Thousands of people gathered at Marine Parade throughout the day to take in the sights and sounds of the free Pride in the Park event — held for the first time since 2019 — part the annual Winter Pride event.
This year’s community celebration included live DJs, drag queens, a doggy drag show — judged by Queenstown Lakes Mayor Glyn Lewers — food stalls and all the good vibes.
Winter Pride co-director Sam Coulthard said the eight-hour event was "very, very well attended".
It enabled the rainbow community to come together and celebrate in public, with their families, friends and other allies, and provided a safe place for those who might not be out yet, or might be struggling to find acceptance, he said.
Because it was a free event, it also removed any barriers for those who were also financially stressed.
Winter Pride action this week includes today’s scheduled Pride Colour Run, at The Remarkables ski area, a drag show dinner featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under season 1 winner Kita Mean with her queens Rita Menu and Tess Tickle at Public Kitchen & Bar on Thursday and a bikini parade at Cardrona Alpine Resort on Friday before The Kita & Anita Show, featuring Kita Mean and Anita Wigl’it, named "Miss Congeniality" in the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under and Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World, at SkyCity that night.
The festival, now in its 21st year, officially finishes on Sunday.
