Midsumma festival
MELBOURNE — The seventh annual Midsumma gay and lesbian festival kicked off on January 21 with a giant street party in Fitzroy's fashionable Brunswick St.
The party was a first for the festival, which has progressed from a modest collection of arts and community-based events to a three-week celebration of lesbian and gay pride.
Most forms of artistic expression are covered. Visual arts exhibitions include Mardi Gras — a 10-year retrospective — and Self Documentation, Self Imaging: People Living with HIV/AIDS.
Performance works include David Drake's acclaimed The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, Della, a women-only season of a play examining breast cancer in the lesbian community, and a new Australian work, Fluid, described as "a neurotic romp through love and sex in the '90s".
Special events include the annual Red Raw Dance Party, a bootscoot night and Drag in the Park at the Myer Music Bowl. As in previous years, the festival will end with the Midsumma Carnival, which this year will be moved to the Alexandra Gardens on the Yarra.
Contact the Midsumma office on (03) 525 4746.