When I travel, I like to research everything I do ahead of time. Online searches are my friend. If you tell me we’re going snorkeling, I will know exactly what to expect to see before I get in the water—lichens, shrimp, and algae included. Attending the Cape Town Pride Festival was a spontaneous decision by my roommates, and I didn’t get to do my usual research. From checking out the event’s website, I did know that the Cape Town Pride Festival is the city’s biggest celebration of diversity, and it has a heavy focus on local LGBT issues, as well as those throughout Africa. It sounded pretty heavy to me, but I was blown away by what I found.

First of all, I quickly realized I could take anything I thought about it being “heavy” and throw that notion out of the window. The Cape Town Pride Festival is, first and foremost, a celebration. The whole thing lasts for a couple weeks, and our first night was for the Pride Divas show, which is the festivals’ much anticipated drag show. Like I said, I didn’t get to do my usual online background check, so I didn’t quite know what I was in for. I’d seen a few cabaret shows in my life, but nothing like this. The Divas show was a multi-media spectacle. The drag divas were hilarious and they did a great job keeping the energy high. Apparently they were local celebrities here in Cape Town. Again, if I had gotten to look them up, I might have known that ahead of time. Oh well.

We went back a week later for the Pride Parade, which is one of the last days of the festival. I had a little forewarning this time, and I had perused the internet enough to know that this was the Festival’s signature public event. We got to the Cape Town Stadium area at around 10 am (a little early to be out and about on a Saturday, but we were staying at The Grandy Daddy Hotel, which was close by) and it was packed. The parade kicked off at 11, but people were already dancing on the floats and the sidewalks. Some of the floats were sponsored by LGBT-interest businesses, but most were local groups and organizations. It was cool to see such a strong community presence, and I’m glad I got to experience the Cape Town Pride Festival. This year, I plan to do my research from the beginning, and am very excited to soon experience the event the second time around.

What: Cape Town Pride Festival
When: Feb 24 – Mar 6, 2011
Where: Cape Town
URL: http://capetownpride.org/index.php