Communities await Auckland Pride Festival

More than 80 events from Feb 2 to 18

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Auckland, January 18, 2018

This year’s Auckland Pride Festival, scheduled to be held from February 2 to 18, boasts an array of over 80 activities and events, over half of which are free or low cost to attend.

The full programme is now live on https://aucklandpride.org.nz/

Rainbow Warriors

Pride & Peace is the theme for the Auckland Pride Parade 2018, speaking not only to New Zealand’s trailblazing history of human rights, but also to the global environment, where LGBTIQ+ people and communities around the world are being persecuted, even executed, daily. Auckland Pride Festival is proud to support both celebration and peaceful protest.

The Auckland Pride Gala

Labour MPs Louisa Wall and Tamati Coffey will host the official opening of the Auckland Pride Festival at 8 pm on Friday, February 2, 2018 at Rangatira, Q Theatre, 305, Queen Street, Auckland City.

A ‘Best-of-the-Fest Black-Tie extravaganza, the event will showcase dramatic performances and devastatingly talented performers whose full-length works feature within the 2018 Auckland Pride Festival programme – plus a pantheon of guest appearances from rainbow community icons. The event is being directed by Jason Te Mete.

Ending HIV Big Gay Out

This free event will be held at 7 pm on Sunday, February 11, 2018 at Coyle Park, Point Chevalier Road, Point Chevalier.
The Ending HIV Big Gay Out is a fun, family-friendly, festival day event, celebrating the LGBTIQ+ communities, their families and friends, organised by New Zealand AIDS Foundation, with the support of Durex, AUT, ANZ, Almond Breeze and Lush Cosmetics.

Headlining the Durex Main Stage will be New Zealand singer-songwriter MAALA, Openside, Lavina Williams and LEXXA. The Programme would include an amazing line-up of community acts, including Iris G, Miss Ribena, Buckwheat, Whati Te Wake, James Malcolm, players from the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and much more.

With over 100 stalls, the Big Gay Out Market Area would feature locally produced and specialty products, information stalls, and an abundance of food vendors, snacks and refreshments.

Stay Safe Dance Tent

An R18 zone with bar service, the Stay Safe Dance Tent returns with a line-up of DJs.

New to the Ending HIV Big Gay Out would be the Garden Bar, an R18 area open to public with a range of beverages.

You can catch the air-conditioned bus to Coyle Park and avoid the hassle of finding a car park. Buses will shuttle from Family Bar on Karangahape Road to Coyle Park every 20 minutes from 1130 am to 2 pm – with return shuttles from 5 pm to 8 pm. Entry to the Ending HIV Big Gay Out is by gold coin donation, with the proceeds helping to cover the cost of staging the event.

Auckland Pride Parade

Auckland Pride’s showcase event brings together people from across the country to celebrate our Rainbow communities including people identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, takatapui, whakawahine, tangata ira tane, fa’afafine, fakaleiti, akava’ine, mahu, vaka sa lewa lewa, rae rae, fiafifine, fakafifine, palopa, kathoey, hijra, bakla, genderfluid, genderqueer, pansexual, asexual, queer and questioning.

A firm crowd favourite on Auckland’s summer calendar, the Auckland Pride Parade is a colourful and inclusive reflection of a great city and its incredible cultural diversity.

The Rainbow Warriors: Pride and Peace

The free event will be held at 730 pm (No Rain Date) on Saturday, February 17, 2018 on Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby.
Proud 2018
Proud 2018 is the official closing celebration of New Zealand’s biggest LGBTIQ + Party.

It will be held at 10 pm on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at Q Theatre and Car Park at Lower Greys Avenue, Auckland City.

For the first time, the closing ceremony will be taking over all levels of the state-of-the-art Q Theatre venue, including a purpose-built outdoor area in the Lower Greys Avenue car park.

DJ Dan Slater

It will also feature Dan Slater, one of the most popular gay DJs in the world. Now based in the US, the Aussie’s superstar DJ has been in great demand in recent years.
His last New Zealand appearance in 2016. Perpetually in motion, Dan has headlined parties at Pride events all over the planet, including World Pride (Madrid), NYC Pride, San
Francisco Pride, Munich Pride, Winter Party Festival (Miami), Prism Festival (Toronto), as well as Sydney Mardi Gras.

A firm fan-favourite, Dan has been booked and re-booked to
play the massive White Party Palm Springs for four years running! His remix of Cher’s I Walk Alone peaked at number two on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Songs in the US, and Dan
has found time to produce dancefloor remixes for artists including Britney Spears, Ultra Nate, Carmen Elektra, Alfie Arcuri and Marcia Hines.

Empress Stah

Internationally renowned aerial artist and neo-burlesque legend, Empress Stah is flying in from London to perform at Proud 2018.

Described by the New York Times as, “a prismatic intersection of sex, circus and special effects”, Empress Stah’s iconic Stargasm / Light in Places collaboration with electro rock star Peaches features the world’s first laser butt-plug. Resident at the infamous Torture Garden fetish club in London, Empress Stah has shared the stage with Dita von Teese and Cirque Du Soleil, headlined the superclub season at Pacha in Ibiza, and toured the world performing solo shows from New York to Tokyo.

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