RAINBOW Coffs Harbour is preparing for its first ever Pride Walk on Saturday 22 June during Pride Month.

Held all around the world in June, Pride Month celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Founder and Director of Rainbow Coffs Harbour, Robyn Dever hopes the Pride Walk will bring like minded people together, foster a sense of community, and empower individuals to be proud of their identities.

“I would also like people to accept us for who we are,” Robyn told News Of The Area.

“This is the first time Coffs Harbour has seen a Pride Walk.

“We already have had many events since the Rainbow Coffs Harbour inception in 2015, but this is an important step in assimilating with the greater Coffs Harbour community.”

Those joining in the Pride Walk are asked to assemble by the basketball courts near the Pier Hotel on June 22 at 11am.

“We will then walk down the jetty strip, dressed in our rainbow splendour, where we get to the dive shop, then turn around and return,” she said.

“Please stop us and say g’day, or better still, join in if you are down that way.”

Rainbow Coffs Harbour is a social and supportive LGBTQIA+ group, with over 890 members within the Coffs Harbour area and surrounds.

“Pride Month is a time to reflect on how far civil rights have progressed and an opportunity to protest discrimination and violence that some of our community still suffer.

“It was first recognised in 1999 when US President Bill Clinton declared June as ‘Gay and Lesbian Pride Month’ because of the Stonewall riots.”

These were a series of protests by members of the then LGBTQ community in response to police raids that began in the early morning hours of June 28 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, New York.

“Now, it is often seen as the watershed moment for LGBTQIA+ rights,” she said.

The primary purpose of the Pride Walk is to raise awareness of LGBTQIA+ issues, promote inclusivity and diversity, advocate for equal rights and acceptance, and celebrate the community’s culture and identity.

“It is also a way to show solidarity and support and to push for social change and greater acceptance in society,” said Robyn.

Visit Rainbow Coffs Harbour on Facebook.

By Andrea FERRARI