TAMWORTH Pride members have been spending hours making sequined vests since being invited to have their very own float in the Sydney WorldPride Mardi Gras parade.
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"It's a massive honour for Sydney to get WorldPride, but for Tamworth as a regional centre to manage to get a float, it's a massive honour," group member Leoni Allwell said.
The opportunity came at the perfect time for Tamworth Pride, as the committee is getting "stronger and stronger", Ms Allwell said.
"We're having a lot more events out in the community that Tamworth Pride are arranging," she said.
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Ms Allwell joined the group when her daughter came out as trans. As a parent, she wanted to be involved in her daughter's world.
"It's really important for the younger ones coming up behind to see that to be part of the rainbow community is fine," she said.
Growing up in the country music capital, Ms Allwell said there wasn't much LGBTQI+ visibility.
"Tamworth has come along in leaps and bounds, just in the four years I've been involved," she said.
Tamworth Pride Inc. was brought together to fight the isolation people may feel in rural communities, secretary Will Weller said.
"We wanted to be able to bring social events and allow people to get out and socialise and find safe places that they can be themselves and be authentic the way that they are," he said.
The invite to the parade will take the visibility of the group to another level, he expects.
"I think it's going to show them that we're here," he said.
"That we are active in our community, and that even because we are just a part of a rural community doesn't mean that we can't be part of such a big event like Mardi Gras.
"It is possible to do that."
The Tamworth themed float, number 67, lifts off during the parade in Oxford Street, Sydney at 8:30pm on Saturday, February 25.
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Eva Baxter
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
