LGBT Families

Join your fellow LGBTQIA+ folks for a social evening of board games at Marché Board Games Cafe. We have access to the games library at the cafe. If you have a game that you want to share, please feel free to bring it along. We play all sorts of games - card games, party games, strategy games - and we're happy to teach new players. Groups for games usually form between 6:30-6:45, so it's important to try arrive on time to ensure you're allocated to a game/group. Anyone arriving late may have to wait for a game if all groups have started. The cafe has drinks and food available. Check out their menu here: https://mbgcafe.com.au/menu.pdf We only accept payment at the time of booking to reserve your spot. This means you will need to pay the booking amount via PayPal at the time of booking to confirm your spot. If you can't make it to the event, please ensure you get in touch by messaging the event hosts or emailing rainbowbg.melbourne@gmail.com at least one day before the event, and we can reverse your payment via PayPal. The cafe does NOT have a liquor licence. Consuming alcohol on the premises is illegal, and will result in any members being banned from future events. See you on Thursday!

Come along to **Father's Office QV** for after work socialising and drinks! New people are always welcome **Happy hours! 5pm-8pm and 9pm-11pm** Cocktails from $12 $10 pints $10 spirits $30 bottles of wine 📍**Location:** Father's Office QV, 249 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne Vic 3000 (near the State Library. Across the intersection from Melbourne Central) **How often do we have events? Weekly!** Join us at a different bar/pub each week to meet new people and see the familiar faces of the regular members. This is a regular weekly group for socialising and unwinding for the weekend. Most people come along by themselves so don't worry if you don't know any of the other members. Come along for relaxed socialising and making new friends in a change of scenery. Events are also on: Bartopia https://www.meetup.com/bartopia/ Raiders of the Lost Bars [https://www.meetup.com/barraiders/](https://www.meetup.com/barraiders/) Bartopia [https://www.facebook.com/groups/bartopia/](https://www.facebook.com/groups/bartopia/) Follow us on Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/bartopia.melbourne/](https://www.instagram.com/bartopia.melbourne/)

Our regular monthly presentation night on the second Thursday of the month from 6:30pm! Thanks to Mantel Group for hosting us again this month. If you're coming in person we're there with food and drinks from 6pm. We will be live streaming the presentations as usual from 6:30pm at [http://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/live](http://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/live) \-\-\- **Agenda** \| 6:00pm \| Food \+ Networking \| \| 6:30pm \| Event begins\. Introductions \| \| 6:40pm \| Chris Hocking — Pretending to be a coder \- Version 3: The world has changed since we last saw Chris… Codex\, Claude and burnout\. \| \| 7:15pm \| TBC \| \| 7:55pm \| Wrap up \+ social time at a nearby venue \| \* All times are approximate. Presentation order will be confirmed on the night. \-\-\-\- We are always looking for speakers and believe everyone has an interesting talk hiding inside themselves. If you are interested in letting that talk out at a future event you can get in touch on the website [https://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/talks](https://www.melbournecocoaheads.com/talks) or on Slack.

Hi Gophers! Join us this April for an evening of Go talks exploring real-world systems, from building a BitTorrent client to running Go on legacy architectures. We are looking forward to connecting with you. * **Agenda** **6:00pm — Food & Networking** **6:30pm — Intro + Go News** **6:45pm — Talks** **8.00pm — Wrap up then head out for kick ons** **🎤 Tom Clancy** **Building a BitTorrent client in Go** BitTorrent, first released in 2001 is a peer-to-peer protocol for file sharing. Its decentralised approach, where pieces of files are exchanged with peers (rather than a central server), is a natural fit for Go's concurrency model. This talk looks at the inner workings of the protocol, how to build your own client, and concurrency patterns for performance. Bio: Tom is a Software Engineer at Megaport, working on their edge networking functions platform (written in Go). **🎤 Sam Hobson** **Compiling Go for Ancient Architectures** Some customers approached Knocknoc asking if we can get our Go agent to run on their old HPUX PA-RISC and Solaris SPARC machines, both unsupported by Go, and we took on the challenge of finding a way to make it work Bio: "I'm Sam, I'm a software engineer of a couple of years working at a startup called Knocknoc on Just-in-time network layer access control software. Please come talk to me about cool stuff you're working on!" * **Interested in speaking at an upcoming event?** We will aim to have a mix of short (\~10min) and in-depth (20-30min) talks. If you’re keen to give a talk on a topic, share a project, or idea, please let us know [bit.ly/GolangMelbourneSpeakersForm](https://bit.ly/GolangMelbourneSpeakersForm)

Hello everyone! Join us for an Apache Kafka® x Apache Flink® meetup on **Apr 9th from 5:30pm**, in Melbourne! The address, agenda, and speaker information can be found below. See you there! **📍Venue**: 394 High Street Northcote, Victoria 3070 \*\*\* **🗓 Agenda:** * 5:30pm: Doors open * 5:30pm - 6:00pm: Pizza, Drinks, and Networking * 6:00pm - 6:30pm: Chad Harris, Solutions Architect, Factor House * 6:30pm - 7:00pm: Stephen Ermann, Senior Customer Success Technical Architect * 7:00pm - 7:30pm: Additional Networking \*\*\* **💡 Speaker:** Chad Harris, Solutions Architect, Factor House **Talk:** Things that go bump in the night: Kafka Operational Issues and How to Survive Them **Abstract:** Most Kafka talks focus on how things should work—this one is about what actually happens in production. We’ll walk through real-world operational issues encountered with Apache Kafka and its clients, from subtle misconfigurations to full “why is everything on fire?” moments. Along the way, we’ll break down how to identify what’s going wrong, which signals actually matter, and how to approach debugging when the system doesn’t behave the way you expect. This talk will also touch on observability, common failure patterns, and practical mitigation strategies you can apply immediately. Expect a mix of technical deep dives, debugging workflows, and a few war stories (including some questionable decisions and log-staring sessions). If you’ve ever wondered whether it’s just you? It's not! **Bio:** Chad Harris is a streaming data specialist and Solutions Architect at Factor House, where he helps organisations design, scale, and operate Apache Kafka platforms using industry-leading tooling. With experience scaling Kafka across organisations ranging from small startups to some of Silicon Valley's largest companies, Chad has been working with Kafka since its early days. He brings deep expertise across both real-time streaming and data-at-rest systems, with a strong focus on practical, production-ready architectures. \-\-\-\-\- **💡 Speaker:** Stephen Ermann, Senior Customer Success Technical Architect **Talk:** From Lag to Smooth Sailing: How Queues for Kafka (KIP-932) Fix Slow Consumers **Abstract:** Slow or bursty consumers are one of the most common reasons Kafka applications end up fighting lag, over-provisioning, and operational fire drills. Traditional Kafka consumer groups work brilliantly for high-throughput stream processing, but they can make it hard to serve heterogeneous consumers, apply backpressure cleanly, or guarantee fair access when some consumers fall behind. In this talk, we’ll explore **Queues for Kafka**, the new KIP-932 feature that introduces native queue semantics on top of Kafka’s battle-tested log foundation. We’ll look at how queues decouple producer and consumer throughput, isolate slow consumers without penalising fast ones, and provide more predictable delivery and scaling behaviour for “task” and “work queue” style workloads. You’ll walk away with: * A clear mental model of how Kafka queues differ from topics and consumer groups * Concrete design patterns for handling slow and spiky consumers * Migration tips for evolving existing Kafka-based services to use queues safely If you’ve ever stared at a lag graph wondering whether to add more consumers, more partitions, or more coffee, this session will show you a cleaner path to smooth sailing with Kafka. **Bio:** Stephen Ermann is a **Senior Customer Success Technical Architect at Confluent**, working with leading financial institutions across APAC to design and operate mission-critical, real-time data platforms. With deep experience in **Apache Kafka**, **Confluent Cloud and Platform**, and surrounding ecosystems like **Kafka Connect** and **Apache Flink**, Stephen helps customers solve hard problems around scalability, reliability, and security in production. They are particularly focused on **RBAC, OAuth, mTLS, and container image security**, as well as emerging **agentic AI** patterns built on streaming data. Outside day-to-day architecture work, Stephen regularly shares practical patterns and lessons learned at meetups and user groups across the region. \*\*\* If you would like to speak or host our next event please let us know! community@[confluent.io](http://confluent.io/)

Are you part of the LGBT+ community and looking to make some new friends in a relaxed, welcoming environment? Socialising as an adult isn’t always easy, so this event is designed to make it a little simpler. Join us for a casual afternoon where like-minded people can meet, chat, and connect. We’ll be gathering on the deck at **Welcome to Thornbury** for a relaxed afternoon of drinks and conversation. The event is completely **free** and intentionally unstructured - simply arrive, grab a drink, get some food from the trucks on site, and start chatting. Our events are designed so people can comfortably attend on their own, but bringing a friend is always welcome too. An experienced host will be present throughout the event to help people settle in, make introductions if needed, and ensure everyone feels comfortable. **[LGBT+ Social Hub Melbourne](https://www.instagram.com/lgbtsocialhubmelb/)** aims to provide a safe space for everyone. Bullying, harassment, and discrimination will not be tolerated.

**Registration required at below link:** **Tickets: $5** https://events.humanitix.com/april-2026-oot-and-aboot-x-euphoria-social-lgbtqia-afternoon-wellbeing-walk Join Oot & Aboot in collaboration with Euphoria Social for a relaxed LGBTQIA+ Afternoon wellbeing walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. This is not a fitness session. This is not a race. This walk is designed to create space for slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and building safe community. At the start of the walk, you’ll have the option to select a simple intention word to carry with you throughout the afternoon. We’ll move at a gentle, inclusive pace through the gardens, pausing occasionally to notice elements of the natural environment — such as scent, sound and scenery — and reflect on how time in green spaces supports mental wellbeing. No one is left behind. You’re welcome to talk, walk quietly, or simply be present. ## Post-Walk Community Coffee (Optional) The event concludes with a coffee at The Observatory for those who wish to continue connecting. This is completely optional. ## Meeting Point We will meet outside The Visitor Centre of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. Please arrive by 2:50 pm for an 3:00 pm sharp start. ## Agenda * 2:50 pm - 3:00 pm ### Arrival & Welcome * 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm ### Gentle Guided Walk Short Nature Pause * 3:45 pm - 4:30 pm ### Optional Community Coffee The Observatory Cafe in front of the Visitor Centre. ## Know Before You Go 1\. Who is this walk for? This walk is for LGBTQIA+ adults seeking connection, gentle movement and time in nature. All fitness levels are welcome, provided you are comfortable walking 4-5 km at a relaxed pace. 2\. How far will we walk? Approximately 4–5 km on mostly flat, accessible paths, with some sections that may be slightly hilly. 3\. What should I bring? Please bring: * A bottle of water * Hat * Sunscreen * Comfortable walking shoes Staying hydrated is essential, especially in warmer months. 4\. What should I wear? Comfortable, weather-appropriate clothing. Enclosed walking shoes recommended. 5\. What happens if the weather is bad? The event will be cancelled if severe weather is forecast. Participants will be notified at least 24 hours prior. 6\. Is this a therapy session? No. This is a peer-led wellbeing walk focused on community and nature connection. It is not a therapy or clinical service. 7\. Can I get a refund? Tickets are non-refundable. You may transfer your ticket to a future event with at least 24 hours’ notice. 8\. Can I ask for a wheelchair? Please let us know at least 48 hours in advance so we can book with the Visitor Centre, as availability is limited. ## About the Collaboration Oot & Aboot is a volunteer-run registered LGBTQIA+ charity creating inclusive outdoor and nature-based experiences that support mental wellbeing. Euphoria Social, a grassroots not-for-profit championing mental health, inclusion, and belonging for LGBTQIAPN+ communities across Victoria. Together, we’re creating safe spaces to move, breathe and belong.

**Tickets:** https://events.humanitix.com/sapphic-cocktail-party Thanks to our ongoing collaboration with [Hail Lilith](https://www.instagram.com/haillilithbar/), we're able to continue offering new experiences we think you'll love. This time we're doing something extra special for our sapphic friends. **This event is designed for women who love women.** Please join us for a classy evening of cocktails, delicious food, and feminine energy. Your ticket includes a cocktail on arrival, a shared grazing platter a little later in the afternoon, and your choice of a burger from a set menu around dinner time. Jenny, your host, will be there to greet you and make introductions throughout the night. This event does not follow our typical structured format and is more "free form", but still aims to provide an opportunity for strangers to connect and become friends... or even more if the vibes are right. LGBT+ Social Hub Melbourne aims to be a safe and inclusive space for everyone; bullying, harassment and discrimination will not be tolerated.

**Tickets:** [https://events.humanitix.com/queer-speed-fating-hail-lilith-ecl3gwzy](https://events.humanitix.com/queer-speed-fating-hail-lilith-ecl3gwzy) With dating apps and social media linked to stress, anxiety, poor body image, and low self-esteem, it's no wonder more and more people are looking to make connections in the real world - that's where we come in! This is a premium twist on our typical speed dating format, with a hint of the occult, and a delicious selection of canapes included with the price of your ticket. We are very excited to be collaborating with [Hail Lilith](https://www.instagram.com/haillilithbar/) for this one! We welcome queer folks of all genders to join us, and encourage you to come with an open mind - whether you meet new friends, or the love of your life, will be up to fate to decide. Attendance is strictly limited to 20 people, so if this sounds like your cup of tea, book in early to secure your place. The event will be organised by a mental health professional, and aims to provide a safe place for everyone; discrimination, harassment, abuse and consent violations will not be tolerated. **How It Works:** \- A list of prompt questions will be available to keep the conversation flowing \- A tarot card will be drawn for each dyad to interpet every time the tables change as a primary or secondary conversation starter \- An experienced hosts will provide structure\, and will be available for queries throughout the event \- Attendees are divided into two groups and cycle through 10 minute "fates" at random \- Some short breaks are provided in between batches of dates to give people the chance to mingle and reset \- We don't do scorecards; attendees are encouraged to create their own opportunities If you have any questions, please reach out!

This year to help support Night of Noise we will be having an open collaging event with the community at the Westerville Public Library. Feel free to stop on by anytime between 2:00-5:00pm to create lovely collages with us! Let us bring together community, uplift our voices, and create. All supplies needed will be provided.

**This month’s Creativity Circle is very timely. We will be making our own craft snowflakes out of paper, coffee filters, popsicle sticks, sparkles and more! Bring the snowy season inside without the wet and cold. All ages welcome, show up as you can, bring a friend or a few if you would like to! Excited to see you there! Seats Limited. Held at the Westerville Public Library Meeting Room B.**

Join us this Pride season to paint your own pride on rocks, paper, canvas, and yes- we are bringing back the bricks! Come create and paint with us. Seats and supplies limited! Come while you can for as long as you like! Westerville Public Library Meeting Room D.

**We are expanding our creative programming opportunities with Queer Quills, a quiet writing and sharing space. Queer Quills features some prompts, supplies and friendly faces to help get some inspiration or feedback for your writing. Hope to see you there!**

WQC has weekly Thursday night social nights at the Westerville Java Central. Come and grab a coffee and connect with the community: low stakes, chill environment, and tasty drinks. No registration is required; come as you are.

Join us for our April Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *[Stop Me if You've Heard This One](https://www.kristenarnettwriter.com/stopmeifyouveheardthisone)* by [Kristen Arnett](https://www.kristenarnettwriter.com/about) in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.