Mardi Gras!!!!

NO. NO. It is not what you’re probably thinking of. New Orleans’ Mardi Gras is nothing like Sydney’s Mardi Gras. Sydney’s Mardi Gras is also known as the Gay & Lesbian Pride Festival. IT’S A HUGE EVENT! Almost 700,000 people attend this parade each year. The parade extends across a few streets, but is centered on Oxford Street. I took the train to town hall. When I got off I already saw hundreds of people walking towards Oxford Street and massive crowds in Hyde Park. I and a bunch of others arrived roughly around 3pm to try to find a good spot to see the parade. We were lucky we arrived when we did; we got a spot right up against on of the barricades. The parade did not start till 7:45pm, so we had some time to kill. Amanda, Vegard, and I went walking around. There were a lot of “characters” around (That’s a bit of an understatement, lol). After getting some pride gear, watching Vegard get “hit on,” (which was pretty hilarious), having a bit to eat, running into a guy in the Borat green thong outfit and a sausage vendor selling sausage (yes, I am being serious; he had a sign saying “I love sausage” to match his apron) we all went back to our parade spot. After about an hour of standing around people, the parade officials came out (not literally, lol).





Our area was under supervision of Gavin and Amy. They were lots of fun. They passed out candies, whistles (which I wish I got because after yelling for hours my voice started hurting), more candy, a temporary tattoo, and other “adult stuff.” The parade lasted almost 2 ½ HOURS! It just kept going, and my feet kept killing me. However, there was a lot to see and it was not as raunchy as I was expecting. The theme of the 2010 parade was “Gay History around the World.” The parade started off with the dikes on bikes. Then came some floats with male and female dancers. I remember seeing a person dressed up as a Nav’i person from Avatar and even Laura Croft. As the sun began to set, out came a bunch of the green aliens from Toy Story. You know, “THE CLAWWWW.” Right behind them was Buzz Lightyear.





The lifeguard section of the parade consisting my males and females was fun to look at ;). They did some dancing. Other floats were sponsored by local clubs. One part featured classic super heroes. So I cheered on Batman, Superman, Wonder woman, the Hulk, and Robin. What’s a pride parade without drag queens? Well there were plenty to “check out” (no pun intended).



They had Egyptian dancers, Latino dancers, Geisha cross dressers, and more. In case you did not know, Sydney is home to Fox studios, so they had a part in the parade. Giant letters spelt out FOX and behind that large floating sign were picket signs of famous gay icons in television. For example, Flanders from the Simpsons and Rosie O’Donell.







The parade was full of signs trying to gain support for same-sex marriage in Australia. Other parts of the parade included an Olympic themed float, bi-sexual float, a Sci-fi part (the trans-sexuals strike back; one person had a sign saying “set phrases to stunning [start trek joke lol]), more life guards, Osama Bin Laden, the Sydney Nudist, and much more. Everything was really colorful and just different. I never had been to anything like this. I had a great time. Oxford Street was for one night all about expressing yourself, and living life to the fullest. Everyone just was very happy, in a good mood, and having a good time. I was in awe of the amount of people both heterosexual and homosexual showing their support for the Gay and Lesbian community.