In this January edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have:
- A reminder of First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting – 3pm, Saturday 30 January by Zoom
- Sallie Colechin on arrangements for Parade 2021 – Saturday 6 March
- Barry Charles on First Mardi Gras Inc. Membership
- Details of our outdoor Social Lunch – 12pm, Saturday 13 February
- Britt Kissun, Barry Charles and Karl Zlotkowski on our 78ers Pawfect Dog Picnic – 11am-3pm, Saturday 20 February
- A link to register for the Meet the 78ers forum with the SGLMG 78ers Committee – 4pm, Sunday 21 February, by Zoom
- Diane Minnis on our Salon78 Forum: Why did Mardi Gras Move to Summer? – 4pm, Sunday 28 February, by Zoom
- Calendar of Events.
Diane Minnis
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The SGLMG 78er Committee continues to meet regularly and we are excited about the continuing announcements from SGLMG regarding our COVID-safe parade for 2021 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. SGLMG continues to be on top of all the current COVID standards to ensure safety for our community during our celebrations. It’s up to all of us to ensure we follow ALL guidelines consistently.
You should by now have received two emails from the SGLMG 78er Committee about registering for the Parade as well as ordering a t-shirt if you don’t already have one – like those shown in the photo above. Please click the link in the email to register ASAP, if you haven’t already. Note that t-shirt orders close at the end of January.
It’ll be great to experience the parade in a different way, and it ensures our presence is still visible after 43 years of our ‘Mardi Gras’. We will proudly walk in the parade around the ground, behind our First Nations People, before moving off into our allocated seating area in a stand. If you have ordered tickets for viewing, then Ticketek will issue them to you just prior to the day. COVID registration may be required on the day for those not already registered for seating.
Please note that this year the Parade will be starting at 6pm and NOT 7.15pm as we do in Oxford Street. We are currently negotiating as late as possible an assembly time for us, and have been assured that there will be 40 chairs for us (in the shade) for the waiting time. There will be places to purchase drinks/food at the Sydney Cricket Ground after we march in the Parade.
As discussed previously, our float in the 2021 Parade will celebrate the Fifty Years of Visibility of our community with a strong salute to those pioneers amongst us who stood proudly pre-1978. If you can assist in getting signs ready for the Parade, reply to this email and we will let you know when we plan to work on the signs in the SGLMG Workshop.
Our new Committee had a very productive meeting last month, and we continue to stand up for the rights of ALL 78ers. If you have something you want us to discuss at the meeting then please let us know by responding to this email newsletter.
If you have not yet registered to march in the Parade this year, check your emails or click this email link: Reminder for 78ers: How to join the 2021 Mardi Gras Parade.
Lastly, please stay safe all, physically and mentally, in these trying times. Happy Mardi Gras!
Sallie Colechin
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. member
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It’s Mardi Gras season again!
Though there are fewer opportunities to celebrate this year, 78ers will be participating in the Parade and promoting the pioneers of the gay and lesbian rights movement in Australia (50 Years of Visibility).
First Mardi Gras Inc. has a dog picnic and social lunch planned (see this newsletter) and we will have more Salon78 Forums on Zoom. We do need funds to pursue these and other events throughout the year.
As you are reading this newsletter, please consider renewing or becoming a financial member of First Mardi Gras Inc. to help us maintain our connections and presence in the community.
Membership is open to 78ers and Associate Membership to other supporters. Here is a link to our membership forms.
Barry Charles
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Secretary
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Join us for a Social Lunch on Saturday 13 February, 2021 at 12 noon in the outdoor area of the Terminus Hotel, 61 Harris St Pyrmont. RSVP to: info@78ers.org.au.
There is a light rail stop with lift access in John Street Square and the 389 bus runs from Park St near Town Hall and stops across the road from the hotel. |
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Can’t get your Fair Day fix this year? Come along to our 78ers Pawfect Dog Picnic!
Wear your 78ers t-shirt, bring your dog, your partner and friends or just yourself and catch up with old friends and other 78ers. A small scale outdoor event is possible under current COVID restrictions. Please bring your masks and practice physical distancing.
Location: Hawthorne Dog Park, near Café Bones.
Date: 11am-3pm, Saturday, 20 February 2021.
Featuring:
- Photos with Celebrity Dalmatians Tassie, Jax and Ralf: Thanks to Steve Wiggins. $5 donation to First Mardi Gras Inc. – cash only.
- Dog Games: Get your dogs running together and chasing balls or in a size-matched tug-o-war.
- A Dog Show: Dress up your best friend and be judged on your good taste.
- Picnic Games: Friendly contests between 78ers and other attendees. We recommend masks and will provide hand sanitiser and latex gloves where needed for the games – Bocce and Throw the Backpack.
- Raffle: Prizes include books, wine and dog treats. $5 for 3 tickets – cash only. Drawn after the Dog Show.
What is there and what to bring:
Ample shade trees and grassed area. Doggy facilities include drinking stations and the park is gated and fenced to allow your companions, human or animal, to run free.
Bring your picnic lunch or Café Bones serves a variety of snacks, light meals, coffees and other drinks.
There is some seating, but you could bring a picnic chair or an umbrella if it is hot. The area is wheelchair accessible from Hawthorne Light Rail.
How to get there:
The Hawthorne Dog Park is located near Hawthorne Canal, between Darley Road, Leichhardt and Hawthorne Parade, Haberfield. Access the area from City West Link. Parking is available in Canal Road.
It is adjacent to the Hawthorne Light Rail Stop – 25 mins from Central.
Register:
Please register on Eventbrite so we can plan for numbers. Registration is free: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/78ers-picnic-in-the-park-tickets-137227375775
Britt Kissun, Barry Charles and Karl Zlotkowski
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member and Committee Members
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Sunday, 21 February 2021, 4-5pm AED
Hear from our pioneers. The original 1978 Mardi Gras marchers share their stories via Zoom as part of the 2021 Mardi Gras Festival.
Learn more about the origins of Mardi Gras, the arrests on the night of 24 June 1978, and what happened next, from those who were there.
Members of the SGLMG 78ers Committee will talk about their experiences of the first Mardi Gras and the protests that followed. All are welcome to join this event via the Zoom link.
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This Salon78 follows on from our forums in late 2020: Fifty Years of Visibility – Pioneers and Connections before 1978, where the emerging commercial gay and lesbian scene was noted.
After the third successful Mardi Gras parade in June 1980, it was decided to move the Parade to summer, instead of having it on the Stonewall uprising anniversary.
The then Mardi Gras Committee held community consultations and activists were fairly evenly split between the move to summer and the Parade staying in June. Discussion included the possible impact of the commercial gay and lesbian scene on the Parade.
Then, forty years ago in 1981, the parade was shifted to February, with the name changed to the Sydney Gay Mardi Gras. In this Salon78: Why did Mardi Gras Move to Summer? Community vs Commercial Scene, we will explore:
- arguments for and against the move to summer – was it just about the weather?
- tensions between activists, bar owners and the wider gay and lesbian scene
- social and political aspirations of ‘ordinary’ gay men and lesbians on the street
- gender and class tensions, and the face-off between ‘fun’ and ‘politics'
- how the move changed the Sydney gay and lesbian scene and led to the evolution of Mardi Gras.
Date: 4pm, Sunday 28 February, by Zoom.
Register: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/why-did-mardi-gras-move-to-summer-tickets-138720269059.
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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Calendar of Events
- Coming out in the 70s: Early Gay and Lesbian Activism in Australia Exhibition at the State Library – Saturday 28 November 2020 to 16 May 2021
- First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting – 3pm, Saturday 30 January 2021 by Zoom
- First Mardi Gras Inc. Social Lunch – 12noon, 13 February 2021, Terminus Hotel, 61 Harris St Pyrmont (outdoors)
- 78ers Pawfect Dog Picnic – 11am-3pm, Saturday 20 February, Hawthorne Dog Park near Café Bones
- Meet the 78ers with the SGLMG 78ers Committee – 4pm, Sunday 21 February 2021, by Zoom
- Salon78 Forum: Why did Mardi Gras Move to Summer? – 4pm, Sunday 28 February, by Zoom
- MG Parade – Saturday 6 March 2021, Sydney Cricket Ground.
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