Funding windfall for regional Pride events

EXPRESSIONS of interest are open for the Victoria’s Pride Regional Activation Program, with grants of up to $10,000 available for community groups, councils and organisations to deliver events that help connect LGBTIQA+ communities and celebrate pride across the state.

Delivered in partnership with leading LGBTIQA+ arts and cultural organisation Midsumma, Victoria’s Pride is a statewide celebration of pride that culminates in a one-day street party in Fitzroy’s Gertrude and Smith streets in February next year.

The regional program gives more Victorians the chance to support and celebrate rainbow communities, while amplifying the stories, creativity and contributions of LGBTIQA+ people.

More than 25,000 people took part in Victoria’s Pride regional events this year, including events like Queer Cakes & Butch Bakes: A Community Bake-Off with Pride in Castlemaine, Picture Me, a day of clothes swapping and free makeup and hair tutorials in Warragul, and the premiere of Fourteen and Nine Months – a short film produced in Bendigo.

According to Midsumma Festival CEO and creative director Karen Bryant, the initiative celebrates creativity and lived experiences through the arts, and places diverse regional identities at the heart of Victoria’s Pride, both now and into the future.

“We are so proud to deliver (it) on behalf of the Victorian Government, (which) not only supports the growth of regional artists and communities, but amplifies LGBTQIA+ voices.”

The State Government has allocated $6.8 million to date for the program.

Applications can be made via the Midsumma website and are open until Tuesday 5 August.