Fair Day 2004 bigger and better

Lubed-up sliders, dressed-up dogs and just about everyone else in the gay and lesbian community turned up en masse for Sunday’s fair day.

More than 75,000 people took over Victoria Park for the whole day, dancing, drinking and celebrating at one of the Mardi Gras season’s best-loved events.

This one just gets bigger each year, New Mardi Gras co-chair Steph Sands said.

It’s a day for the whole community to come together and a perfect opportunity to catch up with old faces.

Doggywood -” the dog show famous for once being won by a chicken -” was a favourite. A dog adopted from the Sydney Dog’s Home on Sunday morning won the Miss Puppy Award, and the costume of choice for Nicko, winner of the Best Dressed Dog award, was a pair of shorts adorned with rainbow-coloured sequins.

New arrivals to this year’s fair day included an Ansell lube slide, which saw some game punters heading face first down a lubed plastic sheet, getting points for length of slide and creativity.

Another innovation was the inaugural award for Fair Day’s Most Fabulous, won by Diamond Solitaire in a creation inspired by the Metamorphosis logo for this year’s Mardi Gras.

On the main stage Jenny Morris performed some of her better known hits and Mark Trevorrow introduced music from his new album, minus the Bob Downe costume.

New Mardi Gras raised money through bar sales.

The organisation managed to secure extended trading hours, which saw some diehards still in the park after sunset.

Last year’s fair day was a much smaller event due to an anti-war demonstration and afternoon rain.