Charlotte.com – Rachel Sutherland
4 atypical debs will compete for queen
The Regional AIDS Interfaith Network is at it again.
First, it was female impersonator Shelita Hamm leading capacity crowds at Gay Bingo in themed games, complete with musical numbers and fab raffle prizes.
Now, the trend-setting charitable group is in the throes of the Queen City Cotillion, which pits four nontraditional debutantes against each other on a quest to be named Queen of the Queen City Cotillion Ball on Nov. 18 at the Charlotte’s Woman’s Club.
The cotillion will have plenty of cross-dressing and camp, but like Gay Bingo, the message is serious: Spreading AIDS education and awareness while raising money. The nonprofit RAIN also provides patient-care teams through local churches.
“The number of (AIDS) infections hasn’t changed since the beginning (of the epidemic). That blows my mind,” said Nathan Smith, RAIN director of community relations. “It’s still happening in the United States, in your town, to your neighbor.”
The group ended a six-year run of Gay Bingo in May, bringing in more than $600,000. By that time, the event had outgrown two venues and was housed at the Grady Cole Center, which was packed to the rafters.