On Saturday, the elegant and the lovely, the impish and the wayward will gather in all their over-the-top finery at Mushroom Farm Park, Sandton, for Johannesburg Pride.
It’s the second year in a row that Pride will take its feathers and rainbow flags to Sandton, after it was moved first from Zoo Lake to Newtown before it found a party spot at the Sandton Sports Club last year. Organisers said the decision to move the parade out of the city was due to safety and security concerns, which the city denied. But the event went ahead at the 11th hour, despite 2013 Pride being fraught with internal divisions that had continued since 2012.
That year, activists from rape advocacy group 1 in 9 lay on the parade route on Jan Smuts Avenue in defence of keeping political issues at the forefront of Pride.
This year, as Pride marks its 25th South African edition, organisers are feeling positive that the divisiveness of the past two Pride events will not be a feature at Mushroom Farm Park.
Under the inclusive theme, #IAMHUMAN, Pride’s new board of directors have taken criticism that there has been too much partying and too little politics taken into account, but the celebratory aspect will still dominate this year – and it’s aimed at everyone, including straight people.
The Johannesburg LGBTIAQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, intersex, asexual and queer) Community Pride was set up as a non-profit organisation last year, meaning that any surplus it generates can only be reinvested in Pride or distributed as grants to LGBTIAQ communities in Joburg.
“We’re confident we can grow the human rights component once we have a better funding and sponsor base,” says Pride director of human rights, Simone Haredien. “We’d like to do projects throughout the year.”
The current chair is Kaye Ally.
Gates open at 10am, with the parade leaving Mushroom Farm Park at 11am. The venue is part of the Sandton Urban Hub and is 150m from the Sandton Gautrain station.
Parade-goers will not be permitted to park in the street, and organisers have recommended parking at the Gautrain station or at Sandton City. Tuk tuks will move around the area during the day.
Entrance is free, except for VIP tickets at R350, available from [email protected]