Parramatta to picnic with pride

The Parramatta Pride picnic, the biggest annual event for Western Sydney’s GLBT community, is set to take place again next month.

Organisers expect a crowd of more than 500 people at this year’s picnic, which will be held in Parramatta Park on Sunday, September 26.

ACON’s Western Sydney liaison officer Matt Vaughan said the picnic was an opportunity for GLBT locals and their friends and families to get together and have fun, while finding out about the services and social options available in the area.

“The Parramatta Pride picnic provides an opportunity to meet other people and their families, make new friends and most importantly just have a really fun day out in the middle of Parramatta,” Vaughan said.

“There’ll also be information stalls with people from organisations which provide services for the GLBT community in western Sydney, and visitors will be able to talk to workers from each organisation as well as find out more about local support and social groups.”

There will be kid-friendly activities like storytelling, face-painting and kite-making, Vaughan said.

More mature picnickers can expect to hear chilled relaxing music while munching on  food they bring themselves or buy on the day.

“The Western Suburbs Haven will be there again this year, cooking the barbeque for those people who don’t want to bring a picnic basket. All money from the barbeque goes back to that organisation which supports people with HIV in western Sydney,” Vaughan said.

The Pride picnic is presented by the Parramatta City Council in partnership with the Parramatta Queer Forum — a group of GLBT community organisations including ACON, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Western Suburbs Haven, and the Cumberland Women’s Health Centre.

Vaughan said events like the Pride picnic had a wider importance in giving people a sense that they were part of a community in their local area.

“GLBT and HIV positive people living in the western Sydney region can often experience a sense of social isolation and a lack of attachment to the broader GLBT community and this can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing,” he said.

info: Parramatta Pride Picnic is at Parramatta Park, Site 23, Sunday, September 26, 11am-4pm