Drag performers reading children’s stories about diversity, a film screening with archival media footage marking the 30th anniversary of homosexual law reform, and a "Do It Yourself Baby-making" lecture are just some of the events at the inaugural Dunedin Pride Festival.
The festival programme was officially released yesterday, listing 17 public events to be held in the city from April 7-15.
The event, run by the Q-Squared Trust, aims to create an inclusive and affirming environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) communities in Dunedin and surrounding areas.
Festival co-ordinator and OUSA queer support co-ordinator Hahna Briggs said from art, poetry and literature, to picnics and drag story time, there was something for everyone.
Among the programme highlights is a panel of three writers — Mary Rillstone, Kyle Mewburn and Stevan Eldred-Grigg — who would discuss their writing and read from recent works on April 13.
There would also be a film screening, titled Thin End of the Wedge: Homosexual Law Reform in Aotearoa New Zealand, which would be screened on April 12 in the University of Otago Burns 2 lecture theatre.
She said it would mark the 30th anniversary of homosexual law reform in 2016, and included a collection of archival news and event footage, talkback, and comment from those involved at the time.
One event already creating interest, is the Do It Yourself Baby-making lecture by University of Canterbury College of Education, Health and Human Development senior lecturer Dr Nicola Surtees, on April 10.
It would discuss what happens when lesbians ask gay men to donate sperm and play a part in their children’s family networks, and would highlight some of the creative ways lesbians and gay men could navigate conceiving and raising children together.
