Pembroke's One World Week street parade was made all the more enjoyable for participants and observers with the help of some unexpected October sunshine. On Saturday, around 80 participants from eight to 80 set off from the Town Hall in Pembroke carrying the theme of all things South Asian with them as they marched up Main Street to the Eastgate Centre. The parade, involved children and families from the Pembroke area and was led by town crier, Rose Blackburn and an antique rickshaw bike. The senior citizens from the Ashdale Care Home also participated in the parade and had been celebrating One World Week with a week long activity programme as part of their involvement. The success of the parade was also down to the hard work of local community artist Pauline Le Britton and Diane Lucas, along with the children participating over two days in the children's workshops held at Pembroke's Town Hall. "We have had a wonderful time being involved and my grandchildren have enjoyed themselves tremendously," said Maureen Molyneux, of Neyland. The South Asian themed parade was the final event in what has proved to be a very successful culture packed One World Week for organisers Global Connections. Pembroke Town Hall provided a venue for the well attended and popular cultural evening on Friday. This South Asian themed evening provided an unusual slide show and talk of travels in India by Rough Guide author Dave Abram and two professional dance performances in both Kathak and Bollywood styles by Sarita Sood and local performer and Greenhill pupil Sita Thomas respectively. Earlier in the evening, Sarita had provided an exhilarating dance workshop for some of the adventurous participants. There was a short and informative talk by Jan Gigler and Jeya Khan on crafts made in Kashmir and some interesting fair-trade stalls packed with goods for participants to browse and purchase. Other activities in the week included workshops with schools, youth and community groups, an Asian exhibition at the Eastgate Centre and South Asian dishes provided by local eateries. Global Connections are indebted to the Arts Council of Wales and the Co-operative Group for funding and particularly the local Pembroke Dock branch for sponsoring the event. Thanks also go to Diane Lucas and Jackie Palit and the Ashdale Care Home for supporting the exhibition and One World Week, County Clothes for the loan of the Rickshaw Bike and Bierspool Cycles for its restoration. Telephone 01646 687800 for more information on Global Connections or alternatively visit http://www.globalconnections.org.uk">www.globalconnections.org.uk.
