About 150 took part in the inaugural Whangarei Pride Parade in 2023, organisers are hoping this year's event will be even bigger. Photo / Coastal Creative
About 150 took part in the inaugural Whangarei Pride Parade in 2023, organisers are hoping this year's event will be even bigger. Photo / Coastal Creative
The success of last year’s inaugural Pride Parade has encouraged Whangārei’s rainbow community to come forward and get more involved in events this year, according to one organiser.
A number of events are taking place in March for the Whangārei Pride Festival 2024, with the key event being the Pride Parade and Gayla this Sunday around the Town Basin.
The all-ages event is not just for the rainbow community, but all allies are welcome to come and show their support too, said one organiser Tania Whetū.
Last year’s inaugural event was so brilliant, more people are getting involved this year from the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual) community, they said.
“Part of the reason that we have a pride festival is about visibility and going into spaces to say, ‘we’re here, we’re celebrating ourselves’.”
Safety in numbers is another important part of the festival, with a nationwide problem of the rainbow community never feeling 100 per cent safe, Whetū said.
“It’s also about making a space for the rangatahi to feel safe during their whole lives, instead of having to go through an unpacking or feeling wrong - we don’t want that to continue,” they said.
Whangārei Proud is now a charitable trust and has its own Pride HQ at 65 John St.
The organisation has been supported by Kumarani Productions - which runs Circus Kumarani - and Whangarei District Council, which leased the HQ space and has funded the 2023 and 2024 Pride Festivals.
Whetū said this year’s parade will be longer than last year - and hopefully bigger - running from Pohe Island to Pūtahi Park, where festivities and the Gayla will be running.
Parade participants are encouraged to gather at Pohe Island from 10am, with a catwalk fashion show at 10.45am, which will choose the most fabulous person to lead the parade on an EV.
The parade will set off at 11am, walking across the Hatea Loop Walk, arriving at Pūtahi Park by 12pm after stopping for drone photographs along the way.
Jen, Jon and Elsa Sephton parade as a family in the 2023 Whangārei Pride Parade, will everyone also welcome this year. Photo / Tania Whyte
Meanwhile, the Pūtahi Park Gayla will run from 10am to 3pm including craft stalls, badge making, a circus zone, food stalls and information zones.
Drag king Hugo Grrrl and drag queen Miss Kerry Berry will be MCs, with performances and music across the afternoon.
Other events also running in the festival include a month-long pride art exhibition at Northland Youth Theatre, Queeraoke at Pride HQ on Friday night from 7pm and a Gender and Sexuality 101 workshop run by RainbowYOUTH on Saturday March 16.
On Saturday, March 23, there will be a Drag Brunch at AstroBoy from 11am and a Vaunt Proud Party, also at AstroBoy, from 9pm. Both these events are R18.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
