Festival program full of pride

FOR the next three weekends, Bendigo will celebrate its rainbow communities as part of the annual Bendigo Pride festival.

The event will run from Friday, 18 March until Sunday, 3 April and offer about 50 experiences ranging from performances to exhibitions and parties.

Festival director John Richards said it was nice to have a program locked in and know that everything has been organised and finalised.

“There’s a whole bunch of amazing stuff,” he said. “It’s not that we’ve got more events this year, but we’ve scaled up.

“We have our first ever fair day Pride in the Park on Saturday which includes a dog show. It’ll have live music, drag, things to do, it’s more a day of experiences.

“We’ve got a licensed Broadway hit in Buyer and Cellar which we’re producing as a Bendigo only event and hopefully that’ll bring Melbourne theatregoers.

“We’ve got new works by all sort of people like Uncertain Curtain, a neurodivergent theatre company.”

Mr Richards acknowledged that the Pride festival will take place during one of the busiest times of the year in Bendigo, coinciding with the launch of the Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition and Bendigo On The Hop.

“COVID keeps affecting everybody so there’s this weird thing where we’ve all crashed into each other,” he said.

“Because Bendigo On The Hop is happening on the same day as Pride in the Park, I’m hoping the audiences go to both. I’m really hoping if anything, we can reach out and join up.”

The stacked program includes events such as the Queer Country Art Exhibition at Dudley House, Ben McEllen’s one-man-show Transmansplaining, various theatre productions at the Engine Room and a Bendigo queer history tour.

The festival will also celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility on Thursday, 31 March with a special Trans Comedy Showcase at Piano Bar.

For the full program and tickets head to bendigopridefestival.com.au.