Pride Parade about visibility, celebration

The success of last year’s inaugural Pride Parade has encouraged Whangārei’s rainbow community to come forward and get more involved in events this year, according to one organiser.

A number of events are taking place this month for the Whangārei Pride Festival 2024, with the key event being the Pride Parade and Gayla this Sunday around the Town Basin.

The all-ages event is not just for the rainbow community, but all allies are welcome to come and show their support, too, said organiser Tania Whetū.

Last year’s inaugural event was so brilliant, more people are getting involved this year from the LGBTQIA + (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual) community, they said.

“Part of the reason that we have a pride festival is about visibility and going into spaces to say, ‘we’re here, we’re celebrating ourselves’.”

Safety in numbers is another important part of the festival, with a nationwide problem of the rainbow community never feeling 100 per cent safe, Whetū said.

“It’s also about making a space for the rangatahi to feel safe during their whole lives, instead of having to go through an unpacking or feeling wrong — we don’t want that to continue,” they said.

Whangārei Proud is now a charitable trust and has its own Pride HQ at 65 John St.

The organisation has been supported by Kumarani Productions — which runs Circus Kumarani — and Whangarei District Council, which leased the HQ space and has funded the 2023 and 2024 Pride Festivals.

Whetū said this year’s parade will