This summer saw local businesses celebrate diversity and inclusivity alongside the Chester Pride Festival. Colourful displays of all sizes were seen throughout the city and whilst the festival was a hailed a great success by organisers one display was left incomplete
Just two days before the highly anticipated Chester Pride festival, independent bottle shop and tap room, That Beer Place, posted on twitter: “So just as we're about to hit @ChesterPride weekend…Pink has gone missing from our #EveryoneWelcome Lego display…we'd love to see them returned. 💔”
“At first we thought it might be a joke. We kind of expected there to be a tiny ransom note where Pink once stood, or for pictures of Pink enjoying Pride festival to be sent to us, but nothing ever came,” said Lisa Lord, owner That Beer Place.
Despite the loss of Pink, That Beer Place hosted an official Chester Pride after party and the festival celebrating diversity carried on across the city. The other 10 figures remained accounted for, but Pink was not returned. Family owned business Chester Model Centre took notice.
“We watched as the missing Pink saga played out on social media and hoped the figure would be returned,” said Paul Boyland, owner Chester Model Centre.
On August 19th That Beer Place shared CCTV footage of the culprit who could be seen removing Pink from the display. The call to action to do the right thing and #ReturnPink was not successful, but all hope was not yet lost.
“As more time passed and the display remained incomplete, we realised we could help. People know us for our model trains, but we’re a hobby shop and as well as model trains we stock loads of miniature figures and paints for our wargaming fans.”
“Mark is our resident wargaming expert and he raided his personal stash of Lego figures to find a suitable replacement for Pink. The only problem was of course, it wasn’t pink,” explained Paul Boyland, owner Chester Model Centre.
Dale Lord of That Beer Place originally spent three hours building the #EveryoneWelcome Lego Display. “I really enjoyed the build. It was fun and actually relaxing to take some time to be mindful and focus on just one thing. I can see why people enjoy models and painting miniatures.”
“Replacing Pink was a labour of love. The mini figure was a unique shade so I had to mix acrylic paints in magenta and a pale pink to get the right effect. I lost count of how many layers of paint went on, but compared to the intricate models I usually paint this was actually really simple!” commented Mark Boyland of Chester Model Centre.
“It’s important to remember that there are so many more good people than bad. It is disappointing that the original Pink was taken, but this new hand painted Pink is a truly special addition to our display and shows how the business community of Chester supports each other with the big and little challenges alike. We’ve also had several customers offer to replace Pink for us so we may end up needing to create another display to house them all!” replied Lisa Lord.
The new Pink is now proudly displayed at That Beer Place on Foregate Street. Before settling in Pink went on a little tour of Chester city centre, starting at Chester Model Centre on Bridge Street Row and stopping to enjoy the sights of the city along the way. You can see #PinkonParade through the city streets on social media via @ChesterModelCentre.