NEWS Jhb Pride – The Wedding March! July 26, 2004 Scene from last year's Pride JOHANNESBURG — The annual Johannesburg Pride Festival, South Africa's original and largest Gay and Lesbian Pride celebration has been a fixture of the community for 14 years, and now going into it's 15th year of celebration and protest. The event occupies a unique place within the historical and tourism context of South Africa, and in so doing on PRIDE's 15th year coinciding with South Africa's 10 years of democracy, the event has aptly be named The Wedding March! The theme, The Wedding March, being in support of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, and several other community organisations, in support of several same sex couples, who have recently given notice of their intention to challenge the common law definition of marriage in the Johannesburg High Court. The event will be launching on the 18th of September 2004, building up to the Wedding March on the 25th of September 2004, including Heritage Day. The Pride march and festival will be once again start at Zoo Lake, marching through the streets of Rosebank, along the same route as last year, ending back at the fair day at Zoo Lake, Parkview Johannesburg. Johannesburg Pride Foundation will be organising the street parade, fair day and Tea Dance area. The week of fun festivities, parties and events will consist of workshops, theatre, exhibitions and a church service organised by the LGBTI community. A donation from proceeds made will be given to one of two charities supporting AIDS awareness. A PRIDE CD. will also be launched and will be available during the course of August; BMG Africa is compiling the CD. Further information of these events can be found on SA Pride and in the PRIDE event guide. Applications for merchandising, food stalls and flouts can be found on the website, closing dates are critical for logistical planning and need to be adhered to. Advertisers wishing to place advertisements in the PRIDE 2004 Event Guide are requested to visit the website, for specifications and booking forms. Deadline is the 6th of August 2004 for booking, and material deadline on the 13th of August 2004. For any additional information please contact the organisers on the following: info@sapride.org or 082 625 0179, all media related information on 082 470 9045. — Issued by - SA Pride Related stories 2005 Cape Pride dates announced [22/07/2004]