Bangor High Street was a hive of activity on Sunday morning, March 1, as the first ever Saint David’s Day Parade attracted amazing support from adults and children of all ages.

A 200-strong crowd marched along the city’s streets, which had been decorated with bunting by Bangor City Council, including Deiniol the Dragon from Asda; the Cathedral’s puppets; a gathering of folk dancers; those proudly wearing red, traditional costumes or carrying daffodils; and a large number of Welsh flags.

As the crowd entered the Cathedral they were met with a feast for the senses with the smells of roasting lamb; the taste of Bara Brith ice cream made especially for the occasion by Antonniazzi; the colour of the crafts and the sights and sounds associated with storytelling, traditional dance with Dawnswyr Môn and singing. This included a stirring rendition of Finlandia with the help of Pontio’s flashmob.

Organisers were also grateful to Asda for their kind donation of a Welsh produce hamper to raise money for #teamirfon.

The whole day was the fruits of the labours of hunaniaith, which promotes the use of the Welsh language in Bangor; Bangor’s Welsh Language Initiative; the Cathedral; Pontio and the support of other contributors.

One of the organisers, Tegwen Parry, said that the support of local people had been most heartening. She added: “An event like this has been a great help in raising awareness of the Welsh language and Welshness in the city. We are now looking forward to an even bigger parade next year – we started the planning straight after the event!

” hope the parade will go from strength to strength and will grow to be one of the annual highlights on Bangor’s events calendar.”