One of my biggest dreams is to road trip the 2500 miles from Sydney to Perth in Australia and see all the sites along the way. With Australia increasing the working holiday visa to 35 years old and an anticipated landslide win in favor of marriage equality now is the perfect time to visit. Most of Australia’s LGBT events take place in their summer months of November through February, the dream is to rent a car hire and chase pride across the world. Here are some of Australia’s most iconic LGBT events.
Midsumma Festival
Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival is a beacon of artistic queer culture and it grows bigger and prouder each and every year. The festival is coming into its own as a world-renowned arts and culture festival focusing on both performing and fine arts. You’ll find live music performances, spoken word, literature readings, drag, cabaret, theatrical performances and of course – it wouldn’t be a queer event without a massive amount of nightlife.
Mardi Gras
Sydney’s Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras is one of the biggest LGBT festivals in the world. Thousands of visitors head to Sydney to join in the celebrations. One of the reasons Mardi Gras is so well loved is because it captures the imagination of Australia’s LGBTQI and mainstream communities, taking over the city for weeks on end, culminating in the world-famous Parade which is a colorful and dazzling night of pride, celebration and self-expression.
NorthSide Bizarre
The Northside Bizarre is basically a mini-Folsom Street style party. But it’s kinky fetish fun for a cause too! The annual fundraiser benefits two of Melbourne’s biggest LGBTQI community organizations – JOY 94.9 and VAC‘s David Williams Fund. Expect performances from kinktastic entertainers, a charity auction, and a bake-off – nope that’s not a euphemism for anything – it’s an actually baking contest, ‘cause – well – why not?
Broken Heel Festival
For all you camptastic queers out there The Broken Heel Festival is a must. This campy celebration and annual tribute to ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ in her spiritual home ~ Broken Hill. Over the three day festival, you’ll meet a ton of glamourous AF drag queens & kings from all over Australia, plus a crafted list of entertainers bringing cabaret, comedy, and live music, including an Abba cover band for all you dancing queens!
Feast Festival
Feast Festival in Adelaide is one of 10 major Festivals in South Australia and is the 3rd largest LGBTQI Festival in the country. Feast is an International event, bringing performers from all over the world, such as 2014 Eurovision song contest winner Conchita Wurst, and transgender porn star Buck Angel.
