After months of anticipation, the Coastal Twist LGBTIQ Arts & Culture Festival has finally arrived, with a huge lineup of activities over seven days until October 3.
The annual event welcomes visitors from across the country of all ages and abilities, with 75 per cent of events free to attend.
Launched on the Central Coast in 2019, the festival is all about fun for everyone and trying new things from arts and culture events to offerings local food and beverage suppliers.
Coastal Twist is a unique local celebratory point of difference, a feel-good contemporary entertainment event connecting Coasties, communities and visitors with something for everyone from families to party goers, teens and seniors and includes accessible spaces and Auslan.
The iconic Coastie Carnie Fair Day on Monday, October 3, at Peninsula Recreation Precinct, Umina Beach, will be a highlight of the festival.
To run from 10am-5pm, the free event will feature global headliners Electric Fields playing live plus drag artists from Ru Paul’s Drag Race, internationally recognised innovators of physical and visual theatre Erth’s puppetry, Rainbow Storytime and teen spaces.
There will be burlesque, circus and sideshow across the festival alas well as workshops on everything from permaculture to IBM Innovative thinking.
The day will be fur baby, with attendees encouraged to bring their pooches along and participate in the Puparazzi Pooch Parade.
The festival is supported through the NSW Government’s Regional Events Acceleration Fund.
To coincide with the festival, local activist Mitchell Gordon has put his private collection of marriage equality memorabilia on public display for the first time.
The unique archive, which includes photographs, posters, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks and other key items, is on display at Central Coast Antiques & Collectables.
Gordon was a leader of the fight for equal marriage rights in Australia, orfganising mass protests, writing numerous newspaper articles and staging an illegal same-sex wedding in Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall.
Located at 3 Watt St, Gosford, the exhibition is open to the public on weekdays from September 27-October 3 from10.30am-5pm with free entry.
For the full schedule of events visit the Coastal Twist website, frock up and rock up.
Terry Collins