While one party has been cancelled, there are still plenty of options for people wishing to continue the Auckland Pride Parade party well into the night. K' Rd's Family Bar will be open till late with drag shows and DJs. The Box in Aotea Square, rebranded XOX Pride for the Auckland Pride Festival, will have a Parade after-party with Pasifika Drummers from 10pm. Up the road, K' Rd bear institution Urge will hold its final-ever Saturday night, as it's closing next Friday. "It is happening after the Auckland Pride Parade so already we are expecting big crowds from locals and out-of-towners," says co-owner Alan Granville. "It's going to be a very emotional night but we want to celebrate, not commiserate, the end of Urge." Lick's Zibung has been touring with Ruby Rose and is planning a girls mini-festival type event in Bali for the end of the year. Women's night Lick is being held at new venue, Goldfinch at the Viaduct, from 10pm. Organiser Natalie Zibung says it's definitely the place to be after the parade for women. "We actually have two new venues, we launched at Orleans, Britomart in January which will be our regular venue, but for this one in February as it's our biggest party every year we've had to get a bigger venue, so we've landed Goldfinch on the waterfront for Auckland Pride," she says. "Lick is going super strong in Auckland and I'm looking to launch another event different to Lick. Watch this space," she adds. The Swagger hip hop party has been cancelled due to its organisers losing their booking. "We did try to find another venue, but at such a late stage we weren't able to," they say, but promise the event will be back.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 21st February 2015 - 9:49am