General News
7 November, 2022
Maryborough Pride Fest set to be a success with new funding
Central Goldfields Shire’s inaugural Pride Festival will wave its flag higher after securing a grant from the State Government. As part of the Pride Events and Festivals Fund, Maryborough’s event was awarded a grant worth $7650 — making it one...
Central Goldfields Shire’s inaugural Pride Festival will wave its flag higher after securing a grant from the State Government.
As part of the Pride Events and Festivals Fund, Maryborough’s event was awarded a grant worth $7650 — making it one of 32 recipients from across the state.
About $220,000 in funding will be shared between all events to support the LGBTIQ+ community, with half of those events taking place in regional and rural areas.
“It’s amazing to get the funding. It’s a very worthwhile cause,” co-organiser and Mill House chair Adrian Masterman-Smith said.
“I had some seed funding from the council, which got it underway, and meant that we’ve got enough money to deliver, it might not be the biggest show in town, but it will be there.
“Now, this additional funding means that we can deliver up to a really good standard.”
The grant will be used to fulfill various logistical requirements such as tents, sound and lighting systems, food and entertainment.
“The money will be used for putting on the whole show for the community. Pride is a free event but there are a lot of invisibles that suddenly become visible and need to be paid for,” Mr Masterman-Smith said.
“It’s about making sure you have the bins, the ambulance, all the foundational stuff. Those things have a boring little price tag that you just have to pay. But it’s key to the festival.
“We also want to have a couple of artists performing. And it’s not fair for creative people to constantly be giving their talent away. So we must pay them something.”
Aside from the grant, Mr Masterman-Smith said the community’s reaction in the build-up to the event was also a win.
“I’m very, very pleased with the response from the locals, it has been sensational,” he said.
“With Pride, you never quite know the level of response that you’re going to get or if it’s actually going to be a genuine response.
“As far as Ballarat, Bendigo and Castlemaine, I have been drawing on the resources of the queer community there to get people to come in.”
For Mr Masterman-Smith, the event is about family, friends and colleagues — and the grant means more people can attend.
“It’s about that extended network of people around you, who make life worth living. It was important that we reached out to the whole community which we can now,” he said.
“Lots of really good stuff should come from this.”
The 2023 Pride Festival set to be held on January 28, is currently looking for volunteers to get involved in the event — who can do so by contacting Adrian Masterman-Smith on 0433 111 068.