Charity drag benefit ushers in Atlanta's Stonewall Week
The East Point Possums Show, the first event in Atlanta’s Stonewall Week, raised just over $10,000 for Atlanta Pride and the Atlanta Health Initiative at its 13th annual fundraiser on June 19.
Some 28 acts took the stage and wowed a crowd estimated at more than 1,500. From drag queens to drag kings and songs from Ke$ha to Lady Gaga, the annual show was a hit for the LGBT crowd as well as the straight people who come each year to enjoy the antics and fun of one of the largest drag shows in the Southeast.
It all started in someone’s backyard 13 years ago over the Fourth of July weekend and has now grown into one of the largest drag shows in the Southeast, organizers say.
The 13th annual East Point Possums Show kicks off Atlanta Pride’s Stonewall Week on June 19 in East Point with, well, a sashay — perhaps a clumsy sashay at that.
Rick Westbrook, a.k.a. Shenitta Lott, is one of the founding members of the show along with his partner, John Jeffrey (a.k.a. Prissy Cilla), Chuck Jenkins (a.k.a. Rococo Baroque) and Chesley Thurman (a.k.a. Dina Daintymouth). For Westbrook, the show’s popularity is a testament to people’s desire to come together for a good time and for a good cause.
This year, all money made at the Possums show will be donated to the Atlanta Pride Committee and the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative.