Special weekend when you can walk in Nain's footsteps

Walking in Nain’s footsteps is a weekend of celebrations in Llangollen marking 100 years of the Welsh Women’s Peace petition.

In 1923, the horrors of WW1 having galvanised a generation against conflict, women of Wales organised an unprecedented campaign for world peace.

A total of 390,296 women signed a memorial petition through the Welsh League of Nations Union – said to have been seven miles long – calling for America to join and lead the new League of Nations and 2023 marked the centenary of the campaign. 

Throughout 2023/ 2024, this once forgotten story has been brought back to life thanks to funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, with communities across Wales and beyond celebrating the women’s achievement and starting new conversations about peace today.

As part of the celebrations, Llangollen will host a weekend of special events inspired by the petition. 

On Friday June 28 at 7.30pm, St Collen’s Community Hall will welcome one-woman show Annie Cwrt Mawr, inspired by the experiences of Annie Hughes-Griffiths, who travelled across America with the petition in 1924. Tickets cost £5 and are available here: Annie Cwrt Mawr (English performance) at St Colleens Community Hall event tickets from TicketSource

From Saturday June 29 to August 11, The Dory Gallery in Llangollen will host a community exhibition showcasing creative interpretations of the petition story. 

This will centre around a new piece of work from local artist Bethan M Hughes named Thread of Peace, a 16m long stitched piece inspired by the story of how the original petition pages would supposedly measure seven miles if placed end to end. 

Throughout 2024, Bethan has been running stitch sessions across North Wales, collecting contributions from over 150 people to this incredible piece of work. 

Thanks to additional funding from Wales Arts international, a group of Women from America have also contributed to the project, participating in lively online sessions.

The Dory Gallery is open every weekend. Free celebrations of the launch of this new exhibition will take place on Saturday June 29. For details click here: Events - Welsh Centre for International Affairs (wcia.org.uk) 

Rounding off the weekend, Llangollen Museum is hosting a heritage walk around town, visiting homes and work places of notable women who signed the petition back in 1923/24. 

People can go along to hear about their fascinating research and learn more about life of local women in the 1920’s. To book your free space or learn more visit Eventbrite at: Taith Gerdded Treftadaeth / Heritage Walk Tickets, Sun, Jun 30, 2024 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

A spokesperson for the local organisers said: “We are so grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the opportunity to bring the work of so many communities together in this exhibition to celebrate this amazing story, We have such an exciting programme of events planned – everyone is welcome!” - Ffion Fielding – Project Manager for the Women’s Peace petition."

* To learn more about the Women’s peace petition or get involved please visit: www.wcia.org.uk/academiheddwch/peacepetition/