InterAction at Midsumma Festival’s Carnival Fair Day

Midsumma Festival’s iconic Carnival Fair Day once again transformed Melbourne’s Alexandra Gardens on Sunday, January 18th into a vibrant celebration of LGBTQIA+ communities, culture, and advocacy. As one of Australia’s largest rainbow community festivals, Midsumma brings together tens of thousands of people each year for a day of connection, creativity, and community visibility. Fair Day is the beating heart of the festival- a sprawling outdoor event filled with stalls, performances, food, and opportunities for people to learn, engage, and celebrate diversity.

This year, InterAction was proud to be part of the festivities, bringing intersex visibility to the forefront and creating a welcoming space for conversation, learning, and connection. Our stall was glowing in yellow and purple, the colours of the intersex flag and stood out beautifully among the sea of community groups and organisations. The bright setup drew people in, but it was our bubble blowers that truly stole the show. They sparked joy, curiosity, and countless conversations with festival‑goers of all ages.

Fair Day offered an invaluable opportunity to broaden community understanding of what it means to be intersex. Many visitors stopped by to learn more about InterLink, our psychosocial support program, and Intersex Peer Support Australia (IPSA). We were heartened by the number of people who shared their own experiences, including many who disclosed that they are intersex and were seeking connection, support, or simply a sense of belonging. Moments like these remind us why visibility matters.

We were also thrilled to see strong engagement with the Darlington Statement, with many attendees choosing to sign and show their support for intersex human rights. With proposed Victorian legislation to protect babies and children with innate variations of sex characteristics due to be debated in parliament, there was a noticeable appetite for information. People wanted to understand the issues, the stakes, and the lived experiences behind the policy conversations. Fair Day gave us the perfect platform to meet that curiosity with compassion, clarity, and community‑led knowledge.

Throughout the day, we received thoughtful enquiries about our Yellow Tick education and our InterAction policy advocacy work, with many people expressing enthusiasm about connecting with InterLink, IPSA and the broader intersex community. The warmth and openness of the crowd made every conversation meaningful.

Thank you, Melbourne, for your friendliness, your curiosity, and your open hearts and minds. Thanks also to our team of staff and volunteers who shared so passionately about what we are up to! Midsumma Fair Day continues to be a powerful reminder of what community can look like when we show up for one another- brightly, proudly, and with a commitment to understanding and inclusion.