But we want to hear from you so we can learn what worked, and what needs improvement.
Complete our short survey here and go in the running to win a $50 Bunnings voucher.
Your answers will be used to build and shape the festival next year.
Thanks, you’re the best!
Love,
Your BFF xo
You turned up. You had fun. You laughed. You cried. You danced. You cheered. You engaged with local art. You met new people. You reconnected with old friends. You celebrated. You hugged. You stayed up late, and you got up early. You were visible in your support for the community, and you carried love in your heart. You made a difference!
In order for us to grow and in order for us to learn – we want to hear from you! Please take a few short minutes to complete this survey. Your answers will be used to build and shape the festival next year. Plus you go in the running to win a $50 voucher from Bunnings.
We’ve seen so much support from the broader community this year. We were really happy to talk with WIN News about the festival and why it means so much to the LGBTIQA+ community.
You can see their news piece below. Though for the record, we said we hoped we’d have 2000 people attend throughout the festival – we didn’t have 2000 on Carnival Day! Maybe next year??
Maureen is one of our most experienced performers, and it shows! Her stage presence is amazing. Maureen was in the original production of Hair: The Musical, and remembers a very different time for our community.
You can read more about that in this Courier article here.
Be prepared to be entertained in the second last event of the festival! Tickets still available. Head over to our program page and grab them now.
Philmah and the girls are going to turn Sunday night from drab to fab!
To read the rest of the fantastic article by Greg Gliddon from The Courier click here.
Our fantastic coverage of this year’s Frolic Festival in The Courier continues with this article about two of our volunteers Max and Graham.
Our volunteers are the backbone of the festival. Without their assistance, we wouldn’t be able to host twice the number of events as we did last year.
Every volunteer has their own story and their own reasons for stepping up to assist but behind them all, it’s about finding and building our community. Read Max and Graham’s story here…
Frolic volunteers Max and Graham talk to the Courier
In case you missed it, Greg Glidon from The Courier did an article on what you can expect this Saturday at Granny Bingo. You can read The Courier article here. It’s going to be a hoot on Saturday, and not to be missed!
There’s also a little special video here by Edith and Maureen, especially just for you!
At our Afternoon of jazz and wine tasting next Sunday Sarah and Michael will be playing a well-picked selection of songs written and performed by LGBTIQA+ artists from the early 20th Century, such as Billie Holiday, Cole Porter and Bessie Smith. They will balance these great tunes with a spare selection of songs by some of our great contemporary LGBTIQA+ artists such as Elton John, Rufus Wainwright and LP.
A queer-identifying performer herself, Sarah’s readings of these tunes are timeless because she respects and understands the composer’s intent. There are singers around with more flash but very few with such commitment to the melody. She is accompanied by Brownie, a gifted guitarist who effortlessly infuses their timeless repertoire with a fresh and colourful sound.
Read our interview with Sarah below to find out more and get excited – because this is going to be a fabulous event!
Sarah and Michael
How long have you played together for?
We performed together regularly between 2005 and 2010 and have only recently begun playing together again.
How did you two meet and decide to play together?
We met many years before we actually formed a duo. In our early 20s both of our partners at the time lived together in a share house and that is how we met. At the time, Brownie was busy being a rock star, and I was busy completing my music degree in Melbourne. I remember the first time I met Brownie and being struck by what a lovely man he was. Years later, I moved to Ballarat. I had been performing in Melbourne with an acapella group but it became difficult to maintain the group long-distance, so I was looking for a new project. I contacted Brownie and thankfully, he was up for it.
What inspires you to perform?
Singing for an audience is thrilling. There is something about having others listening, that enables me to really push into the emotions of a song and this is really gratifying.
What inspired your idea of covering queer artists for this gig?
Jazz is not a genre of music that tends to be associated with LGBTIQ+ culture. However, there have been some hugely influential players in jazz who were queer. I’m a huge Billie Holiday fan and I’ve been heavily influenced by her vocal stylings. I cover a lot of songs that Billie sang and, knowing that she was bisexual, it was then natural for me to consider the inclusion of other LGBTIQ+ composers and performers in the set. My focus is on the jazz music from the first half of the 20th Century and when I discovered that Cole Porter was gay I knew that it was going to be easy to find plenty of material for the set. My research also uncovered Billy Tipton, a trans-man who was a jazz pianist and bandleader who performed many wonderful songs.
What can audiences expect at the gig?
Brownie and I will perform a selection of popular music from the early 20th Century, along with a selection of some more contemporary pop songs by artists such as Elton John, Rufus Wainwright, and LP. Talented pianist Akasha will be playing some beautiful tunes in between our sets.
Is there a particular song you’re most excited to play?
T’aint Nobody’s Bizness is a song that was first performed by blues singer Bessie Smith who, along with Ma Rainey, Gladys Bentley and others, was part of the queer subculture in 1920s Harlem that gave rise to drag ball culture. I have always loved expressing the sentiment of this song, and I have created some new lyrics for the modern era. So listen out!
What kind of people do you think will attend the gig?
I think this gig will appeal to members of the LGBTIQ+ community and allies who are towards the older end of the spectrum, along with anyone who enjoys beautiful, lyrical music.
If you could play a gig with any performer alive today, who would you choose?
Rather than any particular performer, I would really love to sing with Post Modern Jukebox. I love the way they reconstruct contemporary pop songs into vintage genres. It’s just really fun music!
10 words or less to describe your act:
Romantic, passionate and heartfelt, sometimes kitsch and cute, occasionally gut-wrenching.
Don’t forget to get your tickets to the jazz and wine tasting afternoon here!
Yana Alana will be helping kick off Frolic Carnival Day. Be there early to see her or miss out! Details on Carnival Day here.
Yana Alana will be performing at Frolic Carnival Day – don’t miss her!
Yana Alana and The Paranas offer a celebration of difference in a world obsessed with bland cookie-cutter celebrity.
‘I’m Not A Role Model. I’m A Model With Rolls’ Yana Alana
The alter ego of Sarah Ward, Yana is a self-obsessed, tragic and heroic femme-drag clown, a champion for the disenfranchised with a voice scaling from a Bassey-sized belt to an operatic soprano.
Born in Melbourne’s queer and alternative clubs Yana has become a Helpmann Award-winning Australian Cabaret Icon. Alongside her all-female band The Paranas (Bec Matthews MD/drummer and Louise Goh pianist) and Director Anni Davey they have 11 Green Room Awards (Melbourne’s Premiere Arts Awards).
Check out this online piece about local rainbow families in The Courier by journalist Hayley Elg and get behind Frolic by having a look at the program and booking your tickets today here.
You can also read a slightly different print version of the article below.
jaymorrison1982 