Social Well-being Finalist - 2026 Tidy Towns - Out Loud On The Ninch
Before February 2026, LGBTIQA+ residents on the Mornington Peninsula wanting a Midsumma event had to drive to Melbourne. Now they have their own.
Out Loud on the Ninch, held at the Mornington Peninsula Community Theatre, was the Peninsula's first Midsumma event, born after four local organisers noticed the gap and decided to close it themselves. More than 300 people turned up on the night, a number organisers say they'd never seen in one room locally before. At its centre was the You & I portrait exhibition, an intergenerational project pairing six queer young people with seven queer elders through photography and storytelling workshops, resulting in 17 portraits exploring identity and belonging. One young participant said it was the first time they'd met an older gay person.
Council data behind the event was stark: 61% of Peninsula residents surveyed for the Shire's inclusion strategy had experienced discrimination, and roughly 62% of young LGBTIQA+ people reported being diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetime. Community connection was identified as one of the clearest levers available.
Organisers' own lesson, from a post-event survey where 97% of respondents wanted the event to return: start planning earlier, and don't rely on a single grant cycle to make it happen again.
The X-factor was simple and rare: an entire local rainbow community seeing itself gathered in one place, possibly for the first time.
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