Pride March party in Peel St
Pride March Victoria is seeking approval from Yarra City Council to block off Peel St in December for a GLBTI community street fair.
Yarra Councillor Dale Smedley last weekend passed a motion, seconded by Mayor Jane Garrett, for a partial closure of Peel St between Wellington and Smith Sts.
Pride March Victoria president Brett Hayhoe said the Peel Street Pride Fair would be a fundraiser for Pride March Victoria and would not compete with other events like Midsumma Carnival.
鈥淚t came about as a result of Yarra City Council鈥檚 desires to attract functions for the LGBT community, recognising the diversity of Yarra,鈥� Hayhoe told Southern Star Observer.
鈥淭he current [Pride March] board has also had a keen interest in doing something on the northside.
鈥淚t will add another dimension to Pride March.鈥�
Hayhoe stressed the event would not replace the St Kilda Pride event held annually at the start of the year during the Midsumma Festival.
鈥淚t will be very much a rainbow family event, along the same lines as Pride March, in that it鈥檚 an all-of-community event,鈥� Hayhoe said.
A December date and the type of festivities are yet to be decided, however, a King and Queen of Pride competition will be held as well as a fundraising auction at the Peel Hotel.
Pride March Victoria has applied for $15,000 of council funding to get the Peel Street Pride Fair off the ground and Yarra Council is set to deliver a feasibility study at the September 21 council meeting for final approval.
Hayhoe said the annual Pride March Bake-Off fundraiser would still go ahead later in the year.
In related news, Yarra Council has also approved $10,000 of the 2010/2011 budget to be spent on a GLBTI monument in the municipality.
A further $10,000 has been committed to the project by Peel Hotel owner Tom McFeely.
Although a decision has not yet been made on the monument鈥檚 location, Smedley said a new park being created by Yarra Council on the corner of Peel and Oxford Sts would make a 鈥済ood space鈥� for the monument.
Yarra Council has also committed $20,000 funding towards the restoration of a public art mural on the former Collingwood TAFE site by gay US artist Keith Haring and $2000 to expand GLBTI library materials in Yarra libraries.
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