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Kavinda Herath/Stuff
Chroma Chairman David Sarshalom, secretary Bethany Duffill-Brookes, and committee member Ari Edgecombe are gearing up for the very first Murihiku Pride Week.
The Chroma Initiative reckon it’s about time Murihiku had its own Pride event.
Queenstown has Winter Pride, there are multiple events in Dunedin, and now, there’ll be Murihiku Pride – running this year from September 9 to 16.
The week will feature family friendly events with something for the rainbow community and allies of almost every age.
Chroma chairperson David Sarshalom said it was especially important for people from a rural background to have opportunities to connect with people like themselves and to destigmatise the rainbow community.
“There are regions in New Zealand that tend to be conservative, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t people in rural areas that are queer,” he said.
“It’s extra difficult for them. In bigger cities it’s easier to find community and belonging.”
Some still felt the need to hide, Sarshalom said.
“In 2023 there shouldn’t be a need for double lives. Who they are and what they contribute to the community should be more important than how they identify or who they love.”
On the back of successful Queens Go South drag productions, Southlanders had been asking about pride events.
“The challenge has been: What does that look like in Murihiku?,” Sarshalom said.
The week will include a photography exhibition, a movie night, and social gatherings.
Stand out events for Sarshalom are the Rainbow Youth Ball and the OUTspoken panel discussion featuring Teoti Jardine, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, Mani Bruce Mitchell, Jack Byrne, Senior Sergeant Rhona Stace and Joanne Neilson who’ll be sharing stories from the frontline of rainbow history and activity.
The late MP Georgina Beyer had been confirmed to speak before Covid-19 forced the postponement of the festival.
Supplied
Poet laureate Chris Tse will be joined by poets from around Southland for the Pride in Poetry event at the Invercargill City Library on September 15. [File photo]
“It’s nice to know that people who played such big roles were interested to see these quieter parts of New Zealand shining,” Sarshalom said.
Chroma secretary Beth Duffill-Brookes said it was thanks to people like Beyer that “we get to be ourselves”.
Quoting an upcoming documentary, she said: “Those girls walked in the shadows, so we could walk in the light.”
A highlight for Duffill-Brookes will be the Pride in Poetry event at Invercargill City Library with New Zealand’s poet laureate Chris Tse and other writers.
“That’s a really good opportunity for people to be in the same room as these rainbow icons,” she said.
Duffill-Brookes said it was thanks to community support with venues and funding that Chroma was able to host the festival, and she hoped that people from all communities would join in.
“It’s about diversity. We wouldn’t have got to where we are without allies.”
All events are free, apart from the Youth Ball and OUTSpoken panel where tickets cost $5 from trybooking.com.
A full list of events is available on the Chroma Facebook page.
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