh Pride events coordinator Molly Leonard said the weekend was the result of a lot of hard work by all involved.
“It’s all coming together now,” she said, adding, “we’re absolutely buzzing.”
“The guys are absolutely brilliant,” she continued. “We’ve been working tirelessly the last months.”
Regarding the local talent that will be on show, she added, “That’s what we wanted, for our first Pride, for it to be people from the area who are part of the community, or who are supportive of the community, because that’s essentially what the message is.
“Yes, it’s the LGBT community, but it’s also about the people of Fermanagh as well.”
Molly said Pride had been getting “unbelievable” support from local businesses, such as Encirc, Balcas, Pilgrim Foods, and Experience Enniskillen.
Molly added Encirc had even vowed to review its recruitment process to ensure prospective employees are aware it is a welcoming and diverse workplace.
“They want to make sure they are letting people in the local area know they are a progressive company, and are looking to hire people from the [LGBT] community,” she said.
Such support and solidarity is exactly what the Pride team are hoping to achieve with the weekend, and Molly said they had also been receiving lots of messages from local parents of local young LGBT people who have been heartened to see the community coming together locally.
For more information on all the plans visit Fermanagh Pride on Facebook.
Anyone wishing to take part in the parade can email fermanaghpride@gmail.com
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