Auckland's Hero Festival 2009 is taking shape, with several events announced – but there's no word yet on whether the iconic Hero Party will return.

The Big Gay Out picnic day in Point Chev's Coyle Park is confirmed for Sunday 8 February, queer artist Rebecca Swan's exhibition Assume Nothing will be shown from 23 January, while her Fabricated Truths exhibition will begin on 17 February, and the annual Heroic Gardens weekend will this year raise money for Hospice on 7 and 8 March.

Other event promoters including the teams behind K' Road's Sohomo and Flirt nights are also interested in planning special events during the Festival, and the Auckland Musical Theatre Company is planning a production of gay-themed play La Cage Aux Folles AKA The Birdcage in February.

The official begin-and-end dates for 2009's Festival are yet to be confirmed, however.

The Hero Brand Management Group's Lionel Vongue says the months have flown by and realizes time is running out to plan 2009's Hero Festival. The volunteer, who produced 2008's Hero Festival Guide, is seeking potential event organizers and keen new Hero helpers to contact him directly via email at lvongue@ihug.co.nz.

"Let's all pull together and create an amazing Festival that all of our community will enjoy," he says.

Hero's official website (hero.org.nz) has not yet been updated for the 2009 Festival, and the official Hero email inbox (info@hero.org.nz) has not been cleared recently – but Vongue expects both will be updated and fixed in coming weeks.