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Drag show raises money for charity
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Kiley Boland |
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Drag queen Dixie Crystals walks the runway at the
annual Drag Show hosted by PRIDE at Wackadoo’s, Feb. 6. The event
raised $900 for the Friends Together Foundation which is a camp
dedicated to helping children with AIDS. |
By Ashley Czarnota
Contributing writer
The University of North Florida Drag Show raised $900 Feb. 6 for the Friends
Together Foundation, a camp dedicated to helping children infected with and
affected by AIDS.
As the queens of drag strutted down the Wackadoo’s runway, students waved their
dollars, checks and debit cards to benefit a children’s AIDS foundation hosted
by PRIDE, the lesbian and gay student association at UNF. The show began with an
amateur drag performance by PRIDE members and UNF students.
Rhiannon, the hosting queen seen at the Metro, a Jacksonville gay and lesbian
bar, demonstrated through an audience poll that it’s very rare for someone to
not know a person affected by AIDS.
“The scariest part of it is that although millions of people are infected with
aids, a big majority don’t even know they have it,” she said.
As the queens of the night educated and entertained, the crowd responded with
cheers and applause. The show’s three hours of performances, from Spice Girls to
Will and Grace’s Karen, surprised the audience of students and faculty.
“The profits from such remarkable performances are well deserved, and the energy
in this place is remarkable,” said Angela Rivera, sophomore political science
major.
Rivera said she was pleased with the creativity and brilliance PRIDE had in
creating awareness for such an important issue.
Miss Sable Jones, more commonly known as PRIDE member and senior business
management major Sammie Carr, worked the crowd with En Vogue’s Free Your Mind,
wearing stiletto leather boots, a sexy black top and fancy acrylic nails.
Rhiannon, Bianca, Lashes, Alexis Gabrielle Sharington and Deception of the Metro
will continue their performances at other universities. The drag queens said
they encourage students to go to their shows, be involved and be aware.
“It was a huge cause for a small company,” Carr said. “AIDS awareness truly is
the forefront of PRIDE.”
Last year, PRIDE raised $2,800 from two drag shows, according to Carr.
“This show was more than a fundraiser,” Carr said. “A show like this opens the
minds of the audience and opens the gate for people’s identities.”
E-mail Ashley Czarnota at uspinnak@unf.edu.
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