We’re riding for safer queer spaces at Mardi Gras 2025.
Will you join us?
Safer Pastures is a community group marching at the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade.
We’re marching against sexual harassment and assault at gay bars, events, and other queer spaces.
The theme for the 2025 Mardi Gras Festival is Free to Be. We believe all queer people should be free to roam, safe from sexual harassment and assault.
The parade won’t be our first rodeo - it’s our second! This time around, we’re taking our search for safe spaces to the stars. Dressed as space cowboys, cowgirls and cowtheys, we’ll be bootscootin’ our way down Oxford Street on our search for safer pastures. Want to join the intergalactic ride? Scroll down and fill out the application form!
Last year:
FAQs
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We’re marching to promote safer queer spaces, where we can all roam free without sexual harassment and assault. You can read more about it here.
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You’ll need to be able to attend at least three of our five rehearsals - these will be on Sunday afternoons, from late January ‘25 up until the parade, in a park in Sydney’s inner west (exact location TBD). We’ll add extra rehearsals if needed. At the rehearsals, we’ll get to meet each other, and learn the dance routine for our march.
You’ll also need to be available to attend the Mardi Gras Parade, on March 1st 2025.
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The fee to participate is $100. This covers the cost of the Mardi Gras participation fee, our vehicle and sound system, signage, props, insurance, and your costume (which you can keep). We won’t make any profit from participating in the parade. The fee will need to be paid by February 1st, 2025.
If this price is inaccessible for you, but you’d like to take part, please get in touch.
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Lots of fun, glitter and dancing! But more specifically: The parade route is 2.4km long, starting from Hyde Park, stretching through Oxford Street and Flinders Street, and ending at Moore Park. We’ll be bootscooting behind our ute, dancing our way through the parade, spreading our message to the thousands of onlookers who attend each year.
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We hope so!
If you’re unable to walk or dance the parade route, you may be able to ride, assuming you’re comfortable riding in the back of a ute. The parade is wheelchair accessible, other mobility aids are also totally fine.
If you’re able to walk (or trot), but you’re not keen or able to dance, we have some walking roles - so don’t let this stop you from applying!
If you have any other access needs, please let us know. We’ll do our best to accommodate you, and let you know what’s possible.
While we’ll do everything we can to ensure everyone who wants to take part can, it’s important to note there are some things completely out of our control. The parade day can be a long one - marshalling starts in the afternoon, and we could potentially be waiting a few hours before we march (we won’t know our position in the parade until closer to the date). The marshalling area and the parade route itself can and will be very loud, with bright lights and crowds (though they’re usually well contained). Let us know if these are concerns for you.
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Scroll down and fill out the application form!
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Mardi Gras have given us 40 spots. If more than 40 people want to sign up, we’ll start a waitlist.
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If you need to pull out, we may be able to refund your fee. We’ll deal with it on a case-by-case basis, depending on if there’s a waitlist of people who can take your spot.
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Yes please! We need a driver. Contact us via email if this could be you!
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No, absolutely not! But in the unlikely event we’re overrun by applications, we’ll prioritise members of the LGBTQIA+ communities to take part in the parade.
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No, and if you are, you should mosey on. The safety of trans people is especially under threat. Trans and gender diverse people belong in queer spaces, and we have zero tolerance for transphobia.
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Sadly, no. We’re just regular ol’ queers borrowing a beloved camp trope to share our message at Mardi Gras.
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You can follow us on Instagram at @saferpastures, where you can see and share our posts. We’re also hoping to have merch soon!
