Team Friendly Atlanta, a group dedicated to reducing HIV stigma, held its launch party and a fundraiser at Jungle on Saturday, March 16. Participants bid to get people "dirty" and then bid to clean them off. And it was a sexy night for many of the guys, and two women, who were willing to auctioned off for charity. Those who were auctioned off included HIV activist and former Mr. Atlanta Eagle Chandler Bearden, Mark Gordon aka DJ Diablo Rojo, porn star Charlie Harding, aerialist Melissa Coffey, SirBen and Joeboy, leatherboy Dana Prosser and Lizzy Fountain, organizer for the "Dirty Boys" calendar.
Pamm Burdett of the Lloyd E. Russell Foundation donated $1,000 to have Bearden glitterbombed — and this Atlanta Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence chipped in $50 each to also have the pleasure of pouring glitter on him. It's probably safe to say he will be picking off glitter for years to come.
Team Friendly t-shirts were on sale and donations of male hygiene products were also being collected to donate to Lost-n-Found Youth, an organization that has served some 150 homeless LGBT youth in metro Atlanta. Eight of those young people have tested positive for HIV, according to Rick Westbrook, founder of Lost-n-Found.
Think of it as “Atlanta Idol” or our city’s local version of “The Voice” — but set in a gay bar and with the kind of attitude and attention to detail that only the creators of the queer “Bedlam” party series can bring.
“Sing for Your Life” started soliciting contestants online last month to huge response. A live audition narrowed the field, and on Jan. 10, the top 12 begin live weekly competitions at popular gay nightclub Jungle.
“To be honest with you, a show of this sort has been in my brain for years,” says creator Barry Brandon. “I started off as a singer, not a promoter, so music is really important to me.”
The Big Gay Game Show, a monthly fundraiser for Lost-n-Found Youth, was held Dec. 19 at Jungle and featured such local celebrities as Topher Payne (who played Lindsay Lohan and 'Your Mom'), Edie Cheezburger, Ruby Redd, Chandler Bearden, Ian Aber, Rick Westbrook and Wild Cherry Sucret.
Gay nightclub’s Holiday Dinner Theatre starts Friday
There was the family of Mrs. Ropers challenging the Hotlanta Rubber Group in a fun and racy game of Family Feud. I mean really, when asked, "What is something you eat in bed?" one of the top answers is, of course, "ass." Well, when the crowd surveyed is a bunch of gay men at least.
The Big Gay Game Show — held on the third Wednesday of each month at Jungle — benefits the Lost-n-Found organization that helps homeless LGBT youth. And this month, on Sept. 19, the debut of Dragnificent followed the Big Gay Game Game Show with host Nicole Paige Brooks and judges Phoenix (who is also producing the show), Edie Cheezburger and Nina Flowers of "RuPaul's Drag Race" fame.
Contestants for the first night were asked to express who they are. Competing in order of appearance were: Princess Vanessa, Aliya Sexton, Prima Alexandra, Arriana Paris, Tanyla Cassadine, Evah Destruction, Jai' Na Devereaux, Zaria Bonet Valentino, Peyton Elizabeth, Alexandra Knowles and Daniella Vess.
Tips to the contestants were also donated to Lost-n-Found.
New drag competition begins 7-week run tonight at Jungle
Organizers behind the wildly popular Dragnique show at Jungle are holding open auditions Wednesday, Aug. 29 for the new show Dragnificent.
The winner of the seven-week re-branded drag competition will receive $1,000 in addition to other prizes, organizers said. The show kicks off Sept. 19 at Jungle, immediately following September's Big Gay Gameshow.
"The Fantasy Girls are super proud to be presenting Dragnificent," said organizer and local drag personality Phoenix. "We have so many surprises in store for the audience and the contestants."
Atlanta Cotillion, the AID Atlanta fundraiser featuring men dressing up as female debutantes, hosted its annual cabaret and silent auction Aug. 16 at Jungle.
During the Cotillion season, the male "debs" compete to see who can raise the most money. The winner is crowned queen at the gala, formal Cotillon Ball. The 11th annual ball is set for Saturday, Sept. 15, at the Foundry at Puritan Mill. Tickets are $85 for those wearing gowns and $160 for those wearing tuxedos.
You can meet the six 2012 debutantes here, but you will have to wait until the ball to see them appear in their full feminine regalia.
Jungle Atlanta hosts PALS Bingo with Bubba D. Licious and Brent Star
“RuPaul's Drag Race” winner Sharon Needles will return to Atlanta this November for the “Miss Originality 2012” fundraiser, although after her last visit, a more fitting name might be “Miss Controversial.”
Needles will judge a drag competition and will perform two numbers to raise funds for Lost-N-Found Youth and Pets Are Loving Support (PALS), organizers said today.
The Nov. 9 event is sponsored by Brushstrokes, David Magazine, Gayborhood, Boy Next Door and will be hosted by Jungle Nightclub.
Last year's “Miss Originality” fundraiser raised $2,700 for local charities, including Jerusalem House and PALS, according to a press release.
The press release makes no mention of the intense debate sparked by Needles’ last performance at Jungle, noting only that “she’s been lauded for a refreshing alternative ‘spooky’ aesthetic and self-deprecating humor.”