{"id":113106,"date":"2026-04-10T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/?p=113106"},"modified":"2026-04-08T22:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:33:09","slug":"unabashed-pride-festival-raring-to-let-loose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/bendigotimes\/living\/unabashed-pride-festival-raring-to-let-loose\/","title":{"rendered":"Unabashed PRIDE Festival raring to let loose"},"content":{"rendered":"

CENTRAL Victoria’s largest celebration of LGBTIQA+ visibility, inclusion and the strength of the region’s local queer community – Bendigo PRIDE Festival – returns in just a couple of days’ time.<\/p>\n

Events scheduled for this year’s iteration include a trivia night at Bendigo Brewing this coming Tuesday, an inclusive writing workshop the next day at Trades Hall in View Street, and Pride Bingo on Thursday 16 April.<\/p>\n

There’ll also be action aplenty on Friday 17 April at the Big Girls Bar (tailoring to women and femme-identifying individuals) and The Meat Up (a late-night shindig for men).<\/p>\n

It all comes to a crescendo on Saturday 18 April with the free six-hour Pride in the Park party in Rosalind Park, followed by its afterparty, once again at Trades Hall, starring Greg Gould, Cle Morgan, Misty Boxx, Pizzazz & Kandy Jackzon, and the Disco Daddies.<\/p>\n

Bendigo PRIDE committee member Penelope Mullins, who came on board in December, said preparations for the event have been somewhat chaotic.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been drawing very heavily on Colin McLean’s (Polly Filla’s) network of drag and local performers and all of their connections, who have stepped up wonderfully,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Driven by Colin’s experience, what we’ve tried to do is push for gendered events, including The Meat Up.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, I don’t have any experience with anything like that, but I’ve been assured it’s going to be a fabulous night, and I’m sure it will be.<\/p>\n

“We’ve also tried to reach out to get as many local providers – whether it’s venues, performers or artists – involved as much as possible.”<\/p>\n

Mullins said while putting together any festival has its challenges, being able to help create greater visibility, greater inclusivity and greater awareness about the LGBTIQA+ community makes it all worth it.<\/p>\n

“The logistics have really taken over because of the need to get the festival (organised), but in previous jobs I put together international events, so I have those skills,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It also helps that, what I’ve found is that the local LGBTIQA+ community is, in all its variations, marvelously diverse, very welcoming and joyful.”<\/p>\n

Bendigo PRIDE Festival 2026 starts this Tuesday 14 April with a flag raising ceremony in the Library Gardens, and winds down on Sunday 19 April with a screening of one of the most talked-about queer films in recent times, romantic dark comedy-drama Pillion.<\/p>\n

Find out more at bendigopridefestival.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CENTRAL Victoria’s largest celebration of LGBTIQA+ visibility, inclusion and the strength of the region’s local queer community – Bendigo PRIDE Festival – returns in just a couple of days’ time. Events scheduled for this year’s iteration include a trivia night at Bendigo Brewing this coming Tuesday, an inclusive writing workshop the next day at Trades […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":187,"featured_media":113108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-113106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnabashed PRIDE Festival raring to let loose - Bendigo Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Celebrate the 2026 Bendigo PRIDE Festival from April 14\u201319. 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