She was born and raised in Tamworth, and will host the city's first official Mardi Gras viewing party at the cinema.

"I am so excited ... to be a bit of a success story for other LGBT kids, to show things do get better and you can do things," she told the Leader.

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Tamworth is one of just a couple of regional areas to win a grant to help throw a big, colourful and safe viewing "party" on March 6 for Mardi Gras.

The Sydney event will be streamed live at Forum 6 Cinemas Tamworth on the night, but with a few welcome interruptions for drag queen trivia and special guest speakers and performances.

"There is the level of acceptance now and visibility that has given us enough traction to start something that can hopefully lead to something more," Miss Riley said.

"Times are changing and people that don't agree will become the minority."

Tamworth's Jody Ekert was "excited" when she found out the city had won the money.

"We hope to have as many people along as we can, both LGBT community and family, friends, supporters, the whole town can come and see the spectacle of Mardi Gras on the big screen," she said.

Updates, ticket information and support can be found on the Facebook event.

Miss Riley said a "fabulous" Mardi Gras for her would be being surrounded by people staying true to their authentic selves.

"If they want to overdress, they can overdress, if they want to wear crazy makeup they can wear crazy make up, as long as it's appropriate and safe for the group we're working with, there is really no limit," she said.

"You're not going to look better than me but you'll probably look fairly decent," she laughed.