A giant multi-coloured ‘rainbow’ scarf more than 30m long will be draped from the balcony of City Hall, Norwich, this Friday (July 30) as part of the annual Norwich Pride celebrations.
Norwich Pride celebrates the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and this year’s parade takes place on Saturday, with events throughout the day.
The scarf is the brainchild of Helen Simpson-Slapp, who is both a well-known local artist and city employment lead for Norfolk and Waveney Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Hundreds of people across Norfolk have knitted squares for the scarf, which contained at least 1500 squares at the last count. ‘Knit-ins’ have taken place at pubs, offices and church halls since March. Progress has been publicised on Facebook, and squares have been received from all over the world.
“I wanted a way for people from all walks of life to be part of Norwich Pride, and the response has been amazing,” said Helen.
“I particularly asked churches to be involved, and we have had knitting groups from all over the country busy making squares.”
The scarf will be collected from St Gregory’s Church, on Pottergate, at 1pm on Friday, and carried to City Hall, where it will be hung from the balcony. Councillor Jeremy Hooke will say a few words, and the Rev Philip Young, from St Thomas’ Church, will bless the scarf.
When the scarf is taken down it will be broken up into blankets, which will be sold to raise money for charity.
