On this episode of The Informer we head to Sydney as they kick off the anniversary of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for 2018, celebrating their 40th anniversary.

What the 2-week festival is now to the NSW LGBTIQ communities and to Australia is something very different to what it was back in 1978, with the festival moving from protest, to pride.

This year Mardi Gras theme is 40 years of evolution and the informer was at Mardi Gras family friendly community day yesterday, Fair Day in Victoria Park, to speak to the communities about what Mardi Gras means to them.

We speak to some of the 78ers as we look back on how a celebration that turned into protest marked an era of change for celebrating pride in Australia.

We head to the Bear Tree and find out about NSW inclusive bear community, truly creating a diverse environment for everyone, and we will find out what JOY has in store for their special Mardi Gras broadcast as we celebrate 40 years over 4 days.

Listen to the segment on the Joy Media website (duration: 26:23 — 18.1MB).

This episode was hosted by Lara Dickinson on JOY 94.9 on 19th February 2018.