Big changes for Pridefest 2013

Organisers of Perth’s premier LGBTI festival, Pridefest, have made major changes to its line-up for this year’s three week event.

The annual Pride Fairday used to be held at the start of the month-long festival, while the night-time parade through Northbridge would wrap it up.

One of the new events is Pride, held on Saturday November 2, starting with a parade from noon and finishing up at the regular Fairday location at Russell Square where a fully-licensed outdoor music festival will run until 9pm.

The new Fairday will be held almost three months later on Sunday, February 16 at its former home at Hyde Park.

In a statement, organisers said splitting the tradition Fairday event would enable them to improve both events and appeal to a broader range of the community.

The Fairday will still have areas for groups and families to picnic and peruse local stalls.

The festival will still have its closing night parties on Saturday, November 23 despite the parade’s new time slot, with parties usually held at Connections Nightclub, The Court Hotel and another venue hosting a women-only party.

Pride WA will not be holding its Pride Ball event and will be presenting its community awards, the ‘Glammies’, at the Pridefest launch.

Pride WA co-president Michelle Rigg said the changes were part of the first overhaul of Pride events in more than 20 years.

“A major re-vamp of PRIDE events is long overdue,” Rigg said.

“Our community has changed incredibly from PRIDE’s early days fighting for gay and lesbian rights in WA, and it is time Pride adapted to reflect the changed needs and aspirations of our community.

Pride WA co-president Daniel Smith said the changes were part of a long-term plan.

“Pride WA’s vision is to create an organisation that stages a world-class program of events and provides services that reflect the needs of the Pride community,” he said.

“As we implement these changes, we will also be performing a major community consultation and strategic review process, to identify Pride’s role into the future and create a sustainable organisational structure and funding model.”

Smith said the new event program was also designed to deliver greater benefits to Northbridge businesses.

This year’s festival will run from Saturday,November 2 until Saturday, November 23.