Wimborne Pride's autumn party at the museum

Wimborne Pride is rounding off its first year with an autumn party this Sunday, 4 October, at the Museum of East Dorset. It runs from midday to 5pm in the museum's team room and gardens, it's free to get in, and it's set up for all ages, so it works as much for families as for anyone else. The museum sits on the high street opposite the Church of Wimborne Minster, in a Grade II* listed hall house from the late 16th or early 17th century, so the building itself is a fair bit of history.

The day is built around music. The Wimborne Some Voices Choir opens things off, and from 1pm to 2pm the floor goes to an open mic session for singers and poets. The afternoon then hands over to the Bae-Sic Pop Party from 2pm to 5pm, with Rougie the drag queen at the centre, plus DJs, lip-sync performances and plenty of glitter. Rougie, who also goes by Scott, is a Bournemouth drag queen described as the number one queen of the South Coast scene, so the party is in safe hands.

There's a stall market running alongside, too. The Space Youth Project will be there with drop-in sessions for young people from the LGBTQIA+ community, and they're joined by local craft and jewellery stalls, including Galley Jewellery, Pride Priders and Fairtrade. The Space Youth Project has been supporting LGBT+ young people across Dorset since 2001, with free youth groups and one-to-one support, so their presence is a natural fit for a day like this.

It's worth knowing how Wimborne Pride came to be, because it's a genuine first for the town. It grew out of a Culture Catalyst Micro-Commission as part of Wimborne Town of Culture 2026, after the committee realised Wimborne had never actually hosted a Pride event. Town councillor and town crier Chris Brown got in touch with former mayor Phil Webb, who successfully applied for the grant, and the group has been active ever since. Earlier in the year, they took part in the Bourne Free parade in Bournemouth on 11 July, where Webb gave a talk on stage.

That wider context is the thread that ties it all together. Wimborne is Dorset Town of Culture 2026, with the theme 'Bridging the Past and Future', and this party is a clear example of that in practice: a new Pride celebration held in a historic building that's been at the heart of the town for centuries. The museum itself, formerly known as the Priest's House Museum, is dedicated to rural life in a market town and keeps a walled garden of about a third of an acre, with a tea room on the banks of the River Allen that used to be a 1920s boathouse. Between the choir, the open mic, the pop party and the stalls, there's a lot packed into the five hours, and since it's free and all ages, it's an easy one to drop into for the afternoon.