Our approach
Creating a HAPPIER, HEALTHIER & MORE welcoming Central Coast
Coastal Twist 2019 was the first National Visibility LGBTIQ Arts & Culture festival for Central Coast NSW, a region going through much social, economic and community visible change and we are very excited to deliver a innovative, authentic and impactful piece of inclusive creative pie to entice all tastes to our region which also lets us as locals celebrate ourselves, ou friends, our families and community, something which had never been done on such a large and visible scale!
LGBTIQ Arts & Culture celebrations are a great example of what a vital community symbol looks like & symbols are incredibly important for all people whose sexuality, gender, culture, age or ability is forced to remain invisible, because of the fear of discrimination, ostracism or even death.
Our original theme for 2019 was simply "We are here" , post COVID we tackled all the challenges that visiblity brought including fear of being outed at work, mulitple local youth suicides and local bashings, none of which were documented in any media yet as a community we began to openly discuss together and aign more deeply with local social and health orgs, Police and local Government. 2019 brought a completely sold out inaugural Festival to the region which expected around 800-1200 people - the reality was over 7,000 people across 3 days, 100s of you gave us great feedback, youth spoke out aloud and united, as did parents, friends, relatives all championing for a new way for this region, one which is embracing everyone.
2020/2021 saw public mass celebrations a massive risk to public health and safety with COVID as a new and undefined risk,...
Which lead us into our 2022 theme "Be the Change", an incredible year of hard wor, community collaboration all culminating in a festival which drew well over 9,500 people across 7 days, a 35% increase on our previous and a very unexpected delight.
For 2023 our theme is "Inclusion means you" the importance for all communities and life on this planet to value diversity as the norm. For 2023 we are working hard, creating safe and Inclusive spaces for self-expression which inspire authentic originality & celebrate unique and diverse imaginings & realities.
The NSW Central Coast is at the centre of the State's fastest growing corridor from the northern edge of Sydney to Newcastle with a population just under 350,000 & population along this corridor estimated to be 1.1 million by 2036.
Authentic inclusion and visible diversity takes work, much patience, care, education, listening and tolerance of others, we are determined to be a positive part of that direction both for our region and our planet and we would love for you to join us in whatever capacity makes that possible.
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We are a Registered Arts & Culture Incorporated Association. A registered Charity (Yes all donations are tax deductible over $2) operating for Cause | Culture & Creativity under our NAUGHTY NOODLE FUN HAUS ABN also trading as Central Coast Pride & the Coastal Twist Festival.
As with many creative organisations both here in Australia and around the world we have had to shift existing models for bringing about change to meet todays complex world head on and our multiple streams with a focus, exist to target visibility & diversity across the board championing for the broadest of human rights, lives, visibility & inclusion.
We tackle all of the above through Increased exposure to a greater range of voices and perspective including all genders, abilities, classes, ages LGBTQIA+ & First Nations.
The common thread is that no one is free until we are all free
The LGBTQI community is not one community, but is many communities made up of people with diverse sexualities, sex and gender identities.
Just like wider society, people in these communities come from differing backgrounds, hold differing political views and have differing experiences & as such, there is not one person or group who can or should represent the views of all LGBTIQ people and from that The Coastal Twist Festival was born.
By no means attempting to represent all the colours in, over and under the diverse rainbow of our planet. aka If you would like to see yourself represented, get involved, contribute, activate an event or workshop, connect, volunteer or just plain ol getting out there and amongst it.
We are an Arts & Culture community based festival, those involved represent what they wish to see reflected, creating their version of visibility.
Central Coast NSW is growing into itself, a vastly cultural coastal community that stands for a more equitable future where everyone is welcome.
Pride
People Recognizing Identities and Differences for Equality.
Coastal Twist Festival is leverage arts for social change , something for everyone across both the entire LGBTQIA+ community and overlapping into our entire broader community and beyond.
Never limit yourself because of others limited imagination & never limit others because of your own limited imagination - Mae Jemison
