Breaking bread with queer community

RETURNING for its second year, A Place at the Table is aiming to connect policy makers and support providers with the LGBTIQA+ community.

This year’s event will take place on Sunday, 21 August at the Goods Shed, where founder and organiser KL Joy said the idea was sparked during community lunches held in 2019.

“There were a lot of people at the time saying they stand up for the community but nobody was actually asking who the community were or what they were about,” they said.

“So, I thought it would be great for us to actually have some service providers here to hear these stories and that’s how this came about.

“This is a once-a-year long lunch event, where we pull the people from the LGBTQI community with service providers, with politicians, with policymakers to have a say about what it is we want.”

A Place at the Table includes a three-course lunch at an overall cap of 200 people.

Also on the menu is a performance by opera and cabaret singer Issie Hart, and a keynote speech from the Australian Catholic University’s Queer Collective president Eideann Sly.

There’ll also be stalls and displays by the event’s sponsors and partners.

Anne Tudor will serve as patron, and the Country Roads to Pride queer exhibition will mark their regional debut for the event.

With Wear it Purple Day taking place the following week, Mx Joy said A Place at the Table proximity reinforces their secondary theme of bridging the gap between the young and older LGBTQIA+ community members.

“These young people have so much value because they’re unencumbered by the messaging I grew up with in the 80s, they have such beautiful language around inclusion and diversity,” they said.

“Our older generations could learn a lot from them and I think the young ones are also crying out to hear about their history so there’s many purposes to this event.”