It’s time to get the rainbow gear out once again as Pride makes its way to Dundalk for the annual LGBT+ Pride festival.

Dundalk Outcomers’ is the headquarters of this year’s festivities with Youth Pride Day taking place today.

Youth Pride Day is aimed at young people aged between 12 and 18 years of age who are part of our allies of the LGBT community.

There will be a series of workshops and talks for young people on the day with activist Santina Sorrenti, who has campaigned for the introduction of non-gender specific clothing ranges for children and young people, amongst the guest speakers.

There will also be a workshop where participants can design their own t-shirts.

The history of the LGBT movement in Ireland will be outlined to mark the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland so that young people will be aware of the struggles undertaken to raise awareness of LGBT rights in the past, leading up to the recent Marriage Equality referendum.

Young people will also get the opportunity to take part in a workshop on resilience building and empowerment, which will encourage them to use the resources of the LGBT community and groups such as Dundalk Outcomers to find a safe space in which to express their sexuality.

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 14, will see the main event take place with the annual Pride Open Family Day at Outcomers promising to be as colourful as last year:

“A day when the Outcomers Centre and the courtyard is transformed by festival decorations, crafts and colours! Featuring artisan food, a terrace café, barbecue, live music, magician, face painter, youth space and much more. We are delighted to announce that SofaSamba will join us again this year and entertain us with their tunes.”

To find out more about Dundalk Pride, see the facebook event and outcomers.org