A gay and lesbian social group will temporarily refit The Gables upstairs at the Miners Tavern into a spectacular queer venue, which they’ve aptly renamed “The Gaybles”.

The event, to be held September 17, will be hosted by well-known local “drag king” Lance DeBoyle alongside Ballarat thespian Luke Tonkin.

It will also feature live music, a charity auction, drag shows and an after-party at Elements Nightclub.

Organiser Benjamin Ashe said attendees would be encouraged to dress up in fine apparel.

“As it’s a ball, we’d love people to come in ball gowns or tuxedos or dress up in something spring-themed like a fairy,” he said.

“(But) we want to be welcoming to everyone so we won’t enforce that too much.”

The idea had come about after Mr Ashe and his social club attended this year’s Ballarat Heritage Weekend and discovered the city’s old-fashioned ballrooms.

“We thought wouldn’t it be great to have a gay and lesbian ball because we’ve got all these other events in other towns – ChillOut in Daylesford and Midsumma in Melbourne. We thought it would be good to have something high profile that people from other towns can come to,” Mr Ashe said.

“I think there’s quite a few gay people in town but there’s not much of a central focus in the community to get together. It’s a great opportunity for people to meet.”

Mr Ashe said Headspace, Safe Schools and the Victorian AIDS Council would each have market stalls at the event, and all ball proceeds would go towards Safe Schools. However, he said the event was more about fun than politics.

“Why I don’t want to shy away form the political nature of being gay and lesbian...it’s good to also have a social event and connect with people and have a good time,” he said.

“Being so diverse, some people will get turned off by politics and we don’t want them to not get access to services or meet new people.”

Tickets to the LGBTIQA Ball are $15 each, available at trybooking.com/218448