Phuti Khomo And Her Twadio Team Save Joburg Gay Pride

LGBT community of the leafy Joburg north celebrated its very own gay pride march in Sandton this past Saturday. I was honoured to receive VIP invitations from the organisers and one of the participants at the event Twadio. With two invites I was looking forward to a day of fun and excitement, unfortunately the day turned out differently. 

If the organizers of Joburg Pride have any sense they will make sure that their partnership with Phuti Khomo expands beyond what it is now because without the Twadio team, the event was a total bore. I did not march, never have and never will, so I arrived at the Sandton Sports Club at around 14h00.

Upon arriving I was directed to the VIP lounge which was more like a dressing room for all and sundry than a VIP lounge. It was evident that the VIP invitation by the main event was just a fluke. 

I then proceeded to the Twadio marquee. Immediately, I was welcomed and offered a drink. By this time I was bored out of my skull. The fact that I attended alone did not help much. 

The venue was not as packed as one would have hoped for it to be but given that this was the first time the event is held there, it was understandable. 

An hour later, provisions was made for alcohol in the Twadio marquee and I slowly started to have some sense of fun. Don't blame me, the entertainment was a disaster!

Bujy arrives...

Oh Bujy. Had he not arrived just at the time he did, I probably would have left. The effervescent and always grounded Mr Bikwa joined me and the day just seemed to flow from there. Soon I was not even noticing what was happening beyond where we were sitting with our drinks. 

I do not know what or who they were saving  the booze for because suddenly it just flowed while an hour before it took forever to arrive.

Let's take a moment to appreciate Maps Maponyane...

I am always excited about new faces and talent bin the industry and will do my best tio support them as much as I can. However there are people like Maps who just makes it so easy to root for him. The guy is just the epitome of cool, calm and collected. 

He was in the Twadio marquee looking all sauve in a pink tshirt that was not ironed properly but that is part of his charm. He does not look too put together and that makes him just a guy ... what could be cooler than that?  

He is not caught up in the hype around him and at times seems a bit oblivious that he is becoming THAT GUY that everyone wants to be friends with or ... uhm.. do other things with him. In a weird way that is what makes him even more endearing. 

I will however, be careful about liking him too much or prematurely because we have seen it recently where a new guy comes into the industry, we all rally behind him because he is so sweet then he becomes a household name and starts acting like he is God's gift to the industry. 

I like that Maps doesn't take himself too seriously, doesn't try very hard to be the IT guy and hope he keep it that way when he become the big star he is destined to be. 

Other stars in attendance were, Zakeeya Patel, Lerato Sengadi, Tamara Dey and Sade Gilberti

Verdict

In all fairness the event lived to my very low expectations given that it was treading new territories. In a strange way it did not disappoint because I was not expecting much. I love the fact that the event looked more integrated than before and an effort was made to make it about summer fun than some faux-activism movement.

With more sponsorship, better planning and less negative press, the event will certainly be a hot ticket. I can say it now, I would not be attending and Pride event in Soweto. Nothing against Soweto, I just like partying close to home. 

Thanks to Ola and Tebogo from Twadio for taking care of us, Tshepo for the invite and Phuti for hosting a fun day at Pride.