Arts writer
MCQP is back! And the Mother City Queer Project’s 21st party promises to be fit for a queen. Themed ‘Royal Navy’ this year’s event will be hosted at the Cape Town City Hall and adjacent Grand Parade on December 20 this year.
The theme was recently announced at Crew Bar. Ian McMahon explains: “Like last year, we decided to combine two themes. Kings and queens and everything from the house of Windsor, Tudor and Cards, sailors, seamen, petty officers, pirates and even some luminous starfish are expected to light up the pink carpet. And don’t dare showing up without a costume. You might just have to walk the plank”.
Each year MCQP fans dress up for what has become a Cape Town institution, and the headcount for the upcoming bash is expected at over 10 000 partygoers.
The main dance floor will be located in the 1905-built Edwardian building. Seven more dance floors, each with its own theme and music style, will be branched out upstairs, with a few on the Grand Parade.
With the Castle of Good Hope and Table Mountain as the backdrop, partygoers will be able to soak up the music of local and international DJ’s and performers.
Although there are no VIP tickets this year, there will be 300 limited Royal Enclosure tickets available, which treat holders to an open bar all night (and more entitlements fit for a queen), as well as eight Royal Boxes where the monarchs and princes get their own space for the entire grand performance. Each box holds 20 royals only.
McMahon says the crew is ready to go overboard for this very special occasion, “This year, not only do we celebrate our coming-of-age party, but also 20 years of freedom and we could not think of a more appropriate venue than where Tata Madiba made his first public speech in 1990, after spending 27 years in prison.”
“We are so proud that the final year students from the AAA School of Advertising conceptualized and designed the winning theme,” he adds. MCQP set up a college theme-project for all 90 students to coincide with the WDC2014 year activities.
Performer Genevieve Le Coq will be one of the emcees and will have her radar and periscope tuned in to detect some of Cape Town’s most creative costume partygoers. Le Coq doesn’t need to know how to tie any of the common seaman’s knots. Her performance is considered strong enough to keep a crew of sailors on the dance floor.
She’ll be joined by several acts like Dean Fuel, Jamie Saint, DJ Chadd, VJ Karl, The Kiffness, Jacques Terre'Blanche, Sam Roy and many more in what has become an iconic Cape Town event.
Gates open at 5pm, and there will be food offerings, stalls and other ‘royal’ features. Partygoers will be spoilt with choice when it comes to quenching their thirsts and satisfying their hunger, before taking to Disco, House, Cabaret, Trance, Butterbox, Dsh Dome, K.I.S.S Ladies Only and Crew Commercial Captain’s dance floors.
l Tickets: From R280, www.mcqp.co.za