Serious side to glitz of Hikoi on Heels

By KATIE CHAPMAN - The Dominion Post

Last updated 05:00 17/08/2010

High heels will be donned and feather boas flung when all things Maori and fabulous arrive in Wellington.

The Hikoi on Heels will end its nationwide tour in the capital on Saturday, with a drag queen spectacle taking to the stage at Wellington's Club Ivy.

The tour is to raise money for the annual Hui Takatapui conference, which will be held in Wellington in October.

The gathering is a chance for takatapui – Maori gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people – to meet and discuss matters affecting them. The hui aims to increase Maori support for HIV prevention, as well as providing leadership and advice on issues for takatapui.

New Zealand Aids Foundation community engagement co-ordinator Maihi Makiha said the hui was an important event for young people.

"It's really important for our young generations who are coming through and need education and need to be told there are people out there to support them if they require it."

Mr Makiha would be among the drag queens taking to the stage with the hikoi, under his stage persona Diana Thirst.

It was a chance to bust out the feather boas and have fun, while raising money for the hui, he said.

All performers had donated their time, and they had packed out bars in Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.

When people in Whangarei kept playing pool, they quickly made them pay attention, Mr Makiha said. "We got up on their pool tables and kicked their balls out."

Wellington performer Amanduh la Whore said the "hikoi" was a showcase of local and national talent, and the Wellington show would be the "piece de resistance" of the tour.

KENT BLECHYNDEN/The Dominion Post

BUSTING OUT THE BOAS: Diana Thirst, left, and Amanduh la Whore are ready to take on Wellington.