Auckland's Pride '09 Festival starts next week – featuring many returning Hero Festival events and lots of new additions! Here's all the info... WELCOME TO PRIDE '09! After many years of hard work, the Hero Festival team lost a few key people in 2008 and found itself unable to produce a whole Festival in 2009. The Hero committee gave their blessing for a new group to take over, made up of event organisers and interested volunteers. They decided to carry on the good February LGBT Festival tradition, but call it Pride '09 – similar Pride LGBT Festivals take place in Hamilton and Christchurch, while Wellington's festival is named Proud. The Pride '09 crew will officially kick off this year's festivities with a launch party from 6pm on Sunday 1 February upstairs at the Naval and Family pub (cnr K' Rd and Pitt Sts). All are welcome to meet the Pride crew and learn about the exciting month of events and activities in store. Please RSVP to pride09@aeonz.co.nz. RETURNING HERO EVENTS! Several Pride '09 events are well-known and popular Hero Festival stalwarts – and it's great to have them back. Now in its ninth year, Big Gay Out in Pt. Chev's Coyle Park is back and bigger than ever on Sunday 8 February! With free non-stop entertainment on the main stage from Midday until 7pm, more music tents, more community stalls and delicious food, New Zealand's biggest outdoor LGBT event is unmissable... so slap on your sunscreen and fill your picnic basket with goodies! GayNZ.com is again the online home of the Big Gay Out, so click here for the latest BGO news, stage entertainment line-up, map and guide to getting involved. And don't forget – if you have the energy after your gay day in the park – this year's Big Gay Out Recovery Party is at Family bar from 7pm until Midnight. LGBT support network OUTLine's popular tennis tournament evening will return on Friday 20 February. The event will be a fun evening of social tennis in a round robin format with changing partners. There will be a BBQ providing great food to keep up energy levels and a cash bar for refreshing drinks. Get in quick as spaces are limited. Registration costs $20 - for enquiries and bookings, please email promotions@outlinenz.comor phone 309 3268. The tournament starts at 6pm at West End Tennis Club, Fife Street, Cox's Bay, Westmere. Time to Wig Out! The Wigs on the Waterfront day of drag shows at the Viaduct Basin is also returning, with organizers proud to announce this year's event will raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation. Family bar's hostess Miss Ribena, and well-known drag 'sisters' Buffy evening of music and entertainment in Henderson's Falls Park from 4-10pm on Saturday 28 February. The musical line up is strong with a definite lesbian flavour - The Muse, Edwina and Marilyn, Paua Fritters, Razor and a special tribute to Mahinarangi Tocker. Anne Spier is MCing the evening – injecting her wonderful sense of humour throughout. Tickets are $15 waged, $10 unwaged. Light Fingered is a contemporary art exhibition by PULSE: Lesbian Art Collective - including Miriam Saphira, Dorina Jotti, Fran Marno, Sue Vincent, Beth Hudson and Rachael Collier-Wilson. "Our artworks offer adroit and nimble female fingers," they say. "We have spotted fingering frogs and feline-esque females. We have the stealing of souls….and the legacy of the Paris salons. We have the post-modern ironic 'lesbian' movements of the 21st century and twist them to fit our belief in a necessary lesbian future." It's on from 10-21 February at the Satellite Gallery, corner St. Benedicts St visit www.buffyandbimbo.com for more details. CLUBBING: Sohomo nights out every second Thursday from 10pm at 373 K' Road feature live acts, an eclectic mixture of DJ's, and different themed stuff each time! 5 February's Sohomo features a Where Is Homo? film screening from 9pm.This popular alternative clubbing night features some of the best-dressed partygoers you'll see in Auckland. TALENT: Kings PRIDE '09! There's even more events we could mention - new ones are being confirmed almost on a daily basis… so we'll keep you up-to-date with the latest news on developing events in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check our official Pride '09 events schedule on the link below and look out for GayNZ.com's free glossy GIG GUIDE at LGBT venues around NZ for our day-by-day listings of events thoughout February and beyond. Here's to an action-packed festival - get out there and enjoy! Matt Akersten - 28th January 2009