Brisbane Pride Festival
| Brisbane Pride Festival | |
|---|---|
| Begins | September 1, 2013 |
| Ends | September 30, 2013 |
| Location(s) | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Inaugurated | 1990 |
| Website | |
| brisbanepridefestival |
|
Brisbane Pride Festival started in 1990 [1] as a means of organising and promoting public events and activities that contribute to queer culture. The first event was held as a rally and gay pride march through the streets of Brisbane, ending with a small gathering at Musgrave Park, South Brisbane.
For thirteen years the Festival was run by a collective and in 2002 was incorporated.[1] The Festival is a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, Intersex, Queer culture through the arts, sporting, community and political events. The Pride Festival aims to bring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of Brisbane together. It is understood that such public visibility, promotes acceptance of homosexuality within the wider community.
Pride Fair Day
Fair Day is the main event of the festival calendar. The Festival is an inclusive, community-based celebration run by Brisbane Pride Inc., a non-profit organisation operated by a voluntary board/working committee, assisted by volunteers. After a difficult year in 2010/11 the Festival moved to September. This day has now grown to encompass a rally and parade through Brisbane city streets and a fair.
Fair Day was generally held through the 2000s on a weekend day after the Queen's Birthday Weekend in June each year. The last year at Musgrave Park, South Brisbane, was 2010. Due to various issues Brisbane Pride Festival went into financial debt. QNews magazine hosted an event in 2011 they called Brisbane Carnivale, at Perry Park, Bowen Hills, Brisbane. From this event QNews donated money to many Youth Suicide Prevention Charities plus QNews also donated $4,108.00 to Brisbane Pride Festival to help refund Brisbane Pride Festival. There were many community groups and volunteers who also assisted with fund-raising events to help get Brisbane Pride Festival pay off their debts and re-commence. In September 2012, the Fair Day again was held at Perry Park. Saturday, 21 September 2013 saw the event, supported by Brisbane City Council funding, move to New Farm Park, Brisbane. Well supplied with public transport (ferry and bus), street parking and walking distance from Fortitude Valley, the park itself is well-grassed, and shaded in parts. There is an admission fee for the Fair Day.
A street procession is led by 'Dykes on Bikes', a group of female motorcyclists, to the Fair Day, arriving about 10.30 am. The area is divided into stalls, and an entertainment precinct. Stalls vary from food vendors, businesses, to organisations such as Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Anti-Discrimination Commission of Queensland, LGBTI Legal Service, Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC), and the Queensland Police Service's LGBTI Police Liaison Officer Programme. Sitting on the police bike is an annual photographic occurrence for participants, among the live music and street entertainment.
See also
- LGBT rights in Queensland
- List of LGBT events
- List of festivals in Brisbane
- List of festivals in Australia
