Fridae

The new Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras board has announced that the official title of the parade would be the 2003 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade, dropping the words "gay and lesbian" in the title which has been use since its inception 25 years ago.

The old Mardi Gras was placed in receivership earlier this year after posting losses of more than US$275,000. The new coalition comprising the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON), the Sydney Pride Centre, the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby and Queer saved the world's largest gay event when took over the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in a last-minute deal in late September.

The new board is convinced that "after 25 years the parade speaks for itself." They explain in their email news bulletin as follows:

We decided to call the parade the 2003 Sydney Mardi Gras Parade because we felt that after 25 years the parade speaks for itself. Every entry tells a story that is about our lives, opinions and desires. People watching the parade and participating in other events know that Mardi Gras is put on by and for the gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and queer community. That is why people across the world so often just use the shorthand Mardi Gras.

This was not an easy decision. In the past Mardi Gras has used the words gay and lesbian in the title as a strategy to increase visibility. We will ensure that in our own publications we state very clearly that Mardi Gras events in 2003 are about celebrating 25 years of identify and diversity in the gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and queer communities. And we have every intention of ensuring that Mardi Gras is 2003 keeps our lives and our issues on the agenda.

This decision applies to the other events we are running as well - the official titles will be the 2003 Sydney Mardi Gras Fair Day, 2003 Sydney Mardi Gras Festival and 2003 Sydney Mardi Gras Party.

New Mardi Gras can of course only made this decision with respect to the 2003 events. Issues such as the long term name of Mardi Gras and the official names of Mardi Gras events will be decided through the community consultation process currently underway. The next Mardi Gras Board will need to make its own decisions about what the events ought to be called. If you would like to have input on the future constitution and priorities of the organisation please respond to the papers at www.mardigras.org.au/constitution or email us at constitution@mardigras.org.au"

---

March First

The Parade Working Group have finalised the parade entrants kit. To get a copy log on to our website at www.mardigras.org.au/parade. Parade entries need to come back to us by 31 January.

The Erskineville workshop should be open from early January for groups and individuals who need space and materials to build their entries. We are looking for ways to provide people with expertise and assistance to help you realise your dream and we will also need volunteers able to help out in the workshop.

A Day at the Fair

The Fair Day working group have just called for stalls for next year's event. Details are on the website at www.mardigras.org.au/fairday. Earlybird registrations close 7 January and standard bookings close 31 January. We will also be looking for entertainers to be part of the fun and we are looking at ways to make a fair day as interactive as we can. If you have a creative idea please get in touch.

Party

Planning for next year's party is well underway. It will be held at Fox Studios on 1 March next year. Lots of Sydney's top DJs have offered their services free of charge and we have put out a call for up and coming DJs to send us a demo tape.

Ticket prices have been set at $95 for full price and $53.50 concession. We have worked hard to keep prices under $100 to give party goers the best value we can.

Initially tickets will be available on a selected release to members of SGLMG and people who have volunteered and made contact with New Mardi Gras. We will be reserving four tickets for each person. People will be able to get their tickets using a password that we will send off as soon as it is available.

We have also decided to adopt an extended concessions policy with a total of 1000 tickets being available to people with health care cards, seniors cards or full time students.

Tickets go on sale in the next few weeks. We were expecting to be on sale this weekend but we have been slightly delayed while finalise the insurance cover we need to sign the contracts. You will be the first to know as soon as we are on sale.

For those people who have already bought tickets from the former organisation, we will be honouring them. Just bring your ticket with you on the night.

If you want to know more about the party take a look at www.mardigras.org.au/party

---

Finances

We have been getting a lot of questions about the financial situation of New Mardi Gras and whether we will be able to raise sufficient funds to put on the Season in 2003.

While our financial position is clearly tight we have every confidence that we will be able to deliver on our plans. We have already signed Gaydar as a corporate partner and discussions are progressing well with others. The Board has been keeping a close eye on our finances since the beginning and being particularly sure not to commit the organisation to expenses that we may not be able to meet in the future. For those who are interested our Business Plan is now available on the website at www.mardigras.org.au/aboutus.

We have been grateful for the support we have received from individuals and businesses. Fundraising efforts are continuing with a focus on securing the funds for the parade. We estimate that we need $200,000 to secure the event next year. If you are able to make a donation you can download a donation form from our website at www.mardigras.org.au/fundraising. The AIDS Trust are continuing to run a Mardi Gras Fund and donations $2.00 and over are tax deductible.

Keep in Touch

We have set up two e-lists to keep in regular contact about what is happening in New Mardi Gras and how people can get involved.

This bulletin is coming to you on our news list. We would encourage to forward this on to other you think may be interested and to encourage them to subscribe themselves to the list.

We have also established a volunteer list where we will be posting opportunities to get involved and specific areas where we need people, time and skills. If you have expressed interest in volunteering you will be automatically subscribed to this list. If you haven't yet said that you are interested please subscribe to the volunteers list too.

Instructions on how to join both lists are at - www.mardigras.org.au/emaillists.htm

Festival

The first glance of the 2003 Festival was included with the Sydney Star Observer last week and so far includes thirty events over a three week period. The 2003 Festival is a collection of events run by arts organisations and community groups. We are extremely pleased to be able to work in partnership with so many other organisations.

An official guide will hit the streets in late January and for those not in Sydney we are working to make sure that all the information get to you.

Key Dates in December

12 December, 9pm - Stonewall Staff Show with proceeds to New Mardi Gras.

19 December, 8pm - Asian Marching Boys Fundraiser. 20% of door takings to New Mardi Gras. Midnight Shift.