Newsletter #13 - 10 March
Five days in and everything’s coming up rainbow!
How are we doing, whānau? Are your feet sore? Still trying to make decisions about what events to go to when? That’s an absolute same here from us. But we do absolutely recommend you join us for Out in the City on Sunday, our main event.
Speaking of main events, we’d be very remiss if we didn’t start out this newsletter giving massive props to our friends at the Wellington Pride Parade for the absolutely glorious joyful parade on Saturday. They estimate 15,000 people turned out for it and it definitely felt like the whole city - including the weather - showed up with love. It was my first time being in the parade and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Special thanks must go Zoe and her team at The Very Green Gardener for driving us - they’ve very recommended for your garden too and will never judge you for being too ADHD to deal with the weeding yourself!
But now, there’s still 11 days left of the Wellington Pride Festival, so let’s delve into more things you may want to join in!
Joanna McLeod
Chair
Newsletter contents
Out in the City is this Sunday
Pooches in the Plaza this Sunday too
Wellington Pride Youth Ball
Come visit us at Pride HQ
Out in Brewtown - 21 March
Voting open now for Rainbow Windows of Wellington
Out in the City this Sunday - our official 40th anniversary
On 15 March 1986, the Gay & Lesbian Fair for a Fair Law was first held in Newtown, Wellington. Forty years later, that event has become Out in the City, the central pole of our festival that’s grown to over 100 events this year.
We’re kicking things off with a hīkoi at 9am from Te Ngākau Civic Square that will make its way to Out in the City for opening festivities at 10am. A full day of entertainment will be happening on the Datacom stage - you can find a schedule of who’s on when over on our website, along with a list of stalls and organisations who’ll be there too.
One part of the entertainment we want to highlight is Pooches in the Park happening at 1pm. Thanks to our friends at Wellington Museum, everyone who registers their dog to take part in this competition will receive a Paddy the Wanderer plushie toy in recognition of our canine history - as well as being in to win some great prizes from Gorman for their furry friend.
So make sure you register in advance - as long as your dog is happy with crowds and noise of course.
Wellington Pride Youth Ball - 14 March
Tickets are now on sale for the Pride Youth Ball, an event for rainbow rangitahi age 13-18.
This vibrant celebration is all about letting your true colors shine in a safe and welcoming space, and a night filled with music, dancing, and pure joy. Whether you're strutting your stuff on the dance floor or making new friends, the Pride Youth Ball is your chance to celebrate who you are with a community that embraces diversity and pride.
The ball includes buses from Lower Hutt and Porirua, and Get Ready Together events, to make sure everyone can get there and home again safely.
If you’re not in this age group but you’d still like to support the event and its subsidised ticket cost, you can purchase a donation ticket.
Things happening at Pride HQ
Pride HQ at 28 Blair Street is the physical hub of the Wellington Pride Festival. We’re open every day from 11am-7pm for you to drop in, have some snacks, play some games or do some colouring in, find out more about the festival and meet other members of the community. We’ve also programmed in some lower sensory free events as well (There is a ticket cost for Dancing in Reverse, to support the artists) including:
Chair yoga (two sessions)
Barber cuts for koha (or for free)
A game of Werewolf (R18 - pre registration required)
A zine making workshop
A felting workshop
A poetry reading
And if you receive this before 6pm on 11 March, we’re hosting a board game session here tonight as well.
Come and see us! In addition, the lovely people at Endo Warriors have stacked us with free period products, so if you’re in need, come grab some. And we have stickers! If you’ve got an idea for how you’d like to use the space in the next 11 days, get in touch!
Out in Brewtown
Hopefully you know by now about Out in Brewtown happening on 21 March, but have you bought your ticket yet???
There’s an option with your ticket to include a bus from Wellington City or Petone, or it’s a five minute walk from the train station. Our committee have been working really closely with Brewtown to make sure it’s a super safe and joyful event for our community. We’ve covered things like gender neutral bathrooms, training for security staff around discretion with birth names on IDs and other issues, and know it’s going to be a glorious day.
A portion of the ticket sales will come to us at the Festival, and a portion will go to Naming NZ.
Voting is open now for Rainbow Windows of Wellington!
When we came up with the idea for Rainbow Windows of Wellington, I was hoping we’d get maybe 20 businesses taking part in its first year. This city has absolutely knocked it out of the park with 45 shops registered!
Voting is now open, but you only get one vote, so maybe make sure you’ve done a proper tour before choosing your favourite!
NO SLEEPS UNTIL WPF 2026! IT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW!
PS: I used to have a job sweeping up at the Glitter Factory
…It was pretty rubbish!
