Midsumma Festival
Midsumma is Victoria's premier queer arts and cultural organisation, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences. The primary event, Midsumma Festival, usually runs over 22 days in Melbourne's summer (January/February) with an explosion of queer events that center around both hidden and mainstream queer culture, involving local, interstate and international artists. The festival program comprises a curated Midsumma Presents program plus the community-driven Open-access stream, and is made up of diverse art forms and genres, including visual arts, live music, theatre, spoken word, cabaret, film, parties, sport, social  events, and public forums. In addition to the primary festival in summer, Midsumma works year-round to provide artists, social-changers and culture-makers with support and tools to create, present and promote their work. The 22 day Festival. Melbourne's Midsumma Festival is normally held over 22 days in January and early February. A diverse array of close to 200 events are presented to audiences of over 260,000 thanks to involvement by over 5000 culture-makers in around 100 different venues across Melbourne and wider Victoria. The festival usually opens in a CBD park with the massive Midsumma Carnival , which has around 120,000 attendees. The annual Pride March follows later in the festival and almost half the events are free. Midsumma was started by the city's Gay Business Association in 1988 to celebrate the Melbourne queer community's arts and culture. Due to COVID-19, the 2021 festival ran, exceptionally, from 19 April to 5 May with the 2021 Pride March held on 23 May.  Midsumma Carnival. The entire festival usually kicks off with Midsumma Carnival, a huge outdoor celebration of around 120,000 attendees at Alexandra Gardens in the centre of downtown Melbourne. It's an opportunity for all  the diverse members of our queer communities to come together in public for a unique celebration of who we are and how far we've come. There are precincts for all age groups, including families, youth and the elderly. Queer athletic teams from around Melbourne congregate in an area called the Sports Precinct, where you can watch a game, casually join in, or even sign up to be a part of a team. Several stages showcase events from the festival program, with DJs, performers and fun social activities such as the much-loved dog show, which gives out awards to  four-legged friends and their owners. Picnic rugs abound throughout the park, and an entire village of almost 200 stalls enables community groups, festival sponsors, government agencies and politicians to promote themselves, provide education and give away or sell merchandise.  At 6pm, the families head home and Melbourne's queerest outdoor dance party, T Dance, fires up on the two main stages, with live performers and DJs. This nighttime dance party brings out the main headliners, and attendees can dance away into the midsumma night. Midsumma Pride March. Since 1996, the annual Pride March has proudly walked down Fitzroy  Street, St Kilda to Catani Gardens, where the after-pride celebrations include live music, outdoor bars and food stalls. With around 10,000 marchers and 45,000 spectators, annual traditions include the Rainbow Aboriginal Float and a contingent of LGBT youth at the beginning of the parade to affirm the importance of our queer youth.  Open-access Midsumma Events. Midsumma Festival is an open-access festival, with events being produced each year by over 5000 culture makers, artists and performers. The 22 day festival is filled with community-created art exhibitions, live theatre, live music, poetry readings, round table talks, parties, films , picnics, sports and community events. Midsumma Presents program. To balance out the Open-access offering, the Midsumma Presents program provides some "big ticket" events, complemented by niche offerings designed to ensure that the program represents and attracts every single colour of our rich, diverse rainbow. The theme each year is specifically designed to promote and highlight the talent of groups who are rarely represented in mainstream offerings, in line with Midsumma's focus on diversity and inclusion of the entire community, not just parts of it. Development and Mentorship Programs. The organisation has now matured to become one of Australia 's most significant queer arts organisations, supporting generations of LGBTQIA+ cultural voices, discovering artists and starting conversations that shape queer art and culture forever. Most important of these programs are Midsumma Futures and Midsumma Pathways, which provide mentorship, networking and development opportunities for early-career artists and culture-makers.