The All New Pride Professionals – The Pride Professional Alliance (PPA) has been meeting over the last year at the Brisbane Hotel. And now George Wilkinson and Allan Swinbank have taken over direction with the aim to get numbers up. As the Brisbane Hotel has not been conducive toward group meetings, the next meeting will be at Box Deli, 918 Hay St, Perth on Wednesday March 19 at 6:30pm. To go with the venue change, PPA is on the hunt for an exciting, dynamic new name. They’re wanting to embrace further individuals from the community, not just professionals. Any suggestions for a new name should be directed to George at georgeperth@hotmail.com with the winner receiving a CD pack donated by OUTinPerth.
Seeking ex-Sydneyside Lesbians – A research fellow undertaking a project at Macquarie University into the lesbian history of the Sydney area is seeking participants to provide an oral history of their stories and experiences. The research is looking at the history of lesbian lives in Sydney between 1918 and 1979 and the experiences of lesbians who moved to the Sydney area from abroad or elsewhere in Australia during this period. In particular, the researcher is interested in hearing from women who identify as lesbian or bisexual and lived in Sydney or NSW at any time before the 1980s. Anonymity can be guaranteed. For more information please contact Rebecca Jennings at rebecca.jennings@humn.mq.edu.au or on (02) 9850 7861.
National Archives Celebrates 30 Years – The Australian Lesbian & Gay Archives (ALGA) marks its 30th anniversary in 2008, and to celebrate the group marched in Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival’s Pride March alongside the Rainbow Network of queer youth groups. Together, ALGA and the Rainbow Network aim to encapsulate their joint intention that the next generation can learn from and build on the struggles of the past. ALGA is the only national lesbian and gay historical archive and is entirely volunteer run. In their 30th year, they are seeking to further promote the collection to the public and also receive public assistance in finding more space in which to house the collection. Visit www.alga.org.au for more information.
JOY Broadcasts Mardi Gras – With Sydney Mardi Gras celebrating 30 years on Saturday March 1, JOY 94.9 – Australia’s only lesbian and gay volunteer based community radio station – will slam home the super sweet sound of gay anthems galore along with a live broadcast of the parade. From midday EST, in conjunction with SameSame.com.au, JOY will count down the gayest songs of all time – that’s six hours of camp tunes, as voted by SameSame readers. Then, at 7pm, JOY broadcasts live from the Mardi Gras Parade, bringing all the glitz, glam and gossip of the celebration that stops the nation. Tune in to www.joy.org.au from 10am for all the mad magical music.
RTRFM Airs Queer Program – Community radio station RTRFM will air a queer program called Open Closet on Monday nights (or Tuesday mornings, depending on how you look at it) from midnight to 2am. Veteran radio personality Bobby Bowyer will host the program, which RTRFM has promised ‘will feature light entertainment, a light dig at society and all of its quirks and will include regular guests from the gay and lesbian community.’
