Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras launches for 2017 with one message, create equality!
The two-week program of events in February 2017 will feature exhibitions, music and theatre is an all-inclusive, all-singing, all-dancing celebration of Australia’s LGBTQI community.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO, Terese Casu said, "'Creating Equality' is a philosophy that goes to the very heart of our organisation. Our festival resonates around the world, as we welcome LGBTQI visitors and friends from all over Australia and every corner of the globe."
New Creative Director Greg Clarke enthused, “With over 80 events in store, Mardi Gras is going to be one amazing celebration. We’ve got some incredible new events including Koori Gras @ 107 a festival within the festival where people have the opportunity to discover the history of First People’s involvement in Mardi Gras.
The Adman: Warhol before pop exhibition as well as huge international and local comedians alike come together for the Mardi Gras Comedy Festival. Of course all the old favourites are back. Fair Day will return with tens of thousands of people coming together for a day in the sun.
With over 12,000 party-goers from around the city, across Australia and all over the world the official Mardi Gras Party is our festival’s unmissable extravaganza. The jewel in the crown of Mardi Gras, the Parade, will take place on Saturday 4 March and offer a chance for over 200,000 LGBTQI people and their supporters to come together and celebrate the community,” said Clarke.
MARDI GRAS 2017 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Fair Day Festival favourite for all the family, Fair Day is your one stop shop for feathers and faux leather, mojitos and live performance, what’s not to love? On Sunday 19 February, 2017, Fair Day will host 80,000 smiling faces enjoying a free fun filled day out with kindred spirits, including those doggie divas of course.Pool Party. So risqué, but boy it pays to be gay at Pool Party! As electric beats waft over the crystal clear waters of an exclusive CBD rooftop pool, let a Long Island cool you off as budgie smugglers raise the heat.
Parade. The wrong side of 30 but classier than ever, The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is 39 and ready to shine. Oxford Street, Sydney’s original gay and lesbian district welcomes over 200,000 spectators young and old for a street parade to rival Rio and top Trinidad.
Parade Viewing. Watch on like a VIP at Parade Sideshow and Diamond Club. At Parade Sideshow you can feed your inner mean girl with sassy chat and controversial conversations from show stopping hosts. This elevated arena truly is the best vantage point as you gaze upon the revelers below. Diamonds really are a girl’s best friend, with live big screens, private facilities, exclusive access only bars, food stalls and primo seating Diamond Club will have you feeling like a real Oxford Street Blue Blood.
Party. Post parade, it’s The Official Mardi Gras Party. Raise the roof with over 12,000 ticket holders at Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter. This Party is a stomper and not for any shrinking violets, with a red hot line-up of performers, local and international DJ’s.
Laneway. Not filled your dance quota? Laneway is the only way to say Au Revoir to Mardi Gras 2017.
A Sydney institution that began with some milk crates and a boom box, this party is intimate and the best way to round off a mammoth Mardi Gras Festival. This one is a sell out event every year, so don’t dawdle, get your tickets while you can.
Koori Gras @ 107 is New addition to the program – it's a week-long festival all of its own, and a look at the First People’s of Mardi Gras. From a special exhibition providing a truly breathtaking glimpse into the shared stories and history for First People’s gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, Sista girl, brothaboy, inter-sexed and queer community to a special one off cabaret night packed with black drag performers and DJ’s.
Throughout the week Black Point will invite strangers to sit, connect with one another before becoming the backdrop for a communal “feed” and open mic night on Saturday 25 February. Koori Gras @ 107 is produced by Moogahlin Performing Arts in association with 107 Projects, Intimate Spectacle and Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Mardi Gras Comedy Festival It’s gags and giggles galore with the the festival kicking off with the Mardi Gras Comedy Gala featuring an array of local and international queer and queer friendly comedy talent including America's most famous Tupperware Lady, the gorgeous Dixie Longate.
Then across various Sydney venues, sides will be split with a line-up of International stars such as Ireland’s First Lady Panti Bliss, and Inside Amy Schumer’s raw and riotous Bridget Everett. Home-grown laugh merchants Em Rusciano, Joel Creasey, and Rhys Nicholson join in on the fun ready to charm crowds with witty banter and audacious anecdotes.
Performing Arts. Lesbian folk pop superstars Bluehouse, Hussy Hicks and the unbelievably talented Christie Lee are all performing at Girrlz with Guitarz. Strumming strings and breaking hearts are what these ladies do best, so get your sing-a-long game face on and rock out like a champ Friday, 3 March at Leadbelly, Newtown.
Celebrating Dame Shirley turning 80, Diamonds Are For Trevor is the most fabulous two-act show and tour of Shirley’s life complete with flash and frequent diva tantrums. Multi-award winning cabaret darling Trevor Ashley performs hit after hit, accompanied by a stunning 24 piece orchestra. Big jewels, big hair, big lungs and an even bigger attitude. Cabaret The Musical, will awaken your inner Sally Bowles! This new Australian revival of the 1972 cult classic has all the high kicks and hair flicks you can handle. This production has attitude for days, but isn’t around for long so get your tickets quick mein heir before they all go too-da-loo!
In Difference by Craig Bary and his exceptional artistic team express the debate surrounding marriage equality through graceful yet powerful choreography with glimmers of passionate and tender narrative. In short a fascinating look at the human psyche and the pursuit for connection. Visual Arts, Film and Design A visionary and an icon, Adman: Warhol before Pop takes us back in time, pre-pop, pre-mad men. Adman is a rare opportunity to encounter the formative years of one of the world’s most influential artists, providing deeper insight into the making of an icon, but hold on there’s more.
Queer Art After Hours is a free pop-up at the Art Gallery of NSW, celebrating Warhol and Mardi Gras with some of the most outrageous and ostentatious performers in town. Knitting is for nanas, crocheting is so on fleek. Chili Philly: Crochet Social, the brain child of Melbourne-based artist Phil Ferguson. Now insta-famous because of his wearable art, Ferguson’s hot dogs could soon be on the catwalks of Milan darlings.
The adults only ‘Cocktails and Crochet’ night lets enthusiasts mingle and talk patterns, while kiddies workshops will see even little ones dip their toe in the dark arts of crocheting. For queer cinephiles, Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival is your excuse to ditch the gym and grab that jumbo bucket of popcorn. Whether you love a good tear jerker, or laughing so hard your tinder date bounces before the credits roll, this year’s programme is a homage to all things rom-coms, drama, and thrillers. A platform for all members of the LGBTQI tribe, My People | My Tribe #barenakedtruth is an amazing community art project that endeavours to create a platform where LGBTQI community member’s secrets, vulnerabilities and ambitions are laid bare. An initiative inspired by the quote “you can’t hate someone whose story you know”, the project aims to tell the personal stories of LGBTQI people through stunning portraiture.
Parties OMG Yes! & I Remember House are back. YES! is described as IRH’s younger sister, and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! IRH is the original hot bed of electric house beats and one of Sydney’s best known day dance parties. Both soirées are held at the Ivy Complex and will play host to local and international DJ’s. These parties pack a massive Mardi Gras punch so if you bruise like a peach best be careful possum. Papa Party, the world famous gay party that rocks cities to within an inch of their speedos is in Sydney. Growing a rep for itself as one of the coolest leather and fetish parties around, Extra Dirty is not only for the seasoned pros but for all those who fancy some fun.
Community Events. If Oxford Street took human form she would be called Oxtravaganza. This colourful community event will be broadcast by Mardi Gras partners Gay Radio and BBR, and is full of free events, localised art happenings, street stalls and even a window dressing competition. Let local musicians serenade you as you rub shoulders with drag royalty perusing the wares of Sydney’s LGBTQI subcultures in the historic gay precinct.
Marrickville we hope you like a handful, because Welcome to Breastiville is coming to town. A celebration of LBQ women, with photo booths and complimentary mammograms and dashings of live music from bands Bluehouse and That Red Head.
Sports & Outdoor Events. An Evening with Greg Louganis & Other Sporting Greats will have you brimming with sporting admiration. Having been the subject of two books and three docos, Greg sits down for a candid chat on his life as an Olympian and the thrills and spills he encountered as a LGBT sports super star.
The most stylish run in Sydney, the Little Black Dress Run, takes over Centennial Parklands on Sunday 26 February 2017. Rock your frock for the 3km run/walk in the name of charity. The event has become a 'must-do' for the Mardi Gras season, so frock up and stretch out those hamstrings and strap on those heels.
More information on the 2017 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras website.
