Forecast for fun at 2015 LYC Big Gay Out

Forecast for fun at 2015 LYC Big Gay Out

Forget weather forecasts, there will be a guaranteed rainbow on show at Coyle Park in Auckland on Sunday for the 16th Big Gay Out.

So get your glad rags on and join the Pt Chevalier party for the ultimate celebration to kick off a month of parties, parades and pride as part of Auckland Pride Month.

Over the years, LYC Big Gay Out has grown to include headline acts and madcap crowd-pleasing entertainment – the past four years has seen performances by Anika Moa, Zowie, Kids of 88 and Good Shirt as well as the Rainbow Run, which saw thousands fully “rainbowed-up” in a giant powdered dye-fest, and the Ball Drop, in which thousands of multi-coloured balls were dropped from a helicopter.

And this year’s no different with a stunning lineup of bands on the Durex Main Stage including the soul-powered funk of The Hipstamatics, New Zealand’s R’n’B answer to the Jackson 5 – J-Williams with his sisters Emily and Lavina, and a show-stopped Illegal Musik showcase mixing it up with homegrown hip-hop, R’n’B and pop stars K.One, Pieter-T and Brooke Duff.

If you’ve still not got your full dance fix, then the dance tent will have a full mix of DJs throughout the afternoon and well into the evening.

Your great day out isn’t complete though without checking out the marketplace, which always features great food and entertainment, and last year even featured free massages from Manhunt – so you really never know what’s going to happen, it’s a bit of a lucky dip!

The centrepiece for this year’s fun and entertainment will be a huge screen – cheekily called “Big Richard” – next to the main stage where we’ll be showing all of your tweets and Instagram pics. Just make sure everything is tagged #biggayout and you’re following @loveyourcondom to be able to show off what a great time you’re having… as well as joining in the second year of our LYC Snapchat Scavenger Hunt.

“That screen will be quite a central point for people during the day,” says Digital Social Marketing Co-ordinator Trak Gray.

“If people add loveyourcondom on Snapchat, then they’ll get sent out challenges during the day and, if they want to, they can take part in the Scavenger Hunt. We’ve got thousands of dollars’ worth of prizes from UE Boom speakers and Health 2000 natural health shops and Durex and our own gear from LYC.

“You’ll have to go to a secret place and say a secret word or do an embarrassing dance or just be one of the first 10 people to get to a certain place… so if you suddenly see 100 people run across the park all at once, they’ll all be going for a prize.”

As well as celebrating diversity in New Zealand and providing a perfect excuse for a rainbow-coloured party, 2015 LYC Big Gay Out is also a great chance for LYC to push a safe-sex message – there’s free testing from the New Zealand Aids Foundation as well as the opportunity for anyone going along the chance to stock up on a year’s supply of condoms and lube!

“Durex has a massive giveaway where you can win condoms and lube and things like that - we give out something like 20,000 condoms or something ridiculous like that every time, so it’s a good chance to really push that message,” says Trak.

“But Big Gay Out certainly makes it on to all gay calendars around the world as a date for February which is quite exciting to see. We get visitors from all over - particularly from Australian – and we often see on social media people saying it was great to check it out while I was travelling.

“So we’re all about engaging with the community and celebrating diversity and all of the beautiful rainbow stuff that comes with a great event like this”

So with just a couple of days left until lift-off, the 30 organisers and more than 100 volunteers are making the finishing touches to the event with setup starting Thursday. And by the time the rain’s stopped at the end of the week, it’ll be time to enjoy a great big rainbow party.

ENDS

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