Christchurch's drag matriarch Miss Mole says she's excited - and a little nervous - to announce she'll open a new gay-friendly bar in the heart of The Garden City from early next month. A new playground for Miss Mole Miss Mole's Flamingo Bar will be situated in the Civic Complex in Manchester Street. "We've got the whole right-hand side," explains Mole. "But it's not a very big bar - it only caters for about 150 people. But that's how we like it." Mole says she's had a new DJ booth and bar installed, and is in the process of "doing the place up camp." DJ Danice and DJ Steve will be the resident disc-spinners - "two of the best DJ's in the city, which I've managed to scoop up," the frisky-frocked star says. "It'll be a fun place. We're aiming for a big cross-section of the community, rather than just the gay scene. It's not exclusively gay - we're hoping to get a mixture of people." It's 27 years since her last bar - Miss Mole's Hideaway - closed, but she's been keeping busy in the Christchurch LGBT community ever since, organising the popular annual Oscars Awards, and appearing on stages in gay venues and events around New Zealand. Miss Mole's new bar will be walking distance to Christchurch's other gay venues, and with the opening hours set as just 9pm until 1am on Friday and Saturday only, she hopes to capture a mid-evening drinking crowd which might then go on to the city's other gay hotspots as the night progresses. Opening with a party on Friday 8 February, Mole reveals she's got a large programme of events lined up, with different activities every week. "We're doing retro night, back to school night, Drag Idol, a beach party, 60's night, Mr Spunky Hunk, a talent quest, camp karaoke, fashion parades, cabaret nights… it just goes on and on and on," she enthuses. "We'll be doing lots of fundraising, too. Giveaways galore. And every third Friday will be women's only night."