Following the success of last year’s project, Fearon Hall and Loughborough Pride are working together again. This year we are asking the community to make handheld banners and walk with these banners on Saturday 22 August from Fearon Hall to Queens Park as part of the Loughborough Pride 2026 celebrations.
The theme for the banner
WHY IS PRIDE IMPORTANT or LGBTQ+ ICONS?
“I chose to applique Queer Joy and a smiley face onto the front of my banner. The term queer is often used by the LGBTQ+ community. In the past queer was a slur, but now it is a statement for many people for being proud of who they are. Sadly, there has been an increase in hate crimes towards the queer community over the past several years across the UK. I chose to knit the Trans flag onto the back of my banner, to express support for Tran’s people. Pride is important for people to come together, feel safe, seen and supported and find joy in being Queer.” Harry Ludlam
This is just an example. The banner is for people to be expressive and carry their own personal message. Pride is an event to bring together the community and show kindness to everyone, no matter who they love, who they are or how they express themselves.
Typical themes and messages include caring for everyone, love is love, and love isn’t politics, celebrating your differences, being united against hate, why human rights matter and why Trans rights matter.
People may also want to theme their banner around an LGBTQ+ icon or idol, or to honour people close to them from the LGBTQ+ community. Please take a look at the history of Pride and Queer Icons information below for further inspiration.
The important thing is to be authentic and share a positive message which means something to you. Afterwards, you might even want to write a few sentences about why you chose to decorate your banner with a particular message. Fearon Hall would love to hear these stories.
Free Workshops
Fearon Hall will be running workshops every Wednesday, 10:30am till 12noon, from Wednesday 8 July to the 12 August. All materials and support will be provided.
We will provide 30x30cm squared pieces of brightly coloured felt (colours of the rainbow) and canes as a handle for the banner.
Participants can sew, applique, glue, knit, felt or crochet onto the felt or make their own material for the banner. Any material can be used to make your banner; just make sure it is sturdy enough to stand up with a cane or handle and be easy to carry.
Using our Materials
We want as many people to be involved as possible and show our support for Loughborough Pride….
If you are an individual maker, and cannot attend a workshop, you can collect a piece of felt and a cane from Fearon Hall for free and make your banner at home. Please visit our reception for the materials during our opening hours.
Fearon Hall will also donate the felt and canes to other community spaces so that they can run free workshops or events with their participants/public also.
Staff, volunteers and customers from community spaces can also take part.
Last year with the Pride Community Blanket we were delighted that the following community organisations made blanket Squares, All Saints with Holly Trinity, Anand Mangal, Charnwood Arts, Charnwood Echo Hub, Equality Action, John Storer Charnwood, Loughborough Wellbeing Centre, The Arc, Purple Pumpkin Patch and many other individual makers. We hope to have your support again- and increase the number of partner organisations who make banners.
Please Register for the Parade
On Saturday 22 August 2026 we will walk with our banners from Fearon Hall, LE11 1PL to Queens Park. This is 0.6 miles. The route will have marshals, so people know where to go and feel as they stride with Pride. Further details about the route will be made available.
Due to safety and licensing regulations, all attendees, including staff and volunteers, must register for the march/walk. It is free and simple. You will either receive a text message, or an email confirmation if you have a smart phone.
To register please follow the link below (registration is managed by Loughborough Pride)
https://www.ticketebo.co.uk/loughborough-pride/loughborough-pride-parade-march
Please remember your banners on the day and be ready to walk from Fearon Hall to Queen’s Park. Once in the park, there will be an afternoon of celebration open to all involving free entertainment as well stalls and food kiosks where you can buy things. You can bring a picnic.
Please email harryludlam@live.org.uk if you have questions or want to share the story behind your banner.
How to make a simple pendant banner
This guide should hopefully make it easy for you to make a banner. Whether you are leading a workshop, advanced or a completely new to making. Everyone can get involved. Please note I have used my example to show the decoration – each person should come up with their own personal message. The guide might appear a bit wordy but making a banner is simple!
1. Take a piece of 30x30cm felt. Think about your design. What do you want to say and why? What colours, words, images, might you use to best express this.
2. Draw a straight line along the diagonal of the piece of felt. Cut with scissors along this diagonal line carefully.
3. You now have 2 triangles. The triangle with the point in the top right corner is the front of your banner. The triangle with the point in the top left corner is the back of your banner.
4. Decorate the front of your banner. You do not need to leave a margin. This will feature your main design. If you are using letters you do not need to worry about them being back to front.
5. Decorate the back of your banner. Remember to leave a 4-5cm margin down the side (spine of the triangle) so that you have space to attach your cane. If you are using letters on the back of your banner, remember these will appear back to front when you turn your banner from the front to the back. So for example, if you used the word PRIDE, it should appear as EDIRP on the back so that it reads PRIDE.
6. Place your two triangles together with the decorative work facing out towards you, so that both the points of the triangle face right. On the top you will see the decoration of the front of your banner. On the back you will see the decoration of the back of your banner. Seal this either with good quality fabric glue or pin and stitch them together. If you have used stitch in your design you will not be able to see the shadow stitches or the back of your work- but only see the front of your designs.
7. Attach your cane to the back of your banner along the margin. Leave space so that there is a handle for you to hold the banner at the bottom. Secure the cane by running a stitch at the top and bottom of the cane.
These are instructions to make a triangular pendant felt banner. You can download them as a pdf here. If you want to be creative and make your own material, or do a different shape you are more than welcome.
HEALTH + SAFETY
Please do not use canes with a sharp point. This could cause an accident.
Please be mindful of attaching buttons, sequins or other small objects onto your banner. They might fall off and could easily be ingested.
About Pride
To help inform everyone with the making of their banners, please find a brief history of Pride and some images of Queer Icons for inspiration. You can also do your own online research…
Where Pride in the UK began – In the 1950s and 1960s, homosexuality was a criminal offence. Sadly, people from the LGBTQ community faced discrimination and prejudice.
An important event in the UK’s LGBTQ+ history was the Wolfenden Report in 1957. The report recommended the decriminalisation of homosexuality between consenting adults in private. However, it took several years for this recommendation to become law.
Stonewall – was a nightclub in New York. In 1969 Stonewall was raided by police and there were riots. This had a profound impact on the LGBTQ+ movement worldwide, including the UK.
British activists began organising their own demonstrations and protests. In 1970, the first UK gay pride rally took place in London, marking the beginning of a tradition that continues to this day.
Section 28 and equality – In the 1980s and 1990s, the LGBTQ+ community in the UK faced significant challenges. Section 28, introduced in 1988 prohibited local authorities from presenting homosexuality in a positive way in schools and community spaces. This legislation sparked activism, as LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies fought to overturn Section 28.
Progress – In 2000, the age of consent for homosexuals was equalised with heterosexual relationships. In 2004, civil partnerships were introduced, granting same-sex couples legal recognition and rights. Finally, in 2014, same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales, followed by Scotland in 2014 and Northern Ireland in 2020.
The fight for equality goes on – Significant progress has been made, although the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and equality is far from over. Transgender rights, tackling discrimination in healthcare and employment, and sex education remain important issues. Hate crime towards the Queer community has increased in recent years.
Pride parades have become the centrepiece of the movement and can help create a sense of unity, visibility, and celebration for LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies.
Text paraphrased from the history of the Pride movement in the UK | Pride 2024.
Queer Icons
Lady Gaga – singer, actress and advocate. Bi-sexual.
Brad Pitt – actor and famous LGBTQ+ ally.
Tom Daley – Gay Olympian, TV personality and father of 2 children.
Martha P. Johnson – Famous Trans advocate. Spearheaded the Stonewall movement and died in mysterious circumstances.
Tracy Chapman – Singer and rights activist.
Social Media & Publicity
If you are able to take pictures of participants, staff or volunteers sewing/decorating their banners – then why not share it online?
Please check with the person that they are happy to have their image posted online. If you post images via your social media channels can you please tag @fearonhall and @prideloughborough in the post.
If you have a story you want to share about your making of a banner please email harryludlam@live.co.uk
Pride Community Blanket
We are delighted to announce that the Pride Community Blanket we all made last year is being exhibited at Charnwood Museum this summer, along with a short film featuring some of the participants and the stories behind the making of their squares. The blanket has 176 squares, expressing messages of kindness, love and solidarity for the local LGBTQ+ community. Thank you to Culture Leicestershire and the Spotlight Programme for their support with this.
Fearon Community Association is not an LGBTQ+ organisation. As a local community space, we welcome everyone at Fearon Hall, and want the LGBTQ+ community to feel welcome, safe and respected in Loughborough. We are not about pushing agendas – we are about treating people well.