For more than 30 years, Marc Highett has been a bright, familiar and beloved face in Northbridge.
As one of the longest-standing staff members at The Moon Café and a pillar of the LGBTQI+ community, Marc has welcomed generations of late-night diners with kindness, humour, and his signature sparkle.
This weekend Marc will be taking part in the Pride Parade for the 37th time, but after the disco music stops, and the glitter is swept away, he’s going to need some help.
Marc’s impact on our community reaches far beyond the walls of The Moon, he’s one of the pioneers of LGBTIQA+ pride in Western Australia.
In October 1989, when being openly gay carried real fear and consequences, Marc was one of the original 300 people who marched to the steps of the Western Australian Parliament, calling for the end of discriminatory laws targeting gay men and called for the passing of the Law Reform Bill.
That historic protest became the seed that grew into Perth’s first Pride Parade, and Marc has marched every single year since.
For 35 years, you could count on Marc, marching at Pride, decorating The Moon Cafe, and giving everything he had to celebrate his community’s visibility, resilience and joy.
He is, quite literally, part of Western Australia’s LGBTQI+ history.
A Tough Diagnosis
Last month, after weeks of feeling unwell and undergoing numerous hospital tests, Marc received difficult news:
He has been diagnosed with cancer.
As a self-described “tough old bitch”, in true Marc style, he has refused to let this diagnosis dim Pride Month. For the 37th time, Marc will march in the parade and soak up November, his favourite month of the year.
Treatment will begin in December, right after Pride.
Why his Moon Cafe family are asking for help
Marc is a proud, independent man who would never ask for support himself.
With most of his family interstate, no car, and only a small support network, we are coming together to help him through the months ahead. Treatment and recovery will bring new pressures, physical, emotional and financial.
His friends and colleagues hope to raise funds for transport to and from hospital, groceries and meal deliveries, rent and utilities, medical and recovery expenses and day-to-day living costs while he undergoes treatment.
Marc has spent decades uplifting others, often quietly, without fanfare. Now, it’s our turn to show up for him.
If you can contribute, no matter how small, it will make a meaningful difference.
Head to the GoFundMe Page.
