BID TO SAVE CAPE TOWN PRIDE
A meeting is being held in Cape Town on Thursday in a bid to help save this year’s troubled Cape Town Pride event.
The meeting is open to all who wish to volunteer to assist Pride organisers in putting on the festival towards the end of February.
This follows the collapse of the previous Cape Town Pride organisation when most board members apparently resigned amid claims of a significant loss having been incurred by last year’s Pride.
The event has become bogged down in accusations of incompetence on the part of the previous board and rumours that Cape Town Pride will not take place this year.
According to Dominic Kessell, one of the board members who has stayed on, the 2011 event made a loss of at least R110,000, although this figure has not been finalised.
He claims that decisions about last year’s event were made by two or three individuals without proper consultation with the rest of the board.
Kessell, along with Cape Town-based designer Luiz DeLaja, says that he is still committed to putting on the event this year and that sponsors are being lined up.
Amid heated debates and demands that Cape Town Pride be correctly constituted and transparent on the Cape Town Pride Facebook page, Kessell admitted that the current situation is not idea.
“It is something of an emergency measure to make sure it happens this year. We can then work on getting the event run properly for next year,” he told Mambaonline.
The dates of 24 February to 4 March have been proposed for the event, not leaving much time for planning. Nevertheless, Kessell said: “I’m very confident that we can still put on a good Pride.”
Kessell added that support for his efforts from the community has been overwhelmingly positive thus far.
The Cape Town Pride volunteers meeting will take place on Thursday 19 January at The Locker Room, below Beefcakes, on Main Road, Green Point at 6.30 p.m.
For information about sponsorship of Cape Town Pride, contact Donovan Steyl at Lunch Box Media.
It would be great if the rest of the country could get the dates as soon as possible so that everyone can plan for this Pride. Otherwise there really isn’t going to be much of a crowd at CT Pride. Good luck guys but please give us the specific dates soon. Thanks.
A distinction needs to be made between the words “Committee” and “Board”. The Volunteers who made up the the organising committee – had no decision making power. This article refers to 3 individuals making decisions without properly consulting the rest of the committee. So which is it? Board or Committee, Mr Kessel?
Hi Gareth, this is our mistake. Dominic actually said board members, and we have corrected this. However, there has apparently been difficulty in updating the board’s details for a number of years as the original members have emigrated or even passed on. Thus, its unclear if last years board was actually a board in the legal sense.
save it
Holding thumbs that it can be saved. Seems from comments on the Facebook group that there are a lot of big egos involved. It’s a pity that people aren’t putting there egos aside for the greater good.
Give it up guys. The intentions are good – great even – but it turns into a cock up (figuratively speaking) so often that it just embarrases us as a community. Some straights couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery; we couldn’t stage a drag show in a couturier atelier.
Sad to see this article but hopeful that the few guys and gals that remain will still be able to shine and bring us Pride and make us proud!! Thanks guys and gals for your hard work!
Maybe we have reach that time when there is no need for a Pride march? Its the same as Gay bars? Maybe we do not need to have these anymore as well. Anyway I always feel embarased when they show pictures of the pride march as they always choose pictures of outrangous people not the everyday ordinary person who just happens to be gay. It gives the wrong impression I feel of the majority of gays.
Pride has been run like “someones” private company.. Information has been very slow in coming forth and it seems like Gareth, who sounds a bit disgruntled, need to get a life. Gareth, you actually failed to take pride to a new level, in fact moving it to Sea Point was probably the biggest failure of all times, let alone running at a lost too.. one that has an ill effect on what will happen currently. The scandal actually started with Ian, i believe you both best friends.. how interesting. not making this about any of you two – just that i would like to see both of you exist pride very quickly.. you failed the community.
Pride CT now has to settle a municipal bill of R110 000 for services rendered before permits can be issued. Im also not sure why volunteers are so defensive about everything, Lee in particular.
Pride must acknowledge it failure to bring all communities together, its still trying to recover from the “Jou ma Se” pride slogan.. Glenn can tell you all about it.
Moving it to sea point not only made us less visible in the community it was a slap in the face of Black and Coloured GLBTI as a whole. And Garreth, saying it must be more “upmarket” is really very subtle indeed.. we know who you were trying to exclude.
How about dropping the sunset cruise and highly overpriced Pink ball and convert that into fringe events where the gay community actually live. Go to the Cape Flats and Northern Suburbs and include them. It is NOT only a white affair… Get with the constitution!!
Also get the input of the community organization that has been around for more tha 25 years.. TRAINGLE PROJECT is one..
Please don’t be all EXCLUSIVE, but rather aim to be INCLUSIVE!
Good Luck, i always believed that in order for the Gay Pride to be successful, we must involve large companies, corporations who will sponsor a float to ensure a large spectacle of positivity. I know it is not easy. We wish you the best of luck, we always enjoyed the pride and believe that it should take place where visibilty is best and not in back streets in only Sea Point. Cape Town is cosmopolitan and a proud nation. We wish we were there – Ex owners of CLUB 55