The Rechabite has been transformed into the Pride Palace for this year’s PrideFEST celebrations.
The entire venue will be a sparkling hub for all things Pride throughout November, with a fantastic range of queer events, performances, art and a very special collaboration with Dykes on Bikes WA – Dyke Bar!
The Northbridge venue has been home to Pride events for many years, notably as the home of the Rave Relief after-party fundraiser, but this year is the very first time the team have put together a dedicated program for the festival.
We caught up with the program’s creators, Live Performance Program Manager Cléo Schurrer and Live Music and Club Program Manager Kiera Owen to find out more about what went into curating this exciting, diverse program, and give us a sneak peek into the Dyke Bar den.
“We really wanted to put on a dedicated program for 2024,” Cléo tells us.
“It’s an issue close to both of our hearts, as we’re both queer women, it just absolutely made sense to add a bit more and collaborate with Pride WA, as well as Dykes on Bikes.”
Dyke Bar is an inclusive space for members of the lesbian, bisexual, trans, non-binary, queer and all allied women-identifying communities. Taking over the basement of The Rechabite, the team have set out to cultivate a vibrant centre for connection, celebration and empowerment.
“Having a space like this is just really special and allows us to connect with a bit more of the community at large,” Kiera explains.
“There’s so many different kinds of queer people and activities and events that are happening. A lot of these events are happening already, so it’s about bringing it all into one central space, so people can connect with each other and see what’s already going on across Perth.”
“It’s quite an iconic feeling to to be collaborating with Dykes on Bikes on this. They really historically have have set the bar for for what it means to celebrate being lesbian or queer females. It’s about celebrating history and just getting that cross-over of generational experience and knowledge.”
Cléo adds that the Dykes on Bikes have been on the ground with the team, working to create a completely new space with some special surprises.
“I won’t give away too much you have to come see it!
“There will be some strong contributions from Dykes on Bikes WA with the the decor and the fit out of the bar so it’s not just any space, it’s going to be a whole new configuration and a whole new setup.”
Complementing the inaugural Dyke Bar, the Pride Palace program is stacked with a selection of Australian premieres and exciting events carefully plucked from across the breadth of the queer arts scene.
Highlights include Ephemera, a unique cabaret variety performance showcasing the graduate fashion collections of designer Angelene Lee and designer/drag artist Maven, Bebe Babow’s Doja Cat X Nicki Minaj Party with Kween Kong, a showcase of local talent with Drag King Pride, and Burly Jam with Ruby Slippers, an amateur burlesque competition with the winners decided by your cheers and applause.
“Burly Jam is my little baby and I absolutely love that I’ve been given carte blanche to do this,” Cléo says.
The idea for Burly Jam came from a passion to cultivate new spaces for rising stars of burlesque to test their skills and rack up some on-stage experience, in the vein of Drag Factory and Dragathon for local drag artists.
“To me, burlesque is drag’s queer femme counterpart and if you look at the history of burlesque, it really is interwoven with queer women’s history. It’s an absolute protest and a riot and a revolution.
“We’ll have an amateur competition and a professional competition where up-and-coming as well as established performers can hone the craft and have a competition in a bit of an informal environment. I’m really exciting about Burly Jam!”
Another cornerstone event of the burly jam-packed program is Delicious. Coming to the Dyke Bar, Delicious is a First Nations and POC-led celebration of queer femme DJs and Dancers.
“That has been curated and produced by Lulkbudia, who is half of 2 LUBLY,” Kiera says.
“So it’s gonna be a really special night of DJs and dancers and it’s also free entry!”
Delicious will feature the talents of DJs Agapantha, Bariyini, Boderan, NAFTA, Oniike and CC Tepper, with dancer Dolly Ex Oh and more to be announced.
Extending beyond the Pride Parade on 24 November, where The Rechabite after-party is getting gorge with RuPaul’s Drag Race all star Gottmik, the Pride Palace party is still pumping until 30 November. Wrapping up the celebrations will be a six hour Grumble Boogie, with the one and only Betty Grumble.
“Having Betty Grumble is exciting and special! Her work that brings together a variety of performance, but really it’s about participation and rejuvenation,” Kiera adds.
“You’ll do a little boogie, you’ll do some aerobics and it’s just it’s such a fantastic community spirited event.”
There’s just so many ways to dance, connect and celebrate at the Pride Palace, and the team tell us they want people to feel celebrated no matter what your queer identity is!
Dyke Bar launches on Friday 15 November, and Pride Palace will be celebrating until Saturday 30 November. Check out the full program at therechabite.com.au
