Nelson rainbow group shines
A Nelson-based group for people of all genders and sexualities has more than 130 members after less than seven months, and is now planning a Pride event for the city.
Nelson Pride started in November with the name Thursgay, because its members met on Thursdays. It was set up after three friends, including two of Nelson Pride’s five coordinators, Kelly Donaldson and Amy Groome, decided to create an inclusive group aimed at people aged 18 and above who wanted to be part of a LGBTQIA+ community.
‘‘After living in Nelson for about a year, I realised if there was some sort of queer community of some nature, I would have stumbled across it, and it didn’t occur,’’ Groome said.
Donaldson said some groups that were more specific with gender or sexuality were already operating in Nelson and Tasman, ‘‘but we wanted one that was inclusive to everyone in the rainbow community as well as straight allied, so any gender could come along’’.
The response has been heartening, with the group’s
‘‘We want to be able to say to our community that this place is safe for us.’’ Nelson Pride co-ordinator Nicola Moke
membership growing strongly since November. More than 130 people have joined the Nelson Pride Facebook group, which was set up deliberately as a public page. Members are from across the region, including Golden Bay, as well as Blenheim.
‘‘We have an email list for people who don’t have Facebook or who want things a bit more private,’’ Donaldson said.
The membership received a boost of about 35 members in late May, after a Facebook live feed from one of the group’s Thursgay drinks sessions at a pub ‘‘and we answered questions live’’.
Members of Nelson Pride meet every two weeks at a bar in the evening, but also have a minimum of one other catchup a month at another venue. This has included outdoor yoga, a games night, dance class, a bike ride and camping trips.
Fellow co-ordinator Nicola Moke said she moved to Nelson in February, when the group was already established. ‘‘The majority of my friends are from the group. I’d know no-one down here otherwise.’’
Members of Nelson Pride are now working with Q-Youth to organise a Pride event for next summer in Nelson. ‘‘Around the same time as all the other Pride events around the country, which tend to be February or March,’’ Donaldson said. ‘‘We hope to have some music, even stalls if it’s possible.’’
Fundraising for the event is under way. Moke said the response from businesses that had been asked to provide raffle prizes had been amazing.
Feeling unsafe in some public spaces can be an issue across New Zealand for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
‘‘We want to be able to say to our community that this place is safe for us,’’ Moke said. ‘It’s saying, ‘This place supports us or isn’t going to question us, or we can walk in holding hands and we can sit down and we’re not going to get judged’. It’s nice.’’
Fellow co-ordinator Sam Booth said there was a desire for some young queer individuals to move from small cities such as Nelson to the larger centres. ‘‘They draw away because there isn’t that support and because people don’t feel safe here.
‘‘I was raised in Nelson; this is my home town, and I came back and I didn’t have that [support], and now I’m helping these guys build this.’’