Delta Goodrem Brings Teeth to Mardi Gras

Delta Goodrem's bright white smile will be working overtime at this weekend's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras when she performs as the new ambassador for a tooth-whitening product.
Goodrem will perform as toothpaste brand Oral Bs new ambassador at the event on Saturday night, it was announced on Monday.

"Smiles are infectious, they bring out confidence and powerful connections between people, so I'm delighted to be involved in this years Mardi Gras Parade and to be partnering with such an incredible brand," Goodrem gushed.

The Voice Kids judge will perform mid-parade on the Oral-B float.

The tooth whitener is the official sponsor of Mardi Gras photographers.

Sydney's Mardi Gras is celebrating 35 years of gay pride. This year's gay parade and festival will take the theme Generations of Love, a reference to the first Mardi Gras march in Sydney in 1978 and the ongoing struggle for equality.

Sydney's Mardi Gras Parade Goes Alcohol Free

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade will be alcohol free from next year.

A Sydney City Council committee meeting last night approved the ban on alcohol along the entire parade route.

The decision followed a request from the Mardi Gras committee.

Council spokeswoman Susie Matthews says the ban will increase the enjoyment of the parade for many people.

"Really we're keen, as is Mardi Gras and the police, to promote the parade as a family friendly, safe accessible event for everyone," she said.

"Certainly in the past we've had some incidents of violence and antisocial behaviour that have been really closely linked with excessive drinking."

Gay Travel: Ten Things to Do at Sydney Mardi Gras

The incredible thing about Australia during the months of February and March is that this Aussie summer season makes for one hot Mardi Gras celebration! Thousands of people come together Down Under to mingle and meet for one special Sydney Mardi Gras. Events span over two weeks and will shake you to the core of your being with plenty of festivities to go around.

Whatever your celebratory style may be, you'll be sure to find many events that are just right for you. Start by checking out our Sydney Mardi Gras 2012 Top Ten List; we might even see you there!

Fair Day- February 12th

Fair Day is the ultimate way to kick off the official Mardi Gras season. Fill February 12th with a fun and relaxed day out in the park with friends, family, and pets too! Up to 70 000 people routinely show up to sit on the grass, browse the stalls, enjoy the wide range of delicacies available at food stands, and have a few drinks. Fair Day runs from 10am until 8pm, so you'll have plenty of time to get the whole family out and about to celebrate!
Homage- February 18th, 25th, and March 10th

Join local GLBTQI musicians as they pay Homage to their queer musical heroes in this cabaret tribute to our community's trailblazers. Top-notch young talent from Sydney's music scene will cover KD Lang, Antony & the Johnsons, Melissa Etheridge, Ricky Martin, Ani DiFranco, Gossip, the Village People, Dusty Springfield and so many more amazing queer artists. Come together in this musical celebration to record our history, celebrate our heroes, and reflect on the songs which are etched into the queer memory bank.

Every Saturday night 5 different bands will be featured at the Blackcat Lounge at the Sidetrack Theater for a different collection of tunes and talent, classic hits and few undiscovered gems.

Full Story from GayTravel.com

Kylie Kicks Off 25 Years Celebrations at Sydney Mardi Gras

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and strategic partner Destination NSW, today confirmed that Kylie Minogue will attend this year's Sydney Mardi Gras Parade and join Sydney's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex community in celebrating a milestone in her career K25 -- 25 Years of Kylie.

"I am coming home for Mardi Gras this year!" said Minogue. "I simply cannot wait, and it's going to be a beautiful way to celebrate 25 years of this relationship."

"Your support over the years has just been phenomenal and I can't wait to come home and share that with you. So see you in March."

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras alongside its strategic partner Destination NSW, wanted to mark the acclaimed artist's career milestone, K25, with a personal invitation to be part of the event, widely recognised as the world's best celebration of LGBTQI pride and diversity and one that draws significant economic benefits to Sydney and NSW at large.

SGLMG will honour Minogue during the Parade with a spectacular K25 float that pays homage to her career and support of the LGBTQI community. SGLMG's CEO Michael Rolik says Minogue's RSVP to Sydney Mardi Gras 14 years after her last Party performance will once again make Mardi Gras go down in history.

"There is no doubt that our community contains an enormous number of Kylie fans so we are delighted that she will be here for Mardi Gras at the start of her 25th anniversary in the music industry," says Rolik. "There are often rumours that Kylie will be back at Mardi Gras and today we are pleased to confirm she will be here to party alongside us over the Parade weekend. We will be pulling out all the stops to show her a good time."

"In strategic partnership with Destination NSW we have been investing in the quality of the Parade. This year promises to deliver a wonderful Parade and Kylie's attendance will be the cherry on the cake."

NSW Minister for Tourism, Major Events and The Arts, George Souris said, "We welcome Kylie Minogue to Australia's leading tourism and events city for one of the world's leading events."

"Ms. Minogue has a very special place in Australians' hearts. She has a global audience who adore her. Where better for her to celebrate her 25 years in entertainment than in Sydney, Australia's global city."

www.mardigras.org.au

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A Gay Ole Time

Author:Deborah Erwin

Re-Posted From: Alternative Media Group of Australia

Posted:Tuesday, 27 September 2011

All walks of sexual nuance will be out en masse this weekend to celebrate, gyrate and drink at their favourite Oxford St venue.

Big Gay Weekend, a three-day party organised by New Mardi Gras (NMG), is a fundraiser for the city’s annual Mardi Gras Parade which celebrates sexual diversity and acceptance.

The producer for the weekend-long party James Bridge is a former manager at Midnight Shift and has been on Oxford Street’s “scene” for eight years.

“We’re aiming to fundraise about $40,000 this weekend,” he said.

The money will be spent on producing both community-based and NMG floats.

Mr Bridge said the organisation receives a lot of support from the City of Sydney and Events NSW, they rely heavily on donations. “Last year we lost over $30,000 running the parade,” he said. “But this year we managed to get all the party promoters to donate a portion of their ticket sales. This has never been done before so it’s very exciting.”

Chief executive of NMG Michael Rolik said the upcoming public holiday has been a fundraising tradition for the last 30 years.

“The main objectives of the weekend are to raise funds for the Parade and to support businesses on Oxford St,” he said.

The event involves dozens of restaurants, bars and entertainment venues and officially begins at 5pm Friday.

Part of the ticket sales for the parties on Oxford Street this weekend will go toward funding the annual parade.

“In recent years, due to a number of reasons which had to do with having different teams every year, it hasn’t been that successful. So we decided to park it and come up with the concept of the Big Gay Weekend,” Mr Rolik said.

Mr Bridge said an army of volunteers are integral to the parade’s whole operation.

“We rely on volunteers to do everything from bucket collecting (getting donations) to building websites. Even those on the Board are volunteers,” Mr Bridge said.

“The organisation wouldn’t run without them.” The Parade is more than an excuse to prance around in sequined costumes for most Sydneysiders, it is also a platform for raising awareness about social issues pertaining to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals.

“The Parade started off as a march to get a point across in terms of equality,” Mr Bridge said. “Today marriage equality is at the forefront. To me, it seems like a no-brainer. Everyone should have the same rights. They should be able to marry whoever they want.”

Vengaboys 2012 Australian Tour

That's right party people the Vengabus is coming to Sydney in January 2012

It’s time to dust off that tatty old party pass because the Vengabus is due at any minute. And God forbid you miss it. 90s European chart toppers, the Vengaboys, are heading to Australia this summer with a brand new album, rather gloriously entitled ‘Rocket To Your Uranus’.

The new album marks a sparkling return to form for the party-centric foursome. Back after a brief hiatus with their tongues firmly in cheek and doing what they do best.

The Vengaboys are probably best remembered for a string of Euro- flavoured party anthems originally released back in the mid-1990s, most notably ‘Boom Boom Boom’ and ‘We’re Going To Ibiza’. They not only dominated the pop charts but permeated dance floors across the globe, from weddings to nightclubs and pretty much any social/embarrassing occasion you can think of.

The group are set to cause similar destruction this year, following up their album with a tasty XXX remix of ‘Parada de Tettas’ and a recent sell out show in Eindhoven. Fans of the Vengaboys can watch the fun unfold simply by taking a look at their rather entertaining twitter feed. The joys of the digital age.

Wed 11 Jan The Hi-Fi QLD
Thu 12 Jan The Corner Hotel VIC
Fri 13 Jan Selina's - Coogee Bay Hotel NSW
Sun 15 Jan Coolangatta Hotel QLD

Janet Jackson - Up Close & Personal

Last week it was announced that Janet Jackson would be coming to Australia to perform her current Number Ones World Tour in October and November 2011. Instead of performing this concert at Acer Arena or the Sydney Entertainment Centre, Janet Jackson has decided to do the concerts in Australia in a more personal atmosphere.

The tour which is now named in Australia as "Number Ones: Up Close & Personal" is a more fitting title being that she has chosen the Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall.

Tickets for the show go on sale on Wednesday 3rd August 2011. The list of concert dates are as follows for Australia;

DATE LOCATION

TUE 18 OCT	PERTH	BURSWOOD THEATRE
SAT 22 OCT	ADELAIDE	FESTIVAL CENTRE
WED 26 OCT	MELBOURNE	ARTS CENTRE, STATE THEATRE
THU 27 OCT	MELBOURNE	ARTS CENTRE, STATE THEATRE
WED 2 NOV	GOLD COAST	CONVENTION CENTRE
SAT 5 NOV	SYDNEY	OPERA HOUSE, CONCERT HALL
SUN 6 NOV	SYDNEY	OPERA HOUSE, CONCERT HALL

KYLIE

IT'S BEEN MORE THAN TWO DECADES SINCE KYLIE MINOGUE LEFT RAMSAY STREET TO TACKLE THE POP-MUSIC INDUSTRY. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS CRAFTED A CAREER IMPRESSIVE BOTH FOR ITS LONGEVITY AND RANGE. A VERY PUBLIC BATTHE WITH CANCER HAS PROVED HER PLUCK.

Clem Bastow - The Big Issue's Music Editor

It’s difficult to pinpoint precisely why people and critics hate Kylie Minogue. Maybe it was because the critics and mass population of Australia were trying to impress some knob-end rock snob who proudly boasted that they hadn’t listened to commercial radio for 15 years. Maybe it was just because they wanted to be contrary.

For a number of years the mass population of Australia and critics would roll their eyes at the mere mention of Australia’s ‘Singing Budgie’. The thing about the anti-Kylie brigade: membership to that club requires a subscription to the tiresome old mentality that pop-music is inherently empty-headed. These comments are all well and good, except that this stance requires a person to forget that many of the artists we now consider legends (Aretha Franklin and Frank Sinatra) rarely, if ever, wrote their own songs.

As the juggernaut that is her $25 million dollar Aphrodite Les Folies Tour prepares to roll into Australia and additional tour dates are being released it shows that Kylie should no longer be seen as the ‘Singing Budgie’ but as the ambassador for all Australians.

As Kylie once sung: We all have our cross to bear, But in the name of understanding now, Our problems should be shared. Kylie will be performing around Australia from the 3rd June 2011 to 22nd June 2011 in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Excerpts taken from Clem Bastow's article from The Big Issue

http://www.bigissue.org.au

Click Here to purchase Kylie Tickets!

Have your say on Gay Marriage

An online survey by Wentworth MP Malcolm Turnbull into gay marriage is proving extremely popular and you still have the chance to participate.

To take part in the survey simply log on to www.malcolmturnbull.com.au and follow the prompts.

According to a spokesperson for Mr Turnbull, “There has been an overwhelming response to this survey, which shows this issue is obviously very important for the community.”

To date, over 1100 responses have been received from constituents within the Wentworth electorate alone. “However, for the survey to be as accurate as possible, it is important that even more people take part.” Said the spokesperson.