Over 70 people joined in Bathurst's first walking Mardi Gras parade

The event, which began with a walking parade through the CBD to Keystone, where the bigger celebration was held, served as a precursor to the main event in Sydney next weekend.

Community engagement officer with headspace, Sam Bolt, who helped organise the event, said it was an amazing night.

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"Considering the weather had other ideas via extreme heat and storms, to have 70 people show up to the first ever Bathurst Mardi Gras march is something the community deserves to be proud of," Mr Bolt said.

"The march was the new addition to headspace Bathurst's continuing partnership with Betty Confetti to organise Bathurst Mardi Gras, as we felt it was about time our local LGBTQIA+ community got their opportunity to celebrate their identity and culture in a public setting."

"We sent an open invite out to Bathurst Regional councillors in the lead up to the march, and were pleased to see councillors Kirralee Burke, Margaret Hogan and Ben Fry accept our invitation, as well as some respectful words of encouragement from councillors Jess Jennings, Andrew Smith and mayor Robert Taylor."

"Having members of our local council attend the march was a huge boon for the event, as it showed young people in the community who identify as LGBTQIA+ that there are members of local government acknowledging and respecting their contributions to the town's vibrant culture."

"It was also a big boon to have Chifley Local Area Command Chief Inspector Glenn Cogdell and Sergeant Jodi Stewart (Chifley LAC's GLLO) join us on the march, and we'd like to thank them for helping us put in the required controls to make this march possible."

While numbers at the Keystone event were a bit down on last year, Mr Bolt said it's worth noting registrations for the headspace part of the night reached the 200-person capacity in the week leading up to the event.

"The weather was likely the main factor here, as significant winds and a major downpour set in at the conclusion of the march, but the important thing is we still had young people having a great time celebrating pride and enjoying some high quality drag queen performances," he said.

"We will be evaluating the event over the next few months to see what worked and what didn't, so we can continue to grow this grand event into the future."

He said headspace Bathurst was proud to be part of the Bathurst Mardi Gras.

"As a young person, finding your identity in a regional community is often a greater challenge due to a more selective pool of social opportunities, and this challenge is only compounded for someone who identifies as LGBTQIA+," Mr Bolt said.

"We see it in many young people who present to headspace Bathurst; they often find it a struggle to express their identity out of fear of judgement or confusing family members, and our purpose at headspace Bathurst is to ensure these young people build enough mental resilience to deal with the multitude of curveballs life can throw at you.

"Since 2021, headspace Bathurst has been involved with Bathurst Mardi Gras to help promote the important role young people who identify as LGBTQIA+ play on local communities, because it's important for us to help foster safe spaces for everyone, regardless of identity or background."

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