EVENT: The Living Room Fundraiser Dinner

Last night, I went to a fundraiser for The Living Room of Brevard at Austin's Californian Bistro in Downtown Melbourne. I was the guest of my friend JoJo "Chef to the Stars". He came dressed in an absolutely FABULOUS jacket:

JoJo knew a lot of the thirty or so people there, and we met a some more interesting people... like Jim, a retired college professor from Pennsylvania who moved to the area to be closer to his grandchildren and who is, like many of us here, finding it difficult getting accustomed to the community... there isn't much for straight people to do around here, but there's even fewer options for gays.

We're all excited for the new TLR building whose layout is currently being developed. We can't wait for it to open and to get some programs started. We just need more time/effort commitments from the local LGBT community. It's too bad that there are so many Power Gays in this community that are highly-closeted. It'll just take some of us to create some ruckus and get the word out that "We're Here, We're Queer, and for the most part, We're not so much different from the rest of y'all".

We also have to build up our straight allies. JoJo and I shared a table with a married couple, James and Eileen -- very interesting and passionate-for-life -- and we talked about food (glorious food), family, home-improvements, and of course celebrity gossip. They were a lot of fun to sit with.

In addition to the dinner, there was a silent auction of art donated by local gay and lesbian artists/sculptors/crafters. Right from the start I had my eye on the Asian work (not because I'm Asian, but because I really liked it). I decided to go for it, and after a couple of bid exchanges, I won the piece :) The money was going towards a good cause...

Here's a picture of the FABULOUS painting:

The event ended around 11:00pm which was a bit on the late side, but I had good company with JoJo and the weather outside was nice, so no loss of sleep there... plus I went back out that night to go see the midnight showing of Casino Royale (see the next blog post). Yes, it was a busy night... a busy day. Anyways,...

The fundraiser looked to be a success, and was a good time had by all. Thanks for the great evening, JoJo :)