JOBURG PREPARES TO CELEBRATE PRIDE

The city of Johannesburg is preparing to celebrate its vibrant lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community with the 20th annual Joburg Pride Day
Published on: 01 October 2009

The organisers of Joburg Pride have called on all LGBTI people and their friends, families and supporters to attend the 2009 Pride Day to ensure that our community is loudly heard amidst the growing chorus of voices threatening to diminish the equality that we have secured since 1994.

THE PRIDE PARADE

The 2009 Pride Parade, featuring a host of colourful floats and thousands of revellers, will kick off from Zoo Lake Sports Club at 11 am through the streets of Rosebank. The procession will be led by the Grand Marshal of the Parade, none other than 94.7 Highveld Stereo’s Jeremy Mansfield.
Refreshment points for marchers and their dogs, sponsored by Powerade and Royal Canin, will be provided along the route. No alcohol is permitted to be consumed in the Parade and participants are reminded to wear sunscreen and a hat or cap.

PRIDE DAY

Marchers return back to Zoo Lake Sports Club at around 12.30 pm for the rest of the Pride Day festivities until 5pm. Besides the entertainment - featuring various performers, DJs (including 94.7 Highveld Stereo personalities) and drag shows - there will also be Pride stalls (with all sorts of goodies on display and on sale), bars, food and a kiddies’ play area.
The Clubhouse area - limited to 200 people at R50 each - will be on offer. This will include: a full cash bar; menu to order food; private toilets; and a fantastic view of the venue. Contact Natasha at natasha@joburgpride.org or on 076 454 2076 to reserve your tickets.
The gates at Zoo Lake Sports Club open at 9am. Entrance is free!

THE COMMUNITY VILLAGE

A ‘Community Village’ at Zoo Lake Sports Club will house representatives from a number of gay community organisations and will highlight the 20 anniversary of Joburg Pride in line with this year's theme of "You Need Pride". OUT (LGBT Wellbeing) will provide free voluntary HIV testing and counselling including risk reduction counselling for those who have a need to address substance use. An interactive retrospective exhibition - in partnership with GALA - will raise awareness and promote political consciousness among the LGBTI community, especially the youth. There will also be a women's only space in the Village.
For more information about Joburg Pride 2009 visit www.joburgpride.org.

TOWNSHIP TRANSPORT

Bus transport will be provided to and from a number of townships on Saturday 3rd October to ensure access to Pride by under-resourced LGBT people and to promote broad representation and participation by the full spectrum of the LGBT community. Three buses will depart, respectively, from Soweto (Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital), Kwa-Thema (Kwa-Thema Community Hall) and Vosloorus at 8am on the morning of the Pride Day and will return passengers in the evening.