For many of us, this year might be the second or third time we’ve attended Pride; for others, it could be the twenty-second.
But for a lot of the visitors at the Freedom Centre, this year will mark the first time they’ve ever attended the Pride festival, and so at FC we’re just about bouncing off the walls with excitement! We’ve planned plenty of awesome activities for the young people of Freedom Centre, but we’ve also got plenty on that the rest of the community can enjoy as well.
Once again the centre will be opening its doors to the community for the annual FC Open Day on the 29th October, during which we’ll be exhibiting new artworks in the exSIGHT art space.
Right now, we’re taking submissions for the exhibition, so if you’re under 26 and a painter, illustrator, photographer, yarnbomber or general masterpiece-creator, submit your work to Freedom Centre at info@freedom.org.au, or you can drop it off at our centre when we’re next open.
Freedom Centre will also be at Fairday on the 8th of October, so look out for our friendly faces and come by to say hello, have a chat and play a game of Twister! Visitors from Freedom Centre will also be lighting up the stage to take part in Stars of the Future – a talent show for LGBTIQQ young people supported by the WA AIDS Council, Freedom Centre and Pride. We’re still taking registrations to participate, so if you’re keen to get involved email Freedom Centre at info@freedom.org.au!
Lastly, we’ll be running the ‘Freedom & Pride in Parenting’ panel on Thursday the 10th of November from 6 until 8PM, where we’ve invited LGBTIQ parents to come and share their experiences of Pride and parenting with young people. All young people under 26 are welcome on the night to ask LGBTIQ parents about different ways of starting a family and learning about their experiences!
So with all these events on for this year’s Pride Festival, hopefully you’re bouncing off the walls with excitement too! And of course, you can read about our upcoming events, drop-in sessions, news and more on FC Yeah, Freedom Centre’s micro-blog which can be found at http://fcyeah.tumblr.com.
Alexis Bartz
Freedom Centre Peer Educator, WAAC
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