Miss Vinegar Hill Iria Pene will speak to help launch the parade Fine, calm weather has greeted glbti community volunteers as they prepare for two of the biggest events in the Wellington Pride festival, the parade and Out In The Park community day. Organiser Karen Harris is currently at Waitangi Park where upwards of fifty stalls are being set up, including food, retail and representatives of community organisations such as the NZ AIDS Foundation and glbti youth groups. Entertainment throughout the day will include bands such as Chocolate Box and Manthyng and MCs will include the Capital's drag legend Pollyfilla. The Park event kicks off at 11am and is preceded by a 10.30am walking parade from Frank Kitts Park which moves along the waterfront to Waitangi park. Speakers at the start of the parade will include Greens MP Jan Logie and the current Miss Vinegar Hill Iria Pene. The parade, which has received a small grant from the Thank You foundation to help cover costs, "is very home-made, very community-based" says Harris. Volunteers are arriving to decorate the route which, unlike Auckland's mega-Parade, does not require road closures. Youth groups, Amnesty International, drag kings and queens, politicians and a queer dance group will be part of the parade which will include people on bicycles and roller skates but is primarily a "walking and dancing" parade.
Credit: GayNZ.com daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 12th March 2016 - 8:26am