Your Roving Rainbow Reporter has to admit leaving the warmth of the fireplace on a cold, windy and quite possibly wet evening to spend time in a cow shed in the back of beyond in Mid Northland was a tough call.

Never the less when Rainbow Reporting has to be done a faint heart never won a fair lady (or gent if you prefer) and the journey into the pitch darkness began.

Paula’s place was not illuminated with lights like the Sky Tower. The entrance to the field could only be negotiated by those with 4 x 4’s until Paula did her stuff with some bails of straw. The dance rhythms were not thumping out to guide us to the cowshed by sound even if we could not see it in the dark. The sound system had packed up and to make it worse the only heater in the place also decided to not do its thing.

All in all not the kind of start to guarantee a great night.

Then the most important thing happened. Those fantastic gay people we all know started to arrive from all around the Bay area, Whangarei and even from far flung Auckland. The Long Yang Club down in the big smoke organised a charabanc trip and came all that way to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to us.

‘Happy Birthday’ because we had all gathered to celebrate Gay in the Bay’s first year during which the gay folks of the bay have really made their mark on the Gay life of New Zealand. (Hells bells they have even made a T.V. programme to tell everyone how great it is to be Gay and in the Bay.) (click here)

The music system was replaced and sounds began, we did not need the heater for the dancing kept us warm enough, the flashing fairy lights and film projector gave us more than enough light to do what you do at a party and we’ll worry about getting out of the field later. Things were now firmly on track for a memorable party.

Its not the How, What, Why ,When, or Where which makes a party it’s the Who. And the ‘who’ were those fabulous people who put themselves out to organise and those ‘who’ turned up to support those efforts. No matter what we get up to, the Gay in the Bay events always exceed expectations and great fun, pleasure and fellowship is enjoyed by all.

A huge thank you to all on the committee for all the effort you put in, especially Bill for baking the birthday cake, and Rob who can now let down his stress levels (the music was fine Rob). And of course Paula and her family deserve a big round of applause for letting us crazy folks use the cowshed and for stepping in with an alternative sound system to keep us all hip hopping. Oh! and the bails of straw so we could leave at the end of a great night.

Your Roving Rainbow Reporter looks forward to seeing you all at the 8 Ball competition on September 18th.

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Gay in the Bay's 1st Anniversary!!

WHEN: Saturday 18 Th August 2007

TIME: 7PM – 2AM

WHERE: Angie's and Paula's Barn
Sign up for newsletter to join us (click here)

COSTS: $5.- for DJ (Dance party)

Bring finger food, drinks

If you stay overnight: food for communal breakfast

"Come as you are"

(not necessarily as people expect you to be)

We celebrate the fact that we can be ourselves in the Bay of Islands,

please bring your friends/family along to celebrate with us.

There is the possibility to pitch your tent or park your caravan/campervan.

The committee


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