With so many festivals happening around Australia these days, it’s a wonder that the smaller, more niche events can survive. It’s a true testament then, for something like Brisbane’s Big Gay Day to be celebrating ten years of fun, especially when other similar events have fallen to the wayside.

Starting out in 2000, it was a step away from celebrations like Brisbane Sleaze Ball, embracing a style more akin to the long running Brisbane Pride Fair Day held in March. These days Big Gay Day can see anywhere from 4500 to 5000 people attending, and this year, it could be as many as 6000.

Maree Brown has been with Brisbane Big Gay Day since its conception. The current manager of The Wickham Hotel, Maree is one of the Operations Managers for Big Gay Day, which means she’s the one who keeps things running smoothly.

“I look back over the years and it’s all a bit of a blur,” Maree says, “I can’t remember a lot of it! It’s been really hard to try to piece it all together this year to celebrate the ten year mark.”

Last year, Pride Fair Day faced a large scale police presence and strict low alcohol enforcements, which put a real dampener on the event. According to Maree, we won’t be seeing a similarly heavy handed approach at Big Gay Day, because the events run on slightly different licenses.

“We have been very fortunate that we have not had any restrictions put on us. I think the local police and council have become very familiar with the event over the years and really support it.”

One of the most important parts of Big Gay Day is the fundraising, which sees a percentage of profits from the door go straight back into the community purse. In the past it has raised over $160,000 for worthy local charities like PFLAG, Open Doors, GLWA, the Transgender Association and the Toowoomba Young Women’s Place.

“Support your local Brisbane community and charities, which is what its all about in the first place,” Maree tells me. “We still get a fair bit of negative feedback from people complaining about the price of the event. I think in comparison, for what you get for your dollar even to go out to a nightclub these days, compared to the entry for this event that costs a fortune to put on… well it just needs some perspective put on it.”

Maree says that it’s disheartening when the team work so hard on the event, only to hear people complaining about the ticket price.

“A lot of people work really hard on this event and those funds are contributed to the community. I say stand together and stand proud.”

While not quite as ‘behind the scenes’ as Maree Brown, Les Smith has also been working, playing and generally part of Big Gay Day since its conception. Having been a DJ in Brisbane for longer than he would probably care to admit, not to mention playing at some of Australia’s biggest parties, Les is also one of the people who has a say on the entertainment at Big Gay Day and has been steadily DJing at the event over the years.

Having seen such a huge array of talent, Les Smith’s favorite entertainers list from years past is like a who’s-who of pop.

“Tina Cousins was incredibly vibrant, Marcia Hines had an amazing presence on stage, and she just played with everybody… she was just brilliant. Vanessa Amorosi was something very different, being more about a live band, she was just fantastic, the crowd just lapped her up. I think it was last year that we had Operator Please, they are a very good band and they have actually gone a long way… We have been lucky in that a lot of the bands have gone on to do bigger and better things.”

Not all the entertainment stands out for being brilliant unfortunately, some of the artists are memorable for other reason.

“Another standout would be the diva attitude of Martha Wash, and Anthony Callea was also a bit of a diva. I was a bit disappointing that he just left after finishing his set, didn’t hang around for even 5 minutes!”

Les says that he’s really excited to see what Kelly Rowland does this year.

“I saw her perform once, many years ago when she was in Destiny’s Child, at the Arena in Brisbane. Now she seems to have come into her own, and I really want to hear what she will sound like live.”

Check out SameSame’s Big Gay Day Retrospective here.

Big Gay Day is on Sunday March 7 at the Wickham Hotel, Brisbane. Tickets are $30 and available on the day. For more information check out the Big Gay Day website at www.biggayday.com.au.