Camp Out to celebrate five year birthday with a community party

THE annual camp for LGBTI, asexual, queer and gender-diverse young people, Camp Out, is set to celebrate its fifth birthday.

The only camp of its kind for young people aged 12-17 in Australia, over the years Camp Out has supported 173 campers, many from rural and regional NSW. It now fills its camp grounds to capacity.

[showads ad=MREC]As well as the fun and laughter of fashion shows, dance classes, an art space and bush walks, campers are also provided with an entire week of workshops around gender and sexuality, safer sex, healthy relationships, feminism, support services, untold histories from within the community and more.

“I feel more confident in my identity so I can face the world and know no matter what other people think of me, I am who I am and they cannot change that,” one camper said.

“Meeting all the new people was amazing and I’m still seeing a lot of them now which is fantastic. I have been more open with my friends about the things going on because I’m not so ashamed in myself,” another camper said.

Camp Out will celebrate its five year birthday with a party in Marrickville, Sydney, as a way of saying thank you to all of its past campers and crew, as well as to community members who helped make it happen. 

The drug and alcohol free party will mark the amazing achievement with performances, workshops, delicious food and a Q&A panel at 3pm that will feature campers, founding members and current crew discussing Camp Out, personal experiences and the impact it has had on peoples’ lives.

DETAILS:
WHEN: Saturday, November 7 from 12noon to 8pm.
WHERE: Addison Road Community Centre, 142 Addison Rd, Marrickville
Entry by donation.
For further information, visit the Camp Out Facebook page.

Camp Out is entirely volunteer-run and receives no government funding. You can support Camp Out by holding a Dine Out 4 Camp Out, an initiative started in 2014 that sees community members invite friends over for dinner with a donation from each guest going towards the organisation and running of the camp. Contact the Camp Out crew on [email protected]