Joburg Pride 2012- Zoo Lake

A couple of weeks ago, I attended gay pride which was held in Zoo lake. I went with the lovely Bongi and we had mad fun. Although my legs were sore for a few days afterwards, it felt good to walk for a good cause. Over 20,000 people attended Joburg Pride, which was the biggest-ever turnout for the longest-running and largest Pride event in Africa. Not all were there to ride floats, and dance to acts like Flash Republic, however. The parade was halted on Jan Smuts Avenue in Rosebank, when around 20 black lesbians and feminists from the One in Nine campaign staged a protest act – a “die-in” – on the road in front of Pride participants. The activists lay on the road, together with a number of mannequins, wearing purple t-shirts reading “Stop the war on women’s bodies”, and displaying banners which stated “Dying for justice” and “No cause for celebration”.The One in Nine campaigners hoped to secure a minute of silence to commemorate those members of the South African queer community who have been raped or slain over the past few years because of their sexual orientation or gender expression. They passed out leaflets listing 25 names of such individuals, noting that there were “countless more, unnamed and unknown”. But the activists did not find a receptive audience in the Pride participants leading the parade. Video footage shows an aggressive altercation between the activists and those parading. Police eventually moved the activists away.
By all accounts it was a nasty scene, and the aftermath has been nasty too. One in Nine activists accused Joburg Pride organisers of running a depoliticised, elitist, commercialised event totally divorced from what the real function of Pride should be. Joburg Pride organisers have accused the activists of ambushing a well-run event, behaving deliberately provocatively in order to make a stir, and committing the cardinal sin of airing the gay community’s dirty laundry in full view of all the heterosexuals.There are today three separate Pride marches which take place annually in Johannesburg: Joburg Pride in Rosebank, Soweto Pride, and Ekhurelheni Pride in Kwa Thema. Of the three, Joburg Pride is the best attended by an order of magnitude – it is thriving, in fact. Below are some of the pictures taken on that day. Have a fabulous weekend friends!!!

JAZZ ON THE LAKE @ ZOO LAKE

On the 2nd of September 2012, which was a few weeks ago, Jazz on the Lake took place. This annual festival has been taking place for over 20 years now (Thandiswa Mazwai reminisced about how she used to come to the festival while she was still a student at Wits university). This event is organised by the City of Johannesburg for its residents. It basically is a way for Joburgers to welcome Spring by chilling in the sun, having picnics and or braai's while listening to some great live music by the Lake. This year was no exception, some of my favourite acts included Lira and Thandiswa Mazwai. I went with my friends and had a great time. The event was well organised, with metro-buses collecting people from either Braamfontein or Alex and Parktown. We caught our bus in Braam and were in Zoo Lake in no time. A lot of people attended the event and needless to say by the time we went home, it was a nightmare to stand in line for a bus. All in all, it was a great way to spend a sunday afternoon with friends. Below are some of the pictures.