- Image courtesy of J Rostant (2010)
While the long weekend in March signifies the migration to Sydney for Mardi Gras, for many members of the GLBTI community it also marks the Daylesford’s ChillOut Festival. On Sunday 7 March 2010 members of the MRB made the trek to the ordinarily quiet country town of Daylesford, which had been transformed by a sea of rainbow flags for what has become Australia’s largest and most popular regional gay and lesbian event.
The band warded off the morning chill with a quick march down Vincent Street (and then back up, and then down again, and then back up again) along with other community groups and the ubiquitous drag queens in some very large outfits.
Following the parade there was a mad dash by all to Victoria Park on the outskirts of town for the main event, ChillOut Carnival. The MRB performed two sets by the entrance, welcoming revellers with camp classics such as the perennial “Village People Medley” and “Downtown”. More enjoyable for the band though, were pieces such as “Neil Diamond in Concert” and “The Genius of Ray Charles”. It was a wonderful surprise for all when two former members of the band, Annie and Chris who are now locals in Daylesford brought along their trumpets and sat in on our second set.
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