Maylands drag star Cougar Morrison hosts a Q&A of Bayswater locals’ stories of pride at Rabble bookstore on November 13. Photo by Angelo di Benedetto

PRIDE is spreading far and wide, with Bayswater getting on board with Pride month festivities for the first time this year, on a road to making Bayswater a more LGBTQIA+ friendly place. 

Pride’s historically been a CBD-focussed affair with the parade and Northbridge clubs seeing most of the action, but spilling into Vincent for a couple of events like the Fairday at Hyde Park.

This year Bayswater council’s assembled a calendar of Pride month events including a Pride in the Park day to celebrate LGBTQIA+ parents, a pride movie night for seniors, tea and chat session for younger folk, and a Q&A session with locals telling their stories of pride hosted by Maylands drag star Cougar Morrison.

Bayswater mayor Filomena Piffaretti says the city’s proud to take part both to support inclusion “but also to help us develop our town centres into recognised safe hubs for the LGBTQIA+ community.

“We are keen to overcome any barriers faced by diverse groups that may prevent them from participating in community life and PrideFEST presents the perfect opportunity to celebrate the differences that make us all unique and special,” she said.

Register at bayswaterpride.eventbrite.com.au and the whole Pride calendar’s up at https://www.pridewa.com.au/pridefest-2021

by DAVID BELL