Being bold, dark and queer

BALLARAT Frolic Festival will celebrate the dark this month with mid-year programming running during the winter solstice.

The ‘bold, dark, queer’ themed Frolic Dark Rainbow fest will run from Thursday 22 until Saturday 24 June, with live performances, art events, and a horror double-feature movie screening.

Festival co-director Ty Hancock said the three-day event is a chance to push boundaries.

“It’s about challenging what’s acceptable and typically okay, all during the height of winter, and revelling in that time,” he said.

“We’re encouraging the community to step out, even though it may be uncomfortable, to a degree.

“It’s a festival for the community, for Ballarat, and being a part of it brings Frolic to life. Our community are our rainbow, and we want to represent that.”

The program will include the opening night Frolic Dark Rainbow Art Show at FEAR and the Frolic Dark Cabaret at Piano Bar on Thursday, starring Aurora Kurth, Miss Friby, Cath Jamison, and Winter Greene.

The Queers for Fears horror film double-feature is set for Friday evening at FedUni’s SMB campus, and Mr Hancock said Queer Descent, Saturday’s immersive art experience, will be a fun one.

“It’s going to be held in an undisclosed location, below the streets of Ballarat, and people are invited to attend and share a secret with the community,” he said.

“The concept will be that people are in the waiting bar, with actors milling around, they write down a secret of their community, of themselves, of their family, or whatever comes to mind, and that secret will form part of the immersive experience.

“When they’re led from the bar down below the street, they’ll see a space that’s very infrequently seen, even by the in-the-know locals.

“At the end of the event, they’ll be given a secret to keep and hold onto.”

Performers Zya Kane, Friby and Kurth are set to be highlights of the underground experience.

A core value of Frolic organisers is creating spaces for people to connect, and Mr Hancock said Queer Descent is an unusual, yet ideal way to do that.

“We want people to know that even when the rainbow community isn’t directly visible, they are part of that, and we are there,” he said.

“It’s all about that shared queer experience and getting people to engage in this unique society and collective.”

Visit frolicdarkrainbow.com.au for tickets. Queer Descent attendees will be notified of the location via email.