The St David’s Day Parade and Party was a joyful and high-profile celebration that brought people together to celebrate Welsh culture in a way that felt welcoming, local and inclusive. Thanks to the Welsh Government’s St Davids Day grant, ACE was able to create a new community event for Ely and Caerau that combined traditional and contemporary Welsh culture, showcased local talent, and encouraged residents of all ages to take part. Around 150 families joined the parade through Caerau and Ely, including along Cowbridge Road East, creating a vibrant public celebration filled with banners, masks, music and dancing. The event gave local people a chance to experience St David’s Day in a fresh and memorable way, with many saying they had never seen anything like it before. One parent said, “My favourite thing today was watching my daughter dance, I’ve never seen any of this before.” Another attendee described it as “an absolutely brilliant afternoon with a lovely community feel, big thank-you to everyone involved.”
The project also strengthened community pride and belonging. In the lead-up to the event, children, families and adults took part in creative workshops, singing sessions and informal Welsh learning, helping to build excitement and confidence. Welsh language was woven throughout the activities in an accessible way, from bilingual banners and recipes to Welsh songs and a bilingual Twmpath. The event helped people connect Welsh identity with their own neighbourhood, showing that Ely and Caerau’s culture is something to celebrate proudly and together. Feedback reflected this strongly, with people describing the event as “walking with pride with everyone in the parade” and “fabulous to get all the community together and celebrate the culture of Ely.” One child was heard saying, “Mummy, they are all speaking Welsh!” showing how powerfully the event brought Welsh language into a shared community space.
Another major benefit was the support given to local artists, musicians, businesses and community groups. The parade was led by the Roxy Stars marching band from Caerau, art workshops were delivered by local artist Nic Parsons, singing workshops were supported by Sophie Dicks of Cardiff Music Teachers, and food was coordinated by Caroline Holroyd of Okra Ltd with volunteers and Food Cycle. The party also featured a performance from Singout Carau, our local community choir and ended with a lively Twmpath that brought adults and children onto the dance floor together. Feedback from attendees highlighted how much these elements added to the day, with comments including “Twmpath band full of fun getting young and old dancing together”, “Food was different and wonderful!”, “Food was outstanding” and “I liked the cawl.” This meant the funding not only created a successful event for residents, but also invested in local creative talent and strengthened local partnerships.
The project also helped ACE reach new audiences. Around half of those attending were new to the Dusty Forge, showing that the event successfully attracted people who do not usually engage with the centre. New partnerships were formed with local Welsh-medium schools, artists, the council and community organisations, helping to build stronger foundations for future work. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with people praising the joyful atmosphere and the sense of togetherness. As one attendee put it, “Good to see such joy,” while another described it as a “very refreshing event all seemed very satisfied including myself.”
Importantly, the event has left a strong legacy. It increased interest in Welsh language learning among staff and participants, inspired local creatives to develop more Welsh culture-themed work, and sparked strong community demand for the event to return next year. People repeatedly expressed a wish for the celebration to continue, saying, “It was a lovely community event – we need more things like that. Hopefully it will grow and become an annual event” and “Best bit was getting the community together, we need more events like this. Hope you do it next year.” The success of the Parade and Party has shown that there is real appetite in Ely and Caerau for inclusive celebrations of Welsh identity, and it has laid the groundwork for this to become an annual tradition that continues to bring the community together.
