March 31, 1999
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March 31, 1999 |
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news| listings| culcha| personal| boychat| girlchat| women| about q |
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news
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All about Pride Johannesburg's 10th lesbian & gay pride parade transforms itself into a mardi gras and draws international acts.
The 10th anniversary of Pride will also see a change from a carnival with after party to one event in the form of a mardi gras. The two events will run into one another, unlike other years. Other events around the same date, September 25th, are the International Lesbian and Gay Association's (ILGA) world conference as well as the co-hosting of the Stonewall 30 celebrations during which there will be a live television broadcast to San Francisco.
Pride is currently working on a new web site with a chat room that will be launched soon. The Pride team also understands the importance of the media and has for this reason made sure to have a presence in all the major newspapers, magazines and electronic media. So watch the press for the latest. News about Pride will also, for the first time, appear in Zulu and Xhosa. Some of the stars who have been contacted and have express interest in being at the Johannesburg event are Ru Paul, Jimmy Somerville, Annie Di Franco, Melissa Enthridge and a whole host of local artists. There will be a wide variety of gay and lesbian talent, everything from cabaret to drag, performance art to kwaito. Rave bunnies can look forward to house and trace by well known DJs.
Celebrations and parties is what brings divergent people from all over South Africa together. The Pride team, in cooperation with the Gay & Lesbian Organisation of Pretoria (GLOP) and Gay & Lesbian Archives (GALA) are already planning not to march to Pretoria, but to include it in the celebrations. A spectacular launch has been planned for Wednesday September 1 which may include flying the rainbow flag at the Union Buildings. The new Committee has adopted an open-door policy and intend publishing their financial statements for the last year for people to see what the volunteers have been so busy with, and what funding they get.
The idea is that everybody on Pride Day, wherever they are in the counrty, will take part in a Pride party, competition or event in their own cities if they cannot make it to Johannesburg. They also want smaller, out-of-the-way places to join in, whether a small lesbian and gay shebeen in Guguletu, or are an upmarket guest house in Simons Town.
Q will host a live web cast of the Pride festivities on that day. For more information contact Sharon Cooper 082 901 9522 (email: sharonc@maslex.co.za) or Steven Malcolm 648-2736.
an Electronic Mail & Guardian publication
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JOHANNESBURG - The 10th annual lesbian & gay pride parade is expected to eclipse other years and draw a crowd of 30 000 participants, but organisers say this figure could go up to 50 000 if Pride's Outreach programme comes off in time.
ILGA will have their first world conference ever on the African continent, and largely due to the efforts of the late Simon Nkoli. Johannesburg is the only other city to have been given the honour of co-hosting the 30th anniversary of the 1969 New York stonewall riots.
This year's mardi gras will include more bars, clubs, restaurants and organisations than before and the Pride team are intent on making the community event truly community based.
Other firsts are fashion shows, Mr Drag, Mz Femme competitions as well as the Pride group's intention to involve other cities like Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, East London and Bloemfontein in efforts to involve everybody in the anniversary year.
Pride, in conjunction with Q will launch a lesbian and gay guide to South Africa on Pride day. The Guide will contain a listing of all gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered businesses or organisations in South Africa as well as other southern African countries.