Dubbo Pride March is getting a new name to reflect its wide appeal to people living in the Central West NSW region.
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The inaugural march in 2015 attracted about 200 participants from the city and surrounding communities including Orange, Bathurst and Forbes.
The response to the first march includes the formation of a committee that intends to run it every October, which is Mental Health Month in NSW.
This week the committee announced that that the 2016 Central West Pride March would be held in Dubbo on Saturday, October 8.
“Even though it’s held in Dubbo, there are still a lot of people who benefit greatly from the march being held in the Central West,” committee chairman and headspace Dubbo’s Nic Steepe said.
Chairing the committee is headspace Dubbo and the Connected Communities Project Rainbow Alliance.
The Department of Family and Community Services, Central West Transgender and Gender Diverse Group, Community Corrections, Star FM, Marathon Health, the Western NSW Local Health District’s Dubbo Sexual Health and Community Mental Health, and the Dubbo community are represented on it.
The committee has received a $1000 grant from WayAhead--Mental Health Association NSW, and ACON which works to prevent the spread of HIV in NSW.
Cash and in-kind support had been offered by Dubbo’s Quality Inn, the Western Plains Regional Council program called Ignite Our Centre, the Western NSW Primary Health Network, Dubbo branch of the Westpac Bank, and Dubbo’s Gina’s Pizza, Spotlight and Stepping Out Dance Factory.
The march, with a carnivale theme, will begin at 10.30 am at the corner of Bligh and Bultje streets and travel along Macquarie Street to Macquarie Lions Park for a community fun day.
“We’re expecting a bigger march this year because of its success in 2015,” Mr Steepe said.
“The march is about supporting and celebrating diversity in the community.
“Absolutely everyone is welcome.”
