RENEGADE PARADE -– INNER WEST COMMUNITY MEMBERS UNITE TO CELEBRATE DISSENT AND DIVERSITY

On Saturday 1st April, a Parade and Carnival of art, dance, music and performance will take over the streets of Newtown. A collection of community groups, visual and performance artists, musicians, students, activist collectives and local buskers will celebrate the diversity of the Inner West while paying tribute to the issues of local people in the community.

“The Renegade Parade gives people a chance to express the joys and the concerns of their community in a positive, creative way that people can relate to” says Chris, a spokesperson for Renegade Parade.

In stark juxtaposition to violent racist divisive events like the Cronulla riots, Renegade parade seeks to unite the community to celebrate our diversity and object to the real threats to our community: racism, prejudice, exploitation, war, privatisation and climate change.

As Rachel, a spokesperson for Renegade Parade explains: “It’s a scary time, where rights for our Indigenous custodians, Muslims, Women, GLBTQ community and workers are threatened. People in the community are also very concerned about issues like the War in Iraq, Detention centres, global warming and privatisation. Art and performance have historically been important in communicating injustices to broad audiences and also in bringing together people from different backgrounds. That’s why I think Renegade Parade will be a success in promoting unity and offering the community a voice of dissent – it’s also going to be a lot of fun!”

Renegade Parade begins on April 1st at Victoria Park, City road, Broadway at 12 noon where paraders will be led down King Street by an Indigenous Welcome to Country dance performance and joined by street art, music sustainable vehicles and political theatre. The Parade’s finale will be in Sydney Park, St Peters where a carnival of music, stalls and outdoor film screenings will be awaiting the paraders.

To find out more about getting involved, contact the Renegade Parade organising crew on [email protected] or call the renegade phone on 0424 557 909.