Fri 26 Jun 2015 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The dates for the 2016 Auckland Pride Festival have been announced and three new board members have been appointed to the organisation which puts on the annual celebration of glbti life. Kirsten Sibbit The 2016 Festival will run from February 5th to 28th with the Pride Parade and Proud party both being held on the 20th. "Auckland Pride Festival Incorporated is fully committed to creating a dynamic, fresh and innovative Festival which reflects the aspirations of our diverse and varied community and, therefore, will be calling for expressions of interest to deliver key Pride Festival events," information provided by Pride this evening says. "These details will be announced later this year." Shirley Allan, Kirsten Sibbit and Vinnie Sykes have been appointed to the Board after "a thorough selection" process. They join the current lineup of Phylesha Brown-Acton, Richard James, Paul Patton and Julie Swift. “I am delighted with the skill-sets, commitment Vinnie Sykes and enthusiasm of the new Board members, each of whom come from very diverse parts of our community," says Julie Swift, Acting Co-chair. "These new appointments will further strengthen the existing board." “I am eager to work with the Board and our LGBTIQ community to build on the success of the Auckland Pride Festival and make it an even more outstanding event." "It’s the intention of Auckland Pride Festival Incorporated to keep the community up-to-date with the organisation’s progress and [we] will provide regular updates and opportunities for engagement over the coming months,” says Swift. New Pride Board Member Bios: Shirley Allan comes from an events and freelance television background with a specialty focus in community development. She is really excited to work alongside the Board particularly in areas of governance, cultural and community engagement. Kirsten Sibbit is a UK-qualified lawyer and began life working in corporate law before moving into major event consultancy. She is passionate about events and the impact they can have on communities, and is keen to bring her knowledge of event strategy to the Board to support the development of a fantastic 2016 Pride Festival. Vinnie Sykes has an extensive background working with multi-national corporate organisations over the last 15 years. He has a desire to support all facets of the LGBTIQ community. Vinnie is particularly keen to ensure younger people within the community have a voice in the development of Pride 2016
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 26th June 2015 - 5:37pm