Mon 12 Sep 2016 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
Hamilton Pride week is in the thick of it, after a weekend of events and a fabulous launch party, the celebrations continue today. We chat to one of the key Pride team members about the festivities and the importance of celebrating the communities achievements. “Our Launch Party on Friday night kicked the week off with a fantastic line up of Art, dancing and live entertainment,” says Michael Bell, Secretary of Hamilton Pride Inc. “Miss Ribena hosted the night at the Meteor with her special ingredients of glamorous humour and nostalgic memories of the past 30yrs. Video greetings from people around the world wishing Hamilton Pride Week well were displayed in-between performances and at the end of the night our amazing Sambatron drummers led the audience up the hill to our After Party venue at Static Bar in Hood St.” He says this year’s Hamilton Pride Week Festival is jam-packed with a vast variety of fun, creative and educational events. The team has worked hard to make Pride Week events inclusive to all members of the rainbow communities, their whanau and friends and they hope to strengthen already positive relationships within the Hamilton community. “We are so lucky to have people in our community who have volunteered their time and dedicated themselves to coordinating amazing events that show visibility of groups, support, educate, and of course provide fun and relaxation,” says Bell. “We have everything on the menu from horse trekking, Glam Night, poetry slams, HIV awareness workshops and many more. Our official sponsor for the week is LYC.” This year our Pride Week 2016 theme is all about celebrating and acknowledging the achievements of the LGBT community over the last 30yrs, living in the present and gearing up for the future. “We have achieved so much however, there is still so much work to be done,” says Bell. “On Friday night it was fantastic to have so many people join in the nights festivities, especially our Rangatahi (youth) who will lead the way for the next thirty years of achievements, it’s exciting to think about,” says Bell. He notes that Pride Week is important because it dedicates a time in the community’s calendar to come together as a rainbow community, to celebrate and show support of who we are. “It is about socio-culturalism, it is about politics, but most of all it is about people.” - 12th September 2016