Free To Be Me Pride Event

LonGBoaT Wakefield were invited to attend a Pride Event hosted by Free To Be Me:

“Free To Be Me is a holistic youth offer, working with all aspects of a child’s life to help support their understanding of their identity and who they are. We offer an inclusive and supportive environment where young people can explore their identity and neurodiversity, feel safe and accepted for who they are and understand themselves and others better.” (https://www.kids.org.uk/services/free-to-be-me/)

The venue was decorated with rainbow balloons and pride flags.

The Pride Event was created for children and caregivers that access Free To Be Me services and included various activities throughout the day. There were circus skills workshops, Lego building stations, and badge making, as well as a portrait artist, clothes swap, local queer history artefact, a drag queen.

Local queer historical artefacts were on display.

LonGBoaT had a stall to provide information about the services we offer, such as our LGBTQ+ parents groups and volunteering opportunities. We also sold merchandise, such as Pride flags, pin badges, and keyrings, to raise funds for LonGBoaT. We distributed free popper fidget toys, which were a big hit! One of the children decided that our charity bucket needed to be adorned with some googly eyes and has been renamed “Barry the Bucket”.

Meet Barry the Bucket!

The Pride Event was well attended and enjoyed by both adults and children. We will be working closely with Free To Be Me going forward to ensure that LongBoaT Community Pride 2026 is as inclusive as possible, particularly for children and people with disabilities and neurodiversity.

Our EDI Officer, Emily, manning the LonGBoaT stall.