Thanks to our sponsors:
Queer Games Night
Type of project: Social, wellbeing, connection, community event
Sponsors/Funders: Rule Foundation, Moment Cafe, InsideOUT Kōaro, Hummingbird Coffee
Location: 2023 – Moment Cafe, 87 Manchester St
2022 – understorey at The Welder, 24 Welles St, Otautahi & understorey The Terrace
Status: Active
Queer Games Night is a monthly, all ages, dry LGBTQIA+ community games night.
Queer Games Night began in January 2022 once understorey tuarua was established and our Programme Director Khye (they/them) felt that it was the perfect, safe space to hold an alcohol-free social night for the Ōtautahi queer community.
Thanks to support from The Peter Rule Foundation, this event runs monthly, is free to attend, and vegan snacks and non-alcoholic drinks are provided. Youth rainbow organisation InsideOUT Kōaro and Hummingbird Coffee have also supported the the food & drinks.
With understorey taking a pause at the end of 2022, in early 2023, The Green Lab partnered with Moment Cafe to host Queer Games Nights moving forward. Moment generously agreed to let The Green Lab host the event in their venue. The cafe will not be open during the event, and our usual snacks and drinks will be provided.
Visit our Facebook page to find out about the next Queer Games.
Queer Games Night is an excellent asset to the community, especially in Christchurch where I don't find there to be many queer-friendly specific openings! I've personally enjoyed finding new friends who identify under the rainbow, while providing another option of something fun and quieter to do in the evening where so much of the night life in Christchurch is drinking and loud music.
LGTBQIA+ research in Canterbury conducted by the ‘All Right?’ campaign a few years ago in conjunction with Qtopia found a demand for more queer-friendly venues, for intergenerational
events, and for events without alcohol. The Green Lab’s queer games night meet this need
perfectly.
I have enjoyed a queer games night first-hand. It was a pleasure to meet new people in an
intergenerational crowd. I also enjoyed getting to partake in snacks, which is not always an option for me as a vegan. The event was fun, accessible, and inclusive. Events like this support the visibility and wellbeing of the LGBTQIA+ community in Ōtautahi and our whānau.
