Pride boss reflects on event leadership

BENDIGO Pride’s festival director of the past five years is at the helm of the program for one last hurrah before he will pass on the baton.

John Richards said Bendigo is a special place for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and that he wanted the location itself to play an important role in the event.

“One of the things I’d always wanted to do was celebrate that sense of place,” he said.

“I didn’t want to think this was just a festival that could be anywhere, I wanted it to be a festival that could only happen in Bendigo because it’s also the stories we tell about that city.”

Reflecting on the most memorable moments over the past several years, Mr Richards said there were lots to choose from.

“The biggest thing for me was probably Edward de Lacy Evans, so sort of reviving Edward’s memory from his time as an outed transman in the 1880s living in Bendigo, to then being an international controversy or even pariah,” he said.

“To his life ending quite badly, being forgotten. Then, remembering and commemorating him through a really colourful artwork in Chancery Lane.

“The fact that that led to an apology from the Bendigo Advertiser for the way they reported on trans issues 143 years earlier, it was so moving and so touching.

“I love the fact that there was a story and I feel like we gave Edward a bit of a happy ending.”

Other things Mr Richards is proud of include painting the giant pride flag on the road outside Town Hall in 2022 and setting up a pop-up national queer museum in 2023.

“We brought so many amazing people to town, we did so many incredible things,” he said.

“We’ve brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to town, we’ve reflected the lives of all sorts of people who perhaps don’t always get their moment in the sun, and I think we’ve just brought a lot of joy and understanding.”

According to Mr Richards, stepping down is an opportunity for him to enjoy future years of Bendigo Pride without the stress of making sure it all works out.