Forums

mardi gras parade 07.......share your thougths/experience

Page:   1 2 3
 
 

frogger
 
Joined in 2005
March 4, 2007, 02:11

I feel great. I loved the experience. The thing i loved the most… well two things.

1. I loved seeing the huge demographic of gay and lesbian people, who were not stereotypes, they were just normal people.

2. i loved marching with my friends who i have known since i was eleven and met at regents park christian school and also to march with our teacher from that school. A conservative christian school, which would have expelled us if they had learned of our sexuality, and possibly fired Iain doe his sexuality. And yet now teacher and student have stood united as gay christians, or people who supported that. I really felt that was a special moment for me…


i loved all the other floats too….. so amazing, arty, creative.. loved it


i felt a little disheartened that the torture group was in front of us. But, disheartened in a what the! kind of way….


Anthony kudos for everything you are doing

jannah

magsdee
Disabled
Joined in 2006
March 4, 2007, 05:44

[email protected] group……ive never seen Howard get so much lashing before… lol


IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! Having been a spectator lots of times, but this time actually doing the march(or wheeling in my case), is soooooooo very different….Very moving!!!!!!!!! It was great being with my bro’s and Sis’s in Christ D standing up for what we believe in……Its funny, tho I guess not surprising……I had no sense of my orientation if u can understand what I mean, I was just Mags a child of God walking with my friends for a cause to proclaim to anyone who would hear that we love God and God loves us and our sexuality is but a small aspect of who we are as PEOPLE,

Regardless of what anyone thought about our sexuality……….We were all just being the colourful and witty and interestingly diverse humans we all can be. 8)


The Floats were as colourful as EVER!!!!! D …… And Mr u know who’s lmao lol no it was not a DNA parade only lmao lol (just teasing wink )


Its gotta be better than the red carpet walk at the Grammys, dont ya reckon??????????? Its longer for one and soooooooo much fun D wink


A BIGGG Thankyou to Anthony and Phill for Freedom2b D anddd Hugs Phill for looking after me and pushing me around wink Ur a Champion. D xx


Whhats kudos? ? shock

ShadowBoxer
Moderator
Joined in 2005
March 4, 2007, 08:25

Well for those interested – here is a list of the entries in the parade last night


1. Chief of parade

2. We live mother earth – New Mardi Gras

3. Twenty 10 GLBT Youth support

4. Boys George

5. DNA Magazine

6. Isisters of the order of perpetual indulgence

7. Asian Marching Boys

8. Thai’d together

9 Universal defenders of the rainbow

10. They titty committe

11. Vintage Men inc Melbourne

12 SLAG’s Collective

13. Intesexuality – steph Tonner

14. Rainbow Babies and and Kids

15. NSW Police

16. NSW Rural Fire Service

17. ANZ Bank

18. Ambulance Service of NSW

19. Mature age gays

20/21. Community Resource Network Inc (Hottie Howard and Cool Kev)

22. Freedbon2b[e)

23. Dayenu Jewish Group

24. Krave Nightclub (Central Coast Night Club)

25. Cross campus Student float (Educational institutions)

26. Renny Roccon (one man entry)

27. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir

28. City of Sydney

29. Clover Moore MP

30. Gaydar sponsored marching Group

31. Byke Gang (anti warming and capitalism)

32. Shanky Moll Vickys

33. Stanford House

34. Stonewall and House of Priscilla

35. Triple M (shebang)

36. The rocky horror Picture show

37. Living Clean and sober (fun without drugs and alcohol)

38. Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service

39. Elise Womens Refuge.

40. Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby.

41.Rainbow Women Willma Womens Health Centre.

42. Ozfurs

43 Harbour City Bears

44. The Faroe Isanders.

45. Newtown Gym

46. Camp goodtime

47. Just a group of friends

48. The glamour trons

49. Sydney Leather Pride association

50. Neel, morly and Jon Lau

51. Filipino Gays in Melbounre

52. Victorian Firefighters.

53. The mixmasters

54. Australian Labor party

55. Highschoolers about Homophobia

56. IKEA

57. Jo Bellys simply Sensual

58. David Cochrane

59. ACON

60 Riverside High Girls school

61. Surf Life saving Australia

62. NSW Fire Brigades

63. Australian Federal Police Gay and Lesbian Liason Officers (180 officers!)

64. Canberra GLBTQ groups

65. PFLAG

66. National Centre of HIV Epidemeology and Clinical research

67. Rebellion.

68. Bitchz on Bikes

69. LBC – Lesbians dont hate men

70. Australian Raelians

71. Eclipse

72. National Breast Cancer foundation

73. The Ankali Project

74. Kirketon Road Centre

75. Fag Tag

76. Homotones

77. FGN Happy.

78. The wayside chapel

79. Bandits

80. Workers out (Union NSW)

81. a group of friends

82. MCC Churches Aus NZ

83. Theresa Kompara

84. Melbourne Mardi Gras

85. Peter Engall and friends

86. Rainbow Visions Hunter Valley.

87. Kylies.

88. Miss Wagga Wagga

89. Queer rights group – socialist alliance

90. Bring David Hicks home

91. amnesty International – GLBTQ Network

92. G&L;s supporting animal liberation

93. Darlinghurst Business Partnership

94. Melbourne Rainbow

95. Community action against Homophobia and Univeristy of western sydney Students Association

96. The big issue

97. The greens NSW

98. Anti discrimination Law supporters.

99. Sydney Anglicans

100. Acceptance. (GLBTQ Catholics)

101. Open Door Community of christ

102.Sweetings of the sea from little conwong.

103. Australian Democrats.

104. Japanese Beauty

105. IBM GLBT employee group

106. SX News

107. Sydney Convicts Rugby

108. Sydney Stingers.

109. The flying bats.

110. MArcia the switch bitch

111. Bi NSW

112. The western Divas

113. Cronulla Gay Group

114. Diversity Council Australia

115. Desire Benounet and the Hunz

116. The End !

ShadowBoxer
Moderator
Joined in 2005
March 4, 2007, 09:05

Guys – would be great for some of the first timers to write about what it felt like in the parade.

Did you find it affirming ?

Was it a positive experience ?


What would you say to others that have never been in the parade ?

What did you feel as you marched ?


Let us know !


Phill

frogger
 
Joined in 2005
March 4, 2007, 14:50

for someone who has neither attended or been in the mardi gras. It was a great experience. nice to know ppl give a rats…. affirming of who you are.

i think it is an integral part of the coming out process. i think all should do it atleast once. it made me realise just how normal we are, it reminded me. it was great

Anthony Venn-Brown
 
Joined in 2005
March 4, 2007, 17:55

We’d been standing for nearly three hours waiting for the parade to begin. The lanes of participants next to us began to move off indicating we were only minutes away from making history……….I looked around at our Freedom 2 b(e) group of 40 and began to cry. I thought of each individual and of their journey to bring them to the place where they were proud enough to march…..a journey of great struggle, pain and heartache. I knew the ones in that group that nearly didn’t make it…….the self-loathing took them to thoughts of killing themselves….some even attempted. Self-loathing created by a religion that falsely declares you are not acceptable to God as you are. You see……after telling my story, I live in the privileged position of knowing 1,000’s of people’s story as they email me or tell me personally. Their stories have touched my heart and they all came flooding back to me in that moment before we marched off.


I thought of the young people we have lost…..and I cried some more. And I knew that on the 3rd of March 2007 we were drawing a line in the sand…..from now on we will create something new for GLBTIQ people in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches…a safe space….a space of healing……and our visible presence in the parade shows the work has begun. As I looked around I saw that i was not the only one in our group crying……it seems it was a deeply emotional moment for us all. Possibly we were the only entry that began marching in tears last Saturday night. It wasn’t long though before the cheers of the crowds lifted our spirits.


And it was that precise moment and I wanted Rev. Fred Nile to be there right next to me to see that the Mardi Gras is not all about tits, bums or debauchery as he constantly condemns. It’s a moment when you break free of the evils of shame and fear that have kept you bound and finally love the person you were created to be. Jesus said, ‘you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free’. The truth is I’m GAY and that’s OK!


We did a good thing last night…….THANK YOU! 😀


I’m driven to make a difference so that all we have been through no longer is the expereinece for young gay guys and lesbians.

magsdee
Disabled
Joined in 2006
March 5, 2007, 01:39

To someone who has never marched in the mardi gras, I would say


If you have only ever been a spectator as I was once, marching is COMPLETELY different, whatever it appears to be on the outside is not what it is on the inside of it all….It is very affirming……Personally every bit of fear, hurt and “hiding” I put myself through was washed away….There are different expressions on everyones face watching but the majority are waving and smiling and just cheering you on, extremely up lifting. The atmosphere is electric idea


I almost died when Phill suggested he push me (in my chair) in the front, but I said nothing, in all honesty i just wanted to be on the side behind the banner somewhere, I found this very confronting especially seeing all those people, it was such a surreal rush…….If ever I was gonna be “out” i was out now. I found it touching seeing Anthony and Chris walk hand in hand for a short while, united in the love and acceptance of God almost as if representing the now open demonstration of acceptance as WE know it by God of us, putting to an end the misunderstanding and division. I know there is still a long way to go, but what a start. D


Once we started to walk, after a few paces, I saw the look on Anthonys face and the strong emotion behind his eyes, I identified with the look and thought, Im going to be strong, enjoy this, wave, smile, shout and sit tall with a purpose and a sense of breakthrough, Anthony and Phills dream had come to pass, here we are united in letting people know we are here and we are accepted and loved…As far as I knew we were making history….it was like a victory march…..we had All MADE IT…making the way for everyone else to see they too can make it.

Anthony Venn-Brown
 
Joined in 2005
March 6, 2007, 13:18

http://alifeofunlearning.blogspot.com/2007/03/divine-moment-in-mardi-gras-parade.html

Linda
Chapter Leader
Joined in 2006
March 6, 2007, 22:08

Linda and I were sooo thrilled to be a part of such an awesome experience. Not only being in Sydney for the Mardi Gras but even more so being in the parade. We not only met an amazing group of people but finally meeting Anthony and helping him realise a dream was an event we will remember with great fondness. The parade participants helped us to epitomise the grand plan of what we are really a part of. As Anthony would say “Our Tribe”!!!! Thankyou to everyone for welcoming us with friendship and warmth and also for our meals together which were a lovely time to get to know you all a little better. We would love to have an entry in next year’s Melbourne Pride, if at all possible. Hugs and kisses…Linda and Michelle 😀

Linda
Chapter Leader
Joined in 2006
March 6, 2007, 22:23

How bizarre this whole thing was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! me marching in the MG!!!!

1year ago I was still with my husband, still putting on a front that I was ‘happy”, still trying to be all ‘righteous” about a gay lifestyle being wrong and still acting as if that terrible event up in sydney were these gay people flaunt their sexuality was absolutely sinful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boy how things can change. Now I am with the woman of my dreams sincerely content, being dead honest about who I am as a person and now saying yes I am a “true gay woman” and proud of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you anthony for creating the platform of which we now can all jump off into a life that if anything is living true to ourselves.

Yes saturday night for me was a walk of honesty, a walk of letting go of shame, of guilt and saying, yes this is who I am!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you to all who helped in the organising and as Michelle has already said, thank you for the warm welcome. it was over all to quickly!!!!!!!!!!!!
Page:   1 2 3
 
WP Forum Server by ForumPress | LucidCrew
Version: 99.9; Page loaded in: 0.098 seconds.