Ten years ago, a small group of queer locals and allies started gathering together in the Southern Highlands. No big agenda. No fancy funding. Just people trying to find connection, community, and somewhere to belong.
Now, Pink Drinks Southern Highlands has grown into something genuinely beautiful.
Over 1,000 followers. Countless friendships. Relationships. Marriages. Breakups survived. Babies born. Dance floors shared. Nervous first meet-ups that turned into lifelong chosen family. Dog walks, dinners, drag, cooking classes, catch-ups, celebrations, and safe spaces for people who maybe never thought they’d find one here.
And at the centre of so much of that has been one person: Lauren Kelly.
As one of her besties, I need to say the things she probably never would about herself.
Lauren has poured her heart and soul into this community for a decade. She didn’t just create a Facebook group. She built visibility where there often wasn’t much. She stood up in a region that, while changing and growing, has not always felt like the easiest or safest place to be openly queer.
She became a constant voice saying:
“Hey my fellow queers, we’re over here. Come join us. Don’t be shy.”
That matters more than people realise, because loneliness can be incredibly quiet, especially for LGBTQIA+ folks.
It can look like moving to the Highlands and wondering if there’s anyone else like you. It can look like being scared to walk into an event alone. It can look like feeling invisible. Like you have to tone yourself down. Like maybe community belongs to other people, but not to you.
Pink Drinks changed that for so many people.
Lauren has spent years making sure there was enough diversity in the hangs so people could find their place. Not everyone wants a loud pub night. Not everyone drinks. Not everyone feels comfortable in the same spaces. So she thought about people and listened to them, then put the hard work in.
Dog walks. Coffee hangs. Cooking classes. Dance events. Big celebrations. Small intimate catch-ups.
That takes emotional labour, it takes care, it takes a lot of time and effort and it takes someone genuinely seeing people and trying to meet them where they are.
And she has done it all while also being a human being with her own life, stress, heartbreak, exhaustion, responsibilities, and challenges.
What many people probably don’t see are the sacrifices behind the scenes.
The fact that most events are fun for her, but she treats the night as something she is responsible for, staying alert and sober to make sure everyone else feels safe enough to let loose. The emotional energy spent checking in on nervous newcomers. The personal meet-and-greets for people attending alone for the first time. The countless hours organising venues, creating posts, messaging people back, calming anxieties, making introductions, smoothing things over, and carrying the invisible weight of community care.
Community doesn’t magically appear out of nowhere, it requires someone to nurture it and protect it. Someone to keep showing up for it over and over again, Lauren did that.
Of course, she hasn’t done it alone. Her wife Allison Simons has been a huge support behind the scenes, alongside so many incredible people within the Pink Drinks community itself, especially those who have been there since the early days. Communities survive because people keep turning up for each other. And this one absolutely has.
But leadership like Lauren’s deserves to be acknowledged, especially because she would never ask for recognition herself. She just loves our queer community people. Deeply. Fiercely. Genuinely.
She wants people to feel included and to be celebrated, safe, connected, and for ten years, she has helped create exactly that.
So from one queer local, therapist, bestie, and deeply grateful human: thank you.
Thank you for loving this community so hard.
Thank you for making sure nobody gets lost.
Thank you for helping so many people feel less alone.
And thank you for reminding queer folks across the Highlands and surrounds that there is space for us here too.
Happy 10 years, Pink Drinks. What a bloody beautiful thing you’ve created together.
The 10-year anniversary celebration is happening this Saturday 30th in Mittagong, and honestly? It’s going to be pretty damn special. If you’ve ever thought about coming along, consider this your sign. 🌈
