Jayme Zimmermann explores pivotal queer events in Australia to mark the beginning of Pride Week.

• Wear it Purple was founded in 2010 and strives to provide a supportive, safe, empowering, and inclusive space for LGBTQIA+ youth. Their key focus is to provide awareness, opportunities, a safe environment, and collaborate with other organisations to further the inclusion of young LGBTQIA+ individuals. This year it is held on the 28^th of August. The theme is ‘WE ARE THE CHANGE’ which I believe is very fitting for us as a generation and encourages the empowerment of queer people.

• Newcastle Pride is an inclusive, vibrant, and fun not-for-profit LGBTIQA+ community-based organisation established in 2018. Newcastle Pride celebrates sexuality and gender diversity. The Newcastle Pride Festival is a series of events that aims to showcase to locals and visitors that Newcastle is a city of diversity, culture, and beauty. The festival was created in hopes to become an annual event which falls during Pride Week. This years’ event was meant to take place on the 14^th-30^th of August 2020, however, was cancelled due to COVID-19.

• Melbourne Queer Film Festival is celebrating it’s 30^th year this year, showcasing amazing contemporary queer cinema from all over the world, and is also the largest queer film festival in the Southern Hemisphere. Currently they are offering on demand screenings of ‘Comedy Shorts’ on 28^th-30^th of August. Tickets are available on their website.

• The FABalice Festival was created by the passionate locals of Alice Springs who love where they’re from and their history. The festival was inspired by ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’, that was filmed there over 25 years ago. The festival was held this year on the 6^th-8^th of March. The 3-day festival features many amazing events, including a drag spectacular, comedy and cabaret performances and events, and so much more!

• Midsumma Festival has been Victoria’s premier gay and lesbian arts and culture festival, presenting an annual community celebration and encouraging the development of innovative artistic content and a unique cultural experience since 1988. The festival encourages people think of its history, which remains as a driving point for the festival continuance. The festival took place this year on the 19^th of January – 9^th of February and had 195 events over the course of 22 days.

• Last but certainly not least, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (SGLMG) is one of the oldest continuously operating LGBTQIA+ organisations in Australia. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras began in 1978 and has been a widely celebrated event for over four decades. It was held this year on the 14th February – 1^st March. As mentioned on the SGLMG website, ‘The event was built on the foundations laid by early community activists who fought for LGBTQIA+ rights in a time of wide-spread, institutionalised oppression, and discrimination’. Jeffery Feng has created an amazing timeline from 1978-2020 that expresses how much the festival has grown and how Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras has become a celebrated event in Australia today.

Feature Image: Newcastle Pride via Newcastle Pride Gallery, used with permission.