Monmouth Women's Festival got off to a successful start at its launch last Friday (2nd March).

Held in Monmouth Museum, both men and women were out in force to support the unique two week long event.

Fay Mansell, ex-Chair of The National Federation of Women's Institutes was present to congratulate organisers and share her excitement about the event.

The morning saw the launch of a new exhibition in the foyer of the museum celebrating the sports women of Monmouth.

Chair Ali Green said: "Part of the idea of the exhibition was to celebrate what women have done but also to say that you can do it too".

The group had difficulty finding old photographs of women playing sport in Monmouth, so if you have any to share, get in touch with the Beacon.

The organisers of the event are keen to show that the festival is not just for women, but is a chance for joint celebration.

"Our philosophy is to get women and men together, recognising the achievements of women locally and across the word," said Ali Green.

The festival shows no sign of slowing down, tickets are still available for many of the acts and plans are already being drawn up for next year as Ali explains:

"This year we have had so much interest for people wanting to speak that we already have a skeleton program for next year's festival."