big event coming for kzn homosexuals

By Mongezi Mhlongo (BTM Reporter)

SOUTH AFRICA – 6 November 2008: Between 29 November and 6 December this year Gay and Lesbian Network in Pitermaritzburg will host a first ever gay celebration festival.

Titled The Pink Mynah, the event is different from prior events that the Kwa-Zulu Natal province ever experienced where it is intended to create a serene space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in that province. So, gay issues will be entertained aiming at the general public ensuring a comprehensible society.

“The festival and all activities are open to everyone. The idea is to create tolerance and understanding between all communities and create a united province irrespective of race, gender and sexual orientation”, explained Anthony Waldhausen, director of Gay and Lesbian Network.

This much awaited festival comes after five successful annual gay beauty pageants hosted by the organisation.

“We have had tremendous success with the annual beauty pageant, and there has been keen interest and it has been well received. We had to organise the festival”, continued Waldhausen. 

The event entails street parades, community picnics, film screenings as well as a feast of music entertainment and dancing. It is intended to run concurrently with the World Aids Day on 1 December.

According to the official World AIDS Day website, this is the day “when individuals and organisations from around the world come together to bring attention to the global AIDS epidemic. 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.”

Commemorating this momentous day, Gay and Lesbian Network has partnered with the South African department of health for the Aids day campaign.

Activities scheduled for this particular day will include a workshop called Living Positively and two film screenings, Rampant: How a City Stopped a Plague and Eating Out1 and 2 Sloopy Seconds.

The former is a fascinating documentary that explores the discovery of Aids in Australia, and looking at how radical the disease was dealt with following the first diagnosis of a 27-year-old gay man from New York in Sydney.

There’s also a community picnic that is accompanied by different entertainment activities and gay games. Also on the agenda will be the discussion on religion and homosexuality, and hate crimes workshops.

The event will end with Mr. and Miss Kwa-Zulu Natal pageant followed by an after-party.

The pageant is open to all gays and lesbians residing in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and winners of will be entered into the Mr. and Miss Gay South Africa International pageant to represent the province next year.