Out in the Open Festival

Out in the Open is Goulburn Valley Pride's annual pride festival held in Greater Shepparton celebrating LGBTIQA+ pride and community diversity. The festival generally consists of a number of community led free or low-cost events, that aim to provide entertainment, connection, pride and celebration to the community within the City of Greater Shepparton and the surrounding areas. The annual main event, Carnival Day, is held on the Saturday of the festival and is described as a family-friendly, all ages, party in the park event, with local live music, market stalls, children's entertainment, local organisations and professional organisation stalls alongside local queer-owned small business, art and craft creation opportunities and plenty to eat, see and do all in one place. The festival was developed to address some of the inequalities faced by the local LGBTIQA+ community, and to build a more inclusive community in Greater Shepparton. As the largest project that Goulburn Valley Pride leads annually, it has its own committee of volunteers who create, curate and bring the festival to life each November. The festival is entirely volunteer led, created and ran. Volunteers are also a huge part of the success of our festival, as without them the festival wouldn't exist and continue to bring pride and diversity to the region.