Trowbridge’s International Women’s Day celebration has been hailed as a great success for the town.
The event took place on Saturday, March 8, from 5pm onward at Trowbridge’s Emmanuel’s Yard, and celebrated the impact that Trowbridge’s women have on the community.
The festivities were organised by the Town Hall, and honoured the strength, resilience, and achievements of women around the world, as well as what they bring to county town.
Proceedings featured a photography project led by local photographer Anna Crystal Stephens, which collated portraits of women attending the event.
The event also featured food from Wafaa Powell, a Lebanese cook and dance teacher who runs Dancing Flavours.
Then followed a screening of the film Tish, a documentary on the life of photographer Tish Murtha, a photographer from the northeast who spent her life documenting marginalised communities and working-class life in the region.
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The event was funded with help from the BFI as well as the National Lottery fund, and saw between 70 and 100 people show out after tickets were totally snapped up within a matter of days.
Tracey Sullivan, who co-organised the event said it was a testament the “incredible difference” the women of Trowbridge make to their town.
She said: “It was just a wonderful time for wonderful people to celebrate their impact.”
She continued: “It’s hard when you’re trying to make a difference professionally, and you’ve still got the brunt of care and domestic responsibilities.
“It means a lot to me to be able to remind my fellow women how brilliant they are and they are appreciated.
“Having been a female led organisation, and the dominant team being women, we see what an incredible difference they make to our town.
“For me, having an opportunity to celebrate those women, and pat each other on the back for all we’ve achieved means a lot.”
The event follows on from last year’s successful celebration, which saw around 100 people attend.
“They sold out within a couple of days of the tickets being available. And though things came up and people couldn’t make it on the day, there were certainly 70 or more people there.”
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Ms Sullivan said the success and scale of the event were in large part down to the achievement of the organisers.
She said: “The small team at the town hall are amazing, and what they managed to achieve was really amazing, so credit to them.”
Antonia Cook, marketing and communications assistant at Trowbridge town hall, and she also hailed the event as a great achievement.
She said: “It went really well, we were really happy with the outcome.
“It was photography themed, which was accidental. It was mostly celebrating Trowbridge's women."
Antonia continued: “Having events like this available in the community is so, so important, and something we want to make sure is available for all women.
“Women are so important, and there are so many women worth celebrating in Trowbridge.”
Ms Cook added that future International Women's Day celebrations would look to move back into the town hall, with the works on the site expected to conclude and the venue due to open later this year.
Ms Cook continued: “We’re hoping that next International Women’s Day will be held in the town hall.
“At the moment we’re planning for our reopening, which we’re really excited for as well.”
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