Wear it Purple Day was celebrated in style last Friday by members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies with a bingo and trivia night held at Woolstore Brewery.

The inaugural local event hosted by Limestone Coast Connect had over 50 attendees and raised about $1000, with 50% of proceeds going to Limestone Coast Connect and the remaining 50% donated to Wear it Purple to be spread around the country.

Wear it Purple Day was established in 2010 by a group of high school students trying to raise awareness around the bullying and harassment of LGBTQIA+ young people.

Limestone Coast Connect chair Patrick Smith said there was clearly a need for a similar activity to happen on a regular basis because of the diversity of people in attendance.

“About 66% of LGBTQIA+ young people at some point during their young lives experience some sort of bullying or homophobia that are related just to being themselves,” he said.

“We are trying to help our young people by having adult role models to show that it’s okay to be yourself and out about and proud in your community.

“It is very important to have events like this to have visibility because in rural and regional areas having at least one adult that is a positive role model for our young rainbow people will have an increased likelihood of them actually seeing something positive about their identity, who they like and who they want to be with moving forward.

“LGBTQIA+ people are in your community and we are your community, so please make sure we are welcoming and including everybody as much as we can.

“We are extremely thankful to all the businesses and organisations that donated prizes to us from around the region.”

Limestone Coast Connect are appealing for any community members in Naracoorte, Lucindale, Robe, Kingston and Tatiara who would like to increase visibility in their area and can be contacted through their Facebook page Limestone Coast Connect or by email at limestone.coast.lgbtiq.com addressed to Patrick.