The Coastal Twist Fair Day is a family-friendly LGBTQIA+ arts and culture festival that is held annually at Umina on the Central Coast, featuring live music, cabaret, and drag story time.

Local community events like this are so important for LGBTQIA+ people and our allies to be visible, included, safe, and celebrated. 

But the Coastal Twist Fair Day is under threat of cancellation. One of the reasons cited is reported to be due to a scheduling clash with the NRL grand final 80km away in Sydney.

According to the ABC, Central Coast Council claims the proposed location of the event, Umina Beach, would already be at capacity due to the NRL grand final and long weekend visitors, and the festival would result in "unacceptable traffic and parking impacts".

At this time council is waiting for the charity to meet 8 pages of requirements including over $35,000 of consultancy reports. 

Cancellation of events like this in other areas have caused real harm to the health and well-being of LGBTQIA+ people.

Central Coast Council must ensure that Coastal Twist Fair Day can go ahead over the October long weekend like it does every year. If traffic and parking are really the issue, Council should support the organisers to put any required mitigation in place.