Allies and members of the Mid North Coast LGBTQIA+ community are preparing to march in their own float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade this weekend.
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It's the first time the Mid North Coast has had a float in the parade since 2004.
"And that was the first time 20 years ago," organiser Rackas Robinson said.
"Because there's a lot more people who are out in the community now and there's a lot more events that have been happening, we thought we'd combine everything."
Rackas, founder of Out, Loud & Proud Port Macquarie and Victor Van Der Mer, one of the founders of Rainbow Coffs Harbour, started talking about entering a float in the annual parade a year ago and soon entered an Expression of Interest (EOI) to have a Mid North Coast float.
The float became a way of not just uniting different generations within the queer community but also different towns.
"There's so many of us and we don't join because there's young queer people and there's the older people who prefer not to go out," Rackas said.
"So we thought this could be an opportunity where we could.
"And we don't join towns that normally see each other so from the [Facebook] page, we've had a lot of people who were interested."
Over the past few weeks, volunteers from Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, Kempsey, Port Macquarie and Taree have been busy creating the float and costumes.
"Eighty per cent of participants are marching for the first time too," Rackas said.
"And the whole process of this has brought people together.
"So many people have met because they've been helping with this, helping with that."
Bent in Bellingen, the Mid North Coast Lesbian Community and the Manning Great Lakes Rainbow Network are some of the organisations that have been involved in the float as well as individual members of the community.
A range of people from different towns and villages will be travelled to Sydney to represent the Mid North Coast with children from Rainbow Families to people who marched in the first Mardi Gras in 1978.
From Akubra Hats to Angel Wings
Breaking the 20 year drought of having a Mid North Coast float in the parade has been a daunting task for volunteers.
Reaching older generations who don't have internet has had to be achieved through other organisations and services like ACON Northern Rivers promoting the float to them.
Limits on the number of people who can march, restrictions on mobility and travel expenses means not everyone who is helping make the float will be attending.
In the past few weeks, volunteers have been working tirelessly to prepare.
The last time a group from the Macleay and Hastings region participated in the Marid Gras parade was in 2004 with an giant Akubra hat as their float.
Since then, other members of the community have marched in the parade but this will be the first time in 20 years that a float represented the Mid North Coast community has attended.
With this year's theme of 'Our Future', the Mid North Coast float will reflect their vision for a better future.
Six people bearing wings will walk alongside the participants, acting as protectors to their community, inspired by the Angel Action founded from the death of Matthew Shepard.
"There are so many of our groups around and still that pocket of the community that hates everything about us and comes to protest our events," Rackas said.
"The angel wings are to shelter our community because we know there's a lot of hate.
"So the six of us are going to be flanking it and if there are protesters, we will be turning [to shield]."
In 2022, a queer prom organised for LGBTQIA+ youth and allies was disrupted by protesters.
Rackas said it was important for the Mid North Coast to be represented at Mardi Gras.
Growing up in a regional community in New Zealand, she understands the impact it can have.
"When I came out, there was no representation so that brings a lot of mental health issues especially for kids growing up seeing the protesters, seeing the negativity... and you just think you're wrong," she said.
The lack of education and representation is partly why she created Out, Loud and Proud Port Macquarie with the event available for not just queer people to help educated and create acceptance.
"If you don't see something all the time, you go, 'That's weird', (when) it should be normal," she said.
"It comes back to that every time; visibility and acceptance. Because I think those go hand in hand."
The angelic Mid North Coast float, listed as float number 49, will make its debut at approximately 8.14pm on Saturday, March 2.
Emily Walker
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
