Editorial: Show your support for return of Bay Pride

Ms Ma Ma Laid (left) and Hana Tatere.

IT'S great to see the return of Bay Pride, a celebration of Rotorua's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, after a three-year hiatus.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea - which is fine - and there will inevitably be those who grumble there's no special festival to celebrate straight folk.

However, heterosexual people don't generally struggle with their sexuality or face prejudice and discrimination because of who they choose to love. Many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Kiwis do, even in 2015 when same-sex marriage is no big deal and gay celebrities, TV characters and sports stars are commonplace.

As local gay advocate Ms Ma Ma Laid said, next week's picnic on the Village Green is a way for members of the LGBT community to celebrate who they are are and take pride in that.

But the picnic's not just for the LGBT community. It's an inclusive event, and organisers hope all of Rotorua - young and old, gay and straight, of all cultural backgrounds - will come out for an afternoon of fun and togetherness.

How can that be anything but positive? It will also be a a chance to get a sneak peak at the Proudly Rotorua float a team of locals, led by Tamati Coffey, have been working on for the Auckland Pride Parade in two weeks' time.

Off its own bat, this group has come up with a concept and is making it happen, gathering support, making costumes and perfecting moves.

Our city's Famously Rotorua tourism marketing campaign has been targeting Aucklanders for some time now, with much success.

Having a proud Rotorua float in the Auckland parade, in front of thousands of Aucklanders, can only build on our reputation as a destination that welcomes all visitors. Even better, Tamati and his team plan to hand out flyers promoting Rotorua while they're at it.

Let's hope the city gets behind the Bay Pride and Proudly Rotorua.

Another example of residents working to make their city a better place are those out at Lake Okareka who have been quietly digging away for months to create a walking track all can enjoy.

It's easy to sit back and say what's wrong with the city and what could or should be done to make it better, yet here's another example of people making it happen for themselves.

It's people like you that make Rotorua a great place to live.