This Saturday, Wagga Wagga’s Riverside Precinct will transform into a colourful celebration of community, creativity and country hospitality for the inaugural Pride in the Paddock, hosted by the Curious Arts Community Inc.
Pride in the Paddock will be the first local pride event since the Wagga Mardi Gras was forced to shut down after sponsors Coles and Charles Sturt University pulled out.
The festival is free to attend and open to everyone.
It will feature drag, aerial dance performances, live music, market stalls, community organisations, family activities, and food vendors.
Photo credit: Leigh SwansboroughOrganisers hope this will be the first of many annual Pride in the Paddock events, where members of the Wagga Wagga community can come together to celebrate diversity, challenge isolation, create connection, and show that the Riverina is a place where everyone belongs.
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When and where?
The event will run from 11 am-4 pm on Saturday, September 19 at the Riverside Precinct, beside the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.
Performances will start from 11 am on the Riverside stage, showcasing local talent including Riverina drag icons Rhonda Paradise, Sapphie Q, Crash O’Byrn and more.
Photo credit: Leigh SwansboroughPride in the Paddock comes over a year after Wagga Mardi Gras was forced to shut down due to a lack of funding and sponsorship, after five fabulous years.
Organisers have pointed out the need for regional Pride events, noting that many LGBTIQA+ people living in regional Australia feel invisible, isolated or forced to leave home to find acceptance and community.
They hope Pride in the Paddock will help build a future where every person can feel that they belong in the Riverina, regardless of who they are or who they love.
Find out more about Pride in the Paddock here.
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