The Pride WA Fairday is again set to be a highlight of the Fringe World festival on Sunday 7 February, with more than 4,000 patrons expected to make the event one of the festival’s best attended.
For more than 20 years, Pride Fairday has been one of Western Australia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer community’s favourite days of the year, and was a joint winner of the award for best community event at the 2014 Fringe World festival.
Featuring live performances, pop-up entertainment and loads of arts, culture and community stalls, set in the beautiful Hyde Park environment, Pride WA President Andrew Barker said a feature of this year’s event would be a renewed focus on the quality of entertainment.
“Fairday will feature something for everybody and there will never be a dull moment,” says Barker. “This year, we are focusing on putting a little more ‘camp’ into the entertainment, as well as having less talk and more music on stage.”
Hosted by Swish Eveready, the Fairday line-up features DJs, drag queens, burlesque, cabaret and hip-hop, with face-painting and an acoustic performance or two thrown into the mix including Nat Ripepi, Brass Monkey, Voodoo Lounge, Cougar Morrison, Lee Williams, Aurora Galore, the Gay and Lesbian Singers, Wanderlust, Perth Drag Queens, and DJ’s Curlee and Roski.
Fairday is an event for people of all ages, and we have lots of activities for the kids and the young at heart, alike including roving entertainers, face painting, as well as the Imagination Faeries. The popular dog show returns featuring competition categories: Most Dramatic (best dressed) and Best Strut (for the dogs who know how to work it).
Pride Senior Vice President Michelle Rogers said the event would be an event for people of all ages and backgrounds. “One of the things people love about Fairday is that it is an inclusive event, where everybody feels comfortable,” said Rogers.
“A key part of this is being a family friendly event. This year, we will have a giant treasure chest with activities for kids inside, with a highlight being face painting with the fairies. We are also changing the layout this year, to better integrate stalls with the rest of the event, so that everyone can enjoy the entertainment and atmosphere.”
Fairday takes place on Sunday 7 February 2016 from 11.00am. Bring your own picnic lunch, or grab a bite from one of the pop-up vendors. Alcohol will not be on sale, but you can BYO if you drink responsibly. Entry is $5 general admission and free for Pride WA members and children under 16.
For more information, visit: www.pridewa.com.au for details.
Image: Stalls at Fairday – courtesy of Pride WA