Saddle up, cowboys

NICK BOND
www.bnews.net.au

Speaking to Gary Hayward, one of the organisers of the three-day Spring Migration festival in Yackandandah, I have to plead ignorance -“ like a good number of inner city Melbourne homos, I have absolutely no idea where Yackandandah is.

We’re 15 minutes from Beechworth, comes his patient explanation. Yackandandah’s location is actually quite central, with Beechworth, Albury, Wodonga and Mount Buffalo all a short drive from the quiet town of 750 residents.

Hayward and his partner, Andy Stevens, have run the festival since its inception four years ago. They own a Buddhist craft shop with the cheeky title of A Bears Old Wears on the Yackandandah main street.

Funnily enough, the original impetus for Spring Migration was the universally panned Paul Hogan/Michael Caton film Strange Bedfellows. Filmed in Yackandandah, the gay-themed flick (an Aussie predecessor to I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry) planted the seed in Hayward and Stevens’s brains that perhaps gay life didn’t have to be far removed from country life.

This year, the festival has something of an unusual drawcard in attendance: Tibetan monks.

They will blow everyone away. It’s going to be a world first for the gay community, Hayward said.

We asked the monks if they would have a problem with doing this for gay people, and they said no, because we’re all sentient beings.

Probably not the sort of response, I venture, you would’ve gotten if you’d asked the Pope to drop by.

Oh yeah! I think it’s because there’s no judgmental side of Buddhism against people, there’s no targeting of gay people. But the Yackandandah Anglican Church is doing a special service on Sunday for our gay visitors, so for a little country town we’re getting a lot of the community on board.

Encouragingly, Gary and Andy have enjoyed a warm response from the locals at Yackandandah -“ the town is perfectly happy to go gay for one weekend a year.

Our sponsors this year are just about all of town. Last year we got about two and a half thousand attendees. This year we’re looking to top that record, he said.

This year, the mayor of the district will even be on hand to officially open the festival.

The fun starts on Friday 5 September, with a morning meditation session providing a gentle start to the festivities before a lively launch party on Friday evening gives visitors a chance to break the ice and meet their fellow revellers.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Anita Beer, Aïda and her dancers, and DJs 2 Eleni & Gazbear will provide the entertainment at the party.

Events over the weekend include an art show, winery tour and dinners. And on Sunday we have the big Who’s Your Daddy? Father’s Day market, which’ll be huge, Hayward said.

Who’s Your Daddy? Father’s Day market? Oh dear -¦ country folk have pretty twisted senses of humour, huh?

He laughed. Yeah, it’s a bit of fun.

The main event of the weekend -“ and one which will no doubt have the cafes in Yackandandah’s main street preparing massive stocks of hair of the dog in preparation for the following morning -“ is a huge party on Saturday night at the Yack Hall.

All are encouraged to dress in their best cowboy/cowgirl attire.

Everyone loves a cowboy, Hayward explained. Amen to that.

info: Spring Migration is on 5, 6 and 7 September. Details: www.springmigration.com.au.