Join us for the Wellington Pride Festival 2023!

This month, from 4 – 18 March, is the Wellington Pride Festival | Tū Whakahīhī e te Whanganui-ā-Tara. As New Zealand’s longest-running Pride festival, Wellington Pride is the annual celebration of rainbow pride in our city, featuring LGBTQIA+ performers, historians, writers, artists, musicians, and — of course — librarians doing their thing with the community. This year, the theme for Wellington Pride is ka mau ka muri — walking backwards into the future. Wellington City Libraries always joins in on the fun, and this year we have a selection of awesome events that you might be interested in coming along to. Check out the deets below!

Dress-Up Storytime
Thursday 2 March, 10.30 – 11.00am
Tapu Te Ranga | Island Bay Library

Okay, okay, I know if you’re reading this you’re probably not a kid, and you’re probably thinking this event is for kids. And it is! Tell the kids in your life to pop down to Island Bay for a delightful morning of rainbows, sequins, unicorns and bubbles, along with gentle and hilarious stories of inclusion and celebration read by our wonderful Island Bay librarians. Folks can come in their own costumes, or make their own at the library!

Rainbow Youth Nights
Saturday 4 March, 5.00 – 8.00pm
Waitohi | Johnsonville Library

Saturday 11 March, 5.00 – 8.00pm
Te Māhanga | Karori Library

Join us at the library to celebrate Wellington Pride with these only-slightly-more-than-usual rainbow-themed Youth Nights! We’ll be open after-hours for rainbow and takatāpui youth (and friends!) to socialise, have fun, and chat to a librarian about your favourite queer literature. As usual, there will be pizza, gaming, movies, crafts, and quiet spaces to chill out.

At both the Karori and Johnsonville evenings, we will offer the chance to be part of a large-scale collaborative art piece that will be toured between all fourteen of our library branches around the city. This creation will reflect our collective and individual queer identities.

Our Youth Nights are totally free (pizza included!) but you do need to be 14+ in order to come, so please come prepared to show your student ID. Once you’re in, our spaces are yours!
No prior sewing or artistic skills required.

Youth Movie Night for Pride
Thursday 16 March, 5.45 – 7.45pm
Te Awe Library

We love movies here at the library! Bring your friends down to Te Awe to watch an LGBTQIA+ themed movie and hang out with other like-minded teens. Popcorn, comfy seats, cool folks, library vibes — what more could you need?

Out in the City
Saturday 18 March, 10am – 4pm
Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington CBD

Yes, your favourite library again has a stall at your favourite LGBTQIA+ community event of the year — Out in the City (it used to be called Out in the Park if the name sounds a little unfamiliar). We’ll be there all day handing out our signature queer literary icon badges (as well as the usual rainbow library ones!), and talking about LGBTQIA+ books, movies, online resources and more. Come and say hi!

Pōneke Poets: Open Mic at Out in the City
Saturday 18 March, 1.00 – 2.00pm
Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington CBD