Lesbian Wellington

Movie Big Girls Don't Cry returning

Premiering at Sundance earlier this year, Paloma Schneideman's coming-of-age coming-out debut launched the 2026 NZ International Film Festival with a tender portrait of 14-year-old Sid, as she tentatively traverses insecurity, identity and desire during the summer of 2006.

It sold out in the film festival and now it's coming back to Cuba and Petone Light House cinemas 8-14 October.

Paekākāriki Pride Festival 2026

Celebrate our wonderful diverse rainbow communities in the fabulous seaside village of Paekākāriki. The programme is on facebook ... so don't book to go away over Labour Weekend ... well no further than Paekākāriki.

• Fri 23^rd Oct 7-9:30pm Beats by Bingo with Mistress Viv @ Finn's Restaurant & Bar
  Get ready for a fabulous night of music, bingo, big laughs and PRIZES! $10 per person - door sales only but limited seating so be early ... more on the facebook event page
• Sat 24^th Oct 10am-1m Paekākāriki School Rainbow Gala & Plant Sale 10am-1pm - a bit on the side but always bargains
• Sat 24^th Oct 3pm Paekākāriki Pride Parade - meet at Campbell Park to stroll to St Peters Village Hall. Dress in your brightest colours, bring musical instruments, your dog, your friends and whanau and make some noise for the world-famous-in-Paekakariki Pride Parade!
• Sat 24^st Oct 4-5pm Kids' Pride Disco @ St Peter's Hall – the biggest little party for our tamariki! Free
• Sat 24^th Oct 7-11pm Adults' Dolly+Frankenfurter Dance Party
  This year's dance party is your chance to pay tribute to two of the biggest queer icons and allies that we sadly lost in August this year - Dolly Parton and Tim Curry (aka Frankenfurter) - just one day apart. Which one are you? ..... Or are you both?
  We're promised a night of absolute banger tunes from Vinyl&Proud, special guest DJ Panda, a cash bar, snacks for sale, a friendly and fabulous vibe, and oh yes, a dance-off and prizes for best costumes!
  No BYO, R18. Tix $20/$30 from eventfinda

Keep an eye on the Paekākāriki Pride facebook page for Festival updates.

Farewell to Jools Topp at the Auckland celebration

A special celebration honouring the life of Dame Jools Topp was held on Friday 19 June 2026. The event brought together whānau, friends, fellow artists, fans and members of the wider community to laugh, cry, sing, remember, and celebrate a truly one-of-a-kind woman who gave so much joy and courage to Aotearoa and the world. Available to stream on youtube or RNZ

Leonie's email list

This is a service for distributing your notices to the lesbian community. To join the list, email leonies.email.list@lesbian.net.nz. If you were once on the email list but have not received any messages for a long while you may need to rejoin - email Leonie.

Once you are on the list, you can send email notices to the same address for distribution. Any notice that will help or inform us as lesbians is sent out.

• When sending in a notice please include any relevant contact info in the content of the message or at the end - your email address in your message's header will be stripped out before the notice is distributed.
• Political notices and attachments are not sent out.
• And please keep your message simple - strip out earlier email messages to save Leonie having to do it!

Armstrong & Arthur Charitable Trust for Lesbians

The Armstrong and Arthur Charitable Trust for Lesbians was established in 2001 by the late Bea Arthur for the benefit of lesbian community groups in the Wellington region. The Trust is named to recognise and remember the 57 year relationship of Bea and her partner the late Bette Armstrong. The Trustees invite applications for funding assistance, as grants, for projects and activities that will benefit all or part of the lesbian communities in the Wellington region. Visit the Trust website www.armstrong-arthur-trust.nz for information about how to apply for grants, and how to donate or make bequests to the Trust.

Application forms and guidelines are available from the Trust's website.