Blue Mountains LGBTIQ group Pink Mountains will host its first annual community picnic this weekend, with the Pink Mountains Picnic at Blackheath Soldiers Memorial Park.
The picnic, which will run from 11.30am to 3.30pm on Saturday, January 21, is billed as an event to celebrate summer and the diversity of the burgeoning local LGBTIQ community.
Designed as a smaller, local version of similar events in Sydney, such as the Parramatta Pride Picnic, the Pink Mountains Picnic will be a modest but spirited affair.
“For our first Pink Mountains Picnic, we’re keeping it quite casual and DIY,” said Pink Mountains co-convenor Tiphanee Athans.
“It’s BYO everything and we’re inviting people to just turn up, bring your friends, kids and pets, and have a fun day out with your community in our beautiful Mountains environment.”
Ms Athans issued a special welcome for ‘rainbow families’ to attend.
“Kids are very welcome, and there’s play equipment in the park for different ages. The Blackheath Pool is located in the park and will be open if people want to swim.”
Fellow Pink Mountains co-convenor Kevin Hardwick said the event was a natural progression for Pink Mountains, which started out in 2005, mainly as a website to publicise local LGBTIQ events.
“It’s been really satisfying to see Pink Mountains grow from being a website informing people of local activities and resources, to a group holding its own events,” he said.
Mr Hardwick said he and his partner Glen Williams had seen a massive growth in the local LGBTIQ community since moving here from Sydney more than 40 years ago.
“When we first arrived, we felt a bit like the ‘only gays in the village’. Now we have a huge community of people from the whole LGBTIQ spectrum.”
The Pink Mountains Picnic comes at a time of change and growth for Pink Mountains. Ms Athans and Mount Victoria local Jonathan Llewellyn were recently appointed new co-convenors alongside Mr Hardwick, who has been involved in the organisation since the beginning.
Former co-convenor Peter Hackney recently stepped down from the position but remains on the Pink Mountains advisory committee, which he established late last year to help guide the organisation’s growth and direction.
Mr Hackney remains coordinator of popular local LGBTIQ film club and social event, Alphabet Soup Cinema.
For more information on the Pink Mountains Picnic or the organisation itself, visit the Pink Mountains website: www.pinkmountains.com.au.
