Happy Pride Month! 🌈 Catch Up on All the Queer Joy & Highlights!
Happy Auckland Pride Month! From vibrant celebrations to moments of resistance, this month has been a powerful reminder of our community’s strength. As we honour Pride’s roots, we stand together in solidarity, resilience, and joy—uplifting each other and keeping the spirit of Pride alive.
This Pride Month has been an absolute blast, filled with events celebrating talent, artistry, and community across Tāmaki Makaurau! At Big Gay Out, we connected with people of all ages, sharing our services and resources. Our biggest Dress with Pride yet was a huge success, thanks to amazing vendors like Cut Above Academy, Spooky Ceremony, Rainbow Rascals, and Common Equal. A huge thank you to Auckland Pride and ASB Bank for their support—our young people had an unforgettable time preparing for the Waimahara closing event, the perfect way to wrap up the month!
Every Pride season, we honour the rich history of protest that paved the way for our community. This year is no different. Once again, extremist groups have tried to silence our love and authenticity—but what they fail to understand is that resistance is in our roots.
On Sunday, February 23rd, we stood together in unity at Albert Park, answering the call from People Against Prisons Aotearoa (PAPA). In overwhelming numbers, we reclaimed space, with powerful speakers leading the charge. We demanded that the government dismantle Destiny Church as an organization, deregister its charities, and ensure agencies no longer refer people to its front groups like Man Up.
Finally, our message to Destiny Church is clear: queer people are not defenceless. We will not be silenced. We are here, we are proud, and we will always stand our ground.
We’re saying a heartfelt goodbye to our incredible support workers, Shomudro and Basil, who have made a lasting impact on our rangatahi. While we’ll miss them, we’re excited for their next chapter as they continue supporting our communities. With change comes growth—we’re welcoming new support workers, a National Support Manager, and Takatāpui Civics Facilitators to our team. Plus, we’re thrilled to announce that Amber is stepping into the role of Executive Director permanently! Exciting times ahead—stay tuned!
What a month of celebration, love, growth, and resilience! While Auckland Pride has come to an end, Christchurch Pride and Wellington Pride are just getting started as we step into March. We can’t wait to keep the celebrations going across Aotearoa!
