Mardi Gras honours volunteers and participants
MARDI Gras volunteers and participants converged at The Beresford in Sydney last night to celebrate the 2014 season with the annual Mardi Gras Awards night.
The night started with thank you drinks for the Mardi Gras volunteers, with Trudy Sumner taking out the main award of Volunteer of the Year (pictured, with board members).
The night then continued with Fair Day, Festival and Parade awards, including the inaugural Ron Austin Award for Most Fabulous Parade Entry, which went to the Tina and her Turners float. The award was named in honour of Austin’s role as one of the pioneers of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Live performances by Matthew Mitcham giving a ukelele rendition of Lorde’s Royals plus another by Jag-B featuring Gemma Wood rounded out an evening that celebrated the passion, creativity and dedication of the many people and organisations who made this year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2014 a success.
(Main image credit: Ann-Marie Calilhanna)
Full list of award winners:
WORKFORCE AWARDS
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATION: MARDI GRAS PARTY CREATIVE TEAM
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SERVICE: MITCHELL PRICE
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEAMWORK: MARDI GRAS MEDICAL TEAM
I-CARE AWARD: GABBY CANETTE
AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN LEADERSHIP: SAM HARTLAND
ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS: JOHN KININJJEW, CRAIG MAROUN, ANGELA SINNETT, IGNATIUS JONES
VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: TRUDY SUMNER
FAIR DAY AWARDS
BEST FAIR DAY COMMERCIAL STALL: DIGITAL CAMERA WAREHOUSE
BEST FAIR DAY COMMUNITY STALL: INSPIRE FOUNDATION
BEST FAIR DAY YOUTH STALL: WEAR IT PURPLE
FAIR DAY STALL OF THE YEAR: MUSCLE MEALS DIRECT
FUNDRAISING PERSON OF THE YEAR: BLAYKE FISHER
FESTIVAL AWARDS
BEST COMMUNITY EVENT: MAKE PLAY WORKSHOPS BY OBJECT AUSTRALIAN DESIGN CENTRE
BEST VISUAL ARTS EVENT: TOY WITH ME BY RICHARD HEDGER
BEST PERFORMING ARTS EVENT: A BOY AND A BEAN BY NICK ATKINS
FESTIVAL EVENT OF THE YEAR: DAY FOR NIGHT BY PERFORMANCE SPACE
BEST WINDOW DISPLAY: GARB BY CRAIG CRAIG
PARADE
BEST PARADE CHOREOGRAPHY: DR MARK’S MARCHING ACADEMY
BEST PARADE COSTUME DESIGN: THAI’D TOGETHER
BEST PARADE FLOAT DESIGN: SEA OF LOVE BY HOT KANDI
BEST PARADE INDIVIDUAL ENTRANT: EXTERMINATE HOMOPHOBIA BY KATHY SANT AND JENNY MANN
RON AUSTIN AWARD FOR FABULOUS PARADE ENTRY: TINA AND HER TURNERS
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS
LIZ DODS
STEPH SANDS
KEVIN ‘KABI’ RIGBY
RON MUNCASTER
JANE BECKER
IGNATIUS JONES
SPECIAL PARADE COMMENDATION AWARDS
BOBBY GOLDSMITH FOUNDATION – CELEBRATING 30 YEARS
SYDNEY NURSES – RPA HOSPITAL
COFFS COAST – MARDI GRAS
WE CARE – ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS MEDICINE – CANNABIS SUPPORTING THE LGBTQI COMMUNITY FOR OVER 40 YEARS
MACQUARIE GRAMMAR SCHOOL – HOLD ON TO YOUR HEARTS
WEAR IT PURPLE