How Dare you Cancel Pride?!: Lessons from the cancellation of the Wagga Wagga Mardi Gras.

LGBTQI+ Pride events are typically contentious, and more so when they happen in environments with a robust heteronormative culture such as a rural or regional community. Within these communities, LGBTQI+ individuals typically remain invisible due to fears of retribution. This invisibility however, inadvertently reinforcing hegemonic notions of gender and sexuality. Pride events, therefore, help disrupt this environment, inverting the norms and bringing visibility to the local LGBTQI+ communities. This paper explores the cancellation of a rural pride event in response to COVID19. The findings guide how communication of such cancellations should be managed.