Their first thought was to organize a colossal mussel party to complement a similar celebration in town focused on oysters and their target market was the gay market. Their decision to call the proposed two-day event "Gay! May!"
met with some resistance and so they returned to the drawing board, extended the duration and scope of the event - and scoured the local forests for inspiration, the gin now being depleted. A glimpse of a Knysna Loerie (a revered and exquisitely beautiful local bird) spawned a notion, and the carnivalesque Pink Loerie was born - complete with feather boa, false eyelashes, glitter lipstick, and an unadulterated sense of fun.

At this point Johan was lured from Knysna. Inspired by comments made by Drag Artiste extraordinaire, Miss Dainti Delischia, on the Pride march in Johannesburg when she said: "we do not need a pride march any longer, but rather a celebration of our freedom thanks to our wonderful constitution", Juan set about formulating the aims of this Mardi Gras-style event. In his’ own words, "the idea was to establish a gay carnival to celebrate the diversity of the gay culture in scenically magnificent environment  thereby attracting visitors to the area in an otherwise very quiet month. The Carnival was also to be a platform for debate and education and to stimulate awareness and understanding of gay issues as well as the HIV/AIDS pandemic. One of the goals was to get the entire Knysna community involved in the event to demonstrate solidarity and to show others that when there is a common goal, acceptance and open-mindedness is indeed achievable.

Public meetings were held in Knysna to convey the concept of the Carnival and to illicit support from the local community, both gay and straight, for this initiative. Though the challenges were plentiful, they were admirably met, and these efforts culminated in a very successful Carnival launch and a glittering fund-raiser at Ashmead Resort in May 2000. The Pink Loerie logo, sponsored by John Marc Bland in memory of his late mother, was also ‘unveiled’ at this time.

There was renewed enthusiasm, and increased attendance at the public meetings, following the launch. At one of these meetings four volunteers i.e. Juan Alan Sass, Claudia Davidson and Cathy du Preez were nominated as organizers for the 2001 Carnival.

It was decided at the outset that a company should be formed in order to give the event credibility and permanence and so the Pink Loerie Promotions (Pty) Ltd was born, being officially established in December 2000, some six months later. During this time the steering committee continued to organize the Carnival, largely at their expense and in their own time. They also became the Company’s interim directors.

The first Pink Loerie Mardi Gras, held in May 2001, was a huge success and even reached the front page of the Cape Times . Since them the Pink Loerie Mardi Gras has grown to be ever more popular with huge support from the gay and lesbian community. Even the local businesses dress their shop windows in pink and a floating trophy is awarded to the best-dressed shop.