Victoria’s regional rainbow communities will shine over summer

Curated X Daylesford presents Seams Affirming is where rural trans and gender diverse people reshape affordable clothing around their bodies, style and identity.

Population: Queer is a podcast about our queer, creative lives past the city limits. Two queer women, two opposite journeys to identity and regional life, and the audience to have their say through voice memos.

Worldbuilders pairs LGBTQIA+ young people from headspace Bendigo with professional artists to build cosplay costumes, props and augmented-reality creatures across four workshops.

Queerness in Colour is excited to debut as the first intersectional and live spoken word event in the West Gippsland region. A talented lineup of queer, Indigenous and Culturally Racially Marginalised (CARM) folk take centre stage to showcase their stories.

How To Keep Safe is a one-woman show written and performed by 84-year-old Catherine Samsury, exploring the life of Bernie as she navigates her childhood in 1950s America and life as an older lesbian in Castlemaine.

F*** Fabulous is a collision of world-class artists across Naarm, Castlemaine and Daylesford, bringing you a party celebrating regional queer creativity, collective care and radical joy.

Oceanside Pride: Building the Wave builds on the success of Portland’s inaugural Oceanside Pride. BEAT Entertainment will deliver a four-day creative residency of workshops and mentoring to empower the LGBTQIA+ community across the Glenelg region.

Short films, fine art and a Number 96 party

So Last Century – A ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Number 96’ Themed Party is a gala evening in Jeparit celebrating LGBTQIA+ history through the 1980s, documenting stories from Wimmera LGBTQIA+ community members.

Creative Healing: Identity, Culture & Connection brings together Aboriginal LGBTQIA+SB (Rainbow Mob) people in a culturally safe space to explore identity, creativity and connection through art, yarning and shared cultural experiences.

Heartland is a collaborative fine art photography series documenting queer lives in regional Victoria.

Travelling by van across five locations, the project creates magical realist portraits with queer people in place, where identity and landscape intertwine.

A Queermas celebration on the Mornington Peninsula at a time of year when biological family can be particularly challenging will share the importance of chosen family.

Tea Time in Woodend is a light-hearted silent animated short film about Southeast Asian culture, family and finding common ground, a hopeful snapshot of how surprisingly easy acceptance can be.

Pali-Pali MiRi in Mildura is a body of work consisting of photographic portraits of Blak Queer Mob in the Mallee.

MIC CHECK in Healesville is a free summer comedy and performance workshop at The Memo Healesville, led by professional queer performers.

Partnering with local youth, community development, and regional theatre groups, participants explore writing, rehearsal, and technical stagecraft through a short venue residency, culminating in a relaxed work-in-progress showcase for family and friends.

‘Bringing ideas and stories to life’

“We’re deeply proud to support these local celebrations and the artists and communities behind them,” said Midsumma’s Karen Bryant.

“This year’s Regional Activation Program showcase the creativity and diversity of LGBTIQA+ arts and culture all across Victoria, with communities bringing ideas and stories to life in the places they call home.

The Carroll Labor Government recently invested two more years of funding for Victoria’s Pride in the 2026-27 State Budget to ensure Victoria’s Pride remains a staple of the state’s events calendar until February 2028.

The program builds towards Victoria’s Pride Street Party on Sunday 7 February 2027, which will close the 2027 Midsumma Festival.