An inaugural festival, which will celebrate all things drag, will be happening in Beechworth in November.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Drag'd Out Beechworth festival to be held over the third weekend in November, will be inclusive of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual.
Festival committee president and former drag queen Andrew Madden said the celebration of diversity would bring together people from all walks of life and try to increase acceptance and awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community through the "magic" of drag.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"There's a sparkle of magic around drag that everyone loves from your grandparents right down to your little kids," he said.
"It's kind of magic what they do transforming a man into a female and doing it so glamorously ... it's like rainbows and unicorns, it's magical and fantastical and queer and odd and right and wrong both at the same time.
"Trashy and glamorous, it can be either and go from one to the other, it's just a great element of expression for people who are brave enough to do it."
The festival will host some of Australia's top drag performers for free and ticketed events, including Art Simone and Jojo Zaho, with a strong focus on youth inclusion.
Mr Madden said when planning the festival he learned that at least 24 students at Beechworth High School were part of the rainbow community.
"And that's not it the primary school also have kids who are questioning or just undecided," he said.
"What's beautiful is the parents in this community are embracing that, they're just saying to their kids 'you don't have to decide, don't put yourself in a box, just go with it'.
"It's part of the inspiration of having the youth component as well, the youth component is huge for the festival because they're so excited these kids, they can't wait and we're also not ticketing them, so under 16's can also come to all events for free."
For a full overview of the weekend's events and tickets head to the Drag'd Out Festival website or Facebook page.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark https://www.bordermail.com.au/
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News.