This November, Canberra will show its rainbow colours as SpringOUT Pride Festival returns for a spectacular celebration. With more than 40 events across the capital, this year’s festival offers a month of connection and community pride, bringing people of all identities together in a celebration of inclusion.

From lively after-dark parties to family-friendly gatherings and reflective wellbeing events, this year’s program is the largest since COVID.

The heartbeat of SpringOUT

For Wayne Herbert, returning as MC for Fair Day, the festival’s heartbeat, the growth of SpringOUT speaks volumes about the resilience and energy of the city’s queer community.

“For me, to be the MC of Fair Day is really special,” Wayne says. “It’s part celebration, part family reunion, and part visibility and voice for our beautiful, diverse community. Beyond all the fun, Fair Day is about inclusion. It says to every queer Canberran and every ally: you belong. And that message never gets old.”

Fair Day will once again take over Glebe Park on Saturday 1 November, offering an inclusive, outdoor celebration for all ages. Expect performers, stalls, drag shows, live music and a welcoming festival atmosphere that captures the spirit of SpringOUT: colourful, creative and community-minded.

But Fair Day is just the beginning.

Throughout November, Canberra’s queer scene will come alive with events celebrating all facets of identity and expression. SpringOUT’s signature events include Sport Your Pride (14–16 November), a three-day LGBTQIA+ multi-sport festival championing the motto “Move, Play, Belong”; the Comedy Gala (21 November), where satire and storytelling share the stage in an evening of laughter and resilience and Loud & Proud (23 November), a brand-new all-ages live music event featuring an all-trans and non-binary line-up.

Joining these are a growing number of partner events, from the high-energy Varsity Spring Roller Disco and STUN presents Electric Disco, to the grounding Queer Breathwork sessions and the launch of Canberra’s first LGBTQIA+ ice hockey club, Capital Riot.

Building community through connection

For Kalokairi Subakti (He/They), a SpringOUT committee member and performer, helping shape the 2025 program has been both a learning experience and a personal mission.

“I am a young queer person of colour, and I wanted to be able to serve my sector of the community in a way that felt more tangible,” he says.

Kalokairi will also take to the stage at Loud & Proud, performing as part of the all-trans and non-binary line-up, a first for the festival.

Having joined the festival team after the pandemic, Kalokairi says witnessing its post-COVID revival has been inspiring.

“I’d never experienced SpringOUT before COVID, so it’s been amazing to see it coming back to full capacity, and the excitement that comes with it,” he says.

“Because Canberra is a smaller city, I feel the community really knows each other so much more personally. Being able to come together every year to see everyone really helps make you feel like you have a place.”

Representation on stage and beyond

That sentiment, of finding home and connection, is one shared by many in the community, including Ravi Oli (He/Him), a drag king and performer whose artistry explores identity, culture and gender.

Originally from Singapore, Ravi moved to Canberra by way of Sydney and, like many, spent his first few years here feeling isolated. That changed when he attended a local drag show at Smith’s Alternative.

“I was hooked,” he recalls. “I got in touch with the producer of that event, I was a performer and dancer, and expressed interest in performing. About a year later, I decided to try drag myself.”

Events like SpringOUT, he says, give performers like him a vital platform to be seen and heard.

“My first time at SpringOUT, I remember sitting there watching performances and thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this is community, this is home,’” he says. “Especially Fair Day, it’s that one time of year where everybody comes out of the woodworks and joins in celebration at Glebe Park.”

For Ravi, representation is everything. “When you can head out to a large outdoor event and see someone like me performing, you feel seen and heard because I’m someone just like them. I think it’s very special and important that SpringOUT keeps doing what it does.”

He’s equally passionate about what the festival offers beyond performance, particularly its accessibility and diverse programming.

As the festival continues to expand, each new addition reflects the evolving face of Canberra’s queer culture, grounded in visibility, joy and inclusivity.

For Wayne, that evolution is a reminder of why Pride matters more than ever.

“To see the festival come back bigger, bolder and better than ever since the pandemic is incredible,” he says. “There’s real energy and pride in the air this year. And given what’s happening in parts of Australia and around the world, messages of inclusion have never been more important. To be back in full colour, in full celebration, is powerful.”

Wayne believes Canberra’s size gives the festival something special. “Our queer community is small enough to feel connected but big enough to make bold and courageous statements,” he says. “Canberra has always led the way on inclusion, and SpringOUT is a celebration of that, of who we are, how far we’ve come, and how proud we are to be here.”

As November approaches, that sense of belonging will once again take centre stage as the capital’s LGBTIQA+ community comes together to celebrate.

For the full SpringOUT program, visit springout.com.au, or follow the festival on Instagram (@springoutcbr) and Facebook (SpringOUT Pride Festival – Canberra).