Filling Claudelands Park with rainbows
Rainbow flags, rainbow capes, rainbow kites and even rainbow cupcakes – Waikato Queer Youth’s first Pride in the Park gathering at Claudeland’s Park in Hamilton was hard to miss.
The event was part of a series marking Pride Week in Hamilton, and the dozens of mostly younger people attending were taking an obvious – and in some cases flamboyant – pride in their sexual orientation.
A trash-to-fashion show and catwalk parade was a big part of the occasion, but picking the best-dressed out of the multitudes of colourfully adorned people was no easy task.
‘‘We attempted to hold this last year, but it literally rained on our parade,’’ organiser Maddy Walker laughed.
‘‘This is something for the families, something that those of us with kids and those without can come to out in the open, where we can all have fun and just fill up the park with rainbows’’.
Baked goods and sausages were available for those attending, but the gathering of funds was not the objective of this gathering.
‘‘We are lucky that it is totally community-funded and this can just be a free fun event.’’
Even though society now almost completely accepts the LGBQT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and transgender) members of society, its members still deal with isolation and loneliness.
‘‘It’s hard being gay in a city like Hamilton.
‘‘It feels like there is no place for you. I found this group a few years ago and that was fantastic.
‘‘I like we don’t have any reason to hide any more and we don’t need to hide at events like this.
‘‘The culture is changing and everyone is becoming more accepting of us. We are here and we don’t want to hide any more.’’
An evening social event – cheekily titled the MasQueerade Ball – was held at Hamilton nightclub Zine on Saturday night. However, this was no hedonistic affair, with an 11pm curfew in force for many of those attending the drug- and alcohol-free gathering for 13- to 18-yearolds.