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Posted by: | Posted on: December 20, 2023

OUTintheOPEN Festival 2024 wants YOU!

OUTintheOPEN Festival is looking for YOU!

This year our Festival team is looking for enthusiastic people to join us for the 6 – 10 November OUTintheOPEN Festival 13 year celebration!

The following positions will join our Festival Committee / Volunteer Team:

Committee – Festival Convenor (1)

Committee – Carnival Day Coordinator (1)

Committee – Artistic & Creative Director (1)

Committee – Secretary & Admin. Support (1)

Committee – Volunteer Coordinator/Recruitment (1)

Committee – Entertainment Coordinator (1)

Committee – Media, Marketing & Communications Coordinator (1)

PLUS

Festival Volunteers (20) inc. Carnival Day Stage Manager & Assistants, Festival Artistic & Creative Assistants, General Festival/Event Volunteers.

Click here to apply. Applications close 29 February 2024.

Please contact us for a ‘position description’ – we look forward to hearing from you!

Find us on Facebook @ facebook.com/OUTintheOPENFestival


Posted by: | Posted on: November 9, 2023

Tell us! How’re you enjoying the 2023 Festival?

We want your feedback. Please take our short survey here.

Posted by: | Posted on: November 7, 2023

Download and view our Official Festival Guide for 2023…


…or grab a hard copy from supportive venues around Greater Shepparton!

Posted by: | Posted on: November 6, 2023

Media Release | OUTintheOPEN Festival 2023 ready to sparkle proudly this November

“These are the days of our lives” sets the theme for this year’s OUTintheOPEN Festival highlighting both positive and negative interactions that the LGBTIQA+ community are faced with every day. Inspired by the Queen song of the same name, “These are the days of our lives” is a chance to reflect on what’s been, what’s now, and what’s to come, good or bad … all with the reminder to do it with love. This year we OUTintheOPEN is celebrating 12 years over 10 days.

Join us from the 10th – 19th November for a variety of diverse festival events, gatherings and experiences. Our main event, Carnival Day, is back in the Queens Gardens on Saturday November 18th, hosted by the fabulous Frock Hudson. Free for all of community to experience, Carnival Day includes market stalls to grab some pride merch, local inclusive organisations and businesses, activities for all ages, food trucks and our onsite, immersive Our Queer History Museum. Carnival Day also boasts an all-day line-up of live music from LGBTIQA+ artists and we are thrilled that Bec Sandridge will be headlining.

With 20+ events we are excited to invite you to ‘mask up’ in style this year for our opening night event, Masquerade at the Museum. Held on level four of our prestigious Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) overlooking the beautiful Victoria Park Lake at sunset, the event is sure to surprise and excite this year’s festival goers with entertainment, networking, and celebrations.

The Q+ Hub Pride Pop-Up brings an immersive mix of queer art, and will be part of Fryers Street Food Festival from 11am – 11pm on the corner of Edward/Corio Streets. Grab a drink and wander into our queer oasis, take in some sweet beats from our line-up of queer DJ’s, watch the mural artist at work, catch some queer cinema, a pop up performance, check out our dance party “Disco Queer” wander through our queer exhibitions, decorate yourself at our Glitter station and leave a message for the queer community of Shepparton.

We are also excited to have GLOBE Victoria coming to host a networking event at Eves Bar and Café to bring local LGBTIQA+ businesses and working professionals together from across the Goulburn Valley region. Other Festival event highlights include Rainbow Storytime, Queer Nature Connection, a GLOW Roller Disco, Shepparton’s 1st Queer Film Jamboree, brunches, dinners and Drag Bingo.

Through music and art, food events, health and wellbeing seminars and much more, OUTintheOPEN Festival 2023 will be a focal point for documenting LGBTIQA+ life through history to this very day, from dizzying romantic highs and lows, enduring friendships and good times, marching in solidarity with each other, acting often as a lifeline to one another, to the day-to-day functioning as a loving, living human being in the 21st century. Visit http://outintheopen.org.au/events-2023/ to check out all the events for #oito2023 or contact Georgina Poort (she/her) on 0401 168 229 for more information.

Posted by: | Posted on: October 17, 2023

So. Many. Events.

More details here.

Posted by: | Posted on: October 8, 2023

Media Release | Pride is set to excite in Shepparton

Pride is set to dazzle and excite in Greater Shepparton with Goulburn Valley Pride counting down the days to this years’ OUTintheOPEN Festival this November. Celebrating LGBTIQA+ pride and community diversity in all its forms, the festival includes an array of events for all ages and interests from the 10th – 19th November across the Goulburn Valley.

The festival boasts a program filled with events from drag to dinner, author talks to networking, movies to drag bingo and so much more! Early bird tickets are on sale, so be sure to snap them up now for the opening night gala event, Masquerade at the Museum, and closing day event, Sunday Serve with Gabriella Labucci (Drag Race Down Under Season 3 runner up) and Daisy Chains. OUTintheOPEN is proud to include events for the whole family, with tickets and free events available across the spectrum of events on offer for the 2023 festival line-up.

The main event, Carnival Day on Saturday 18th November, features a full day of live music, market stalls, activities for kids, food trucks and more. With entertainment headliner Bec Sandridge gracing the stage alongside the fabulous Frock Hudson, Tuck Shop Ladies, local talent Tom Nethersole and many more musicians. The Queens Gardens is the place to be, bring the picnic rug, the family and join in on the pride and community spirit. Travelling from out-of-town? Organise your accommodation NOW so you don’t miss out!

This year’s art competition is currently open, with entries closing on October 31st. OUTintheOPEN Artistic Director. Ruby (she/they) said, “we invite people of all ages to draw, photograph, paint or digitally create their favourite or most memorable LGBTIQA+ moment. ’These are the days of our lives’ is our festival theme for 2023 and we want you to create a piece that means something to you. This could be the day you got married, the day you started Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) or the day the laws changed for marriage equality in Australia – or anything you like!“ The art competition is free to enter, with three different age categories, incredible prizes to be won and entries displayed on Carnival Day.

With just over two months to go we invite you all to join us in regional Victoria and celebrate pride and community diversity, however you like to be ‘out, in the open.’ Visit http://outintheopen.org.au/events-2023/ to check out all the events for #oito2023 or contact Georgina Poort (she/her) on 0401 168 229 for more information.

Posted by: | Posted on: September 21, 2023

Art Competition | Get involved!

Draw, photograph, paint or digitally create your favourite or most memorable LGBTIQA+ moment!

“These are the days of out lives” is our Festival theme for 2023 and we want you to create a piece that means something to you. This could be the day you got married, the day you started HRT, the day you came out, the day same-sex marriage was legalised, or anything else that made you feel proud, happy and safe. 💖🌈

More information on the competition:

  • There are 3 different age brackets for the competition: under 11 year-olds, 12-17 year-olds and anyone 18+.
  • Prizes to include rainbow merchandise bundles for the two lower age categories alongside 2 winners from the 18+ category that will receive a festival pass for 1 weekend of the festival.
  • All the submissions will be on display during Carnival Day on November 18th in the Queens Gardens.
  • The art competition will be open for submissions from Oct 1st to Oct 31st and the winner will be announced on Friday 3rd November (the week before the OUTintheOPEN Festival starts).

How to Enter:

  • Take a photo of your submission and send it via email to ruby@outintheopen.org.au with your name, pronouns and age.
  • Please include a a short explanation of what the image depicts.
  • If you would prefer that your artwork is not displayed on Carnival Day, please let us know.
  • If you are sending a submission on behalf of a family member who is underage, please let us know their name, pronouns and age of that person.
Posted by: | Posted on: September 1, 2023

Media Release | “These are the days of our lives”

OUTintheOPEN 2023 is coming this November! Join us from the 10th – 19th November for a variety of diverse festival events, gatherings and experiences centring around our 2023 theme, “these are the days of our lives”. Our main event, Carnival Day, is back in the Queens Gardens on Saturday November 18th, hosted by the fabulous Frock Hudson. Free for all of community to experience, Carnival Day includes market stalls to grab some pride merch, local inclusive organisations and businesses, activities for all ages, food trucks and our onsite, immersive Queer Museum. Carnival Day also boasts an all-day line-up of live music from LGBTIQA+ artists and we are thrilled that Bec Sandridge will be headlining.

With over 20 events for OUTintheOPEN 2023 we are excited to invite you to ‘mask up’ in style this year for our opening night event, Masquerade at the Museum. Held on level four of our prestigious Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) overlooking the beautiful Victoria Park Lake at sunset, the event is sure to surprise and excite this year’s festival goers with entertainment, networking, and celebrations. We are also excited to have GLOBE coming to host another networking event at Eve’s Bar and Café to bring local LGBTIQA+ business’ together from across the Goulburn Valley region.

For the more relaxed event, check out the Shepparton Queer Film Jamboree, which will see a line-up of LGBTIQA+ films with a twist shown at various locations throughout Greater Shepparton over the entire length of the festival. The Queer Film Jamboree includes films such as the Matrix and Speed Racer, celebrating queer culture through cinematic experiences.

Keen for some entertainment and drag? Join us this year at the Drag Bingo Spectacular, hosted at Bohjass or Sunday Serve with Gabriella Labucci (Drag Race Down Under Season 3) and Daisy Chain, our closing event at the Aussie Hotel. Rainbow Storytime is also back at the Shepparton Library for another year on Thursday 16th November for our rainbow families and allies to enjoy. Food more your thing? Join us for our Q+ Hub pop-up at the Fryer Street Food Festival in Shepparton on the 11th November or for our rainbow social brunch.  

“This year’s festival theme reminds me that we stand on the shoulders of giants with a strong and proud queer history that no one ever gets taught. ‘These are the days of our lives’ allows us to explore and savour our pioneers and all that has gone before us in the time that we are living in – in a fun way.” says GV Pride President, Deb Chumbley (she/her).

With just over two months to go we invite you all to join us in regional Victoria and celebrate pride  and community diversity, however you like to be ‘out, in the open.’ Visit http://outintheopen.org.au/events-2023/ to check out all the events for #oito2023 or contact Georgina Poort (she/her) on 0401 168 229 for more information.

Posted by: | Posted on: March 20, 2023

2023 Festival Stallholder applications now OPEN! Carnival Day is Sat 18 Nov 2023!

EARLY-BIRD stallholder applications for CARNIVAL DAY are NOW OPEN! Early-bird closes 30 June.

CARNIVAL DAY is Sat 18 Nov 2023, to be held in Queens Gardens – complete your online registration NOW to secure your site!

Posted by: | Posted on: February 25, 2023

Host your own event as part of OUTintheOPEN Festival Shepparton (10 – 19 Nov 2023)!

Want to host your own event as part of OUTintheOPEN Festival Shepparton (10 – 19 Nov 2023)?

OUTintheOPEN is Shepparton’s festival celebrating LGBTIQA+ pride & community diversity. This year we’re celebrating 12 years!

OUTintheOPEN was developed to address some of the inequalities faced by the local gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer (GLBTIQ) & allied communities and to build a more inclusive community in Greater Shepparton. EVERYONE is welcome to get involved!

OUTintheOPEN is a project led by Goulburn Valley Pride Inc. and is proudly supported by many other organisations and community groups.

The festival will consist of many events including CARNIVAL DAY on the third weekend in November at the Queens Gardens. Other events will be held during the 10-day-long Festival across the City of Greater Shepparton. This is where YOU come in!

We are looking for Community Groups, Organisations, Performers, Venues, Events & Artists…

How to get involved…

Please complete the expression of interest form – feel free to make contact with us first to discuss an event or idea. We look forward to hearing from you! Applications close 15 September.

Alternatively, please submit your proposal via email (details below) along with a preferred image (high res.) for marketing purposes on our website. Additional background information is welcome.

For more info contact Damien Stevens-Todd on 0418 511 562 or enquiries@outintheopen.org.au