Philadelphia is invited to celebrate a legendary LGBT health facility along with a legendary gay icon later this month at the Jersey Shore.
Mazzoni Center will host a fundraising gala May 21-22 at Caesars Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City. The weekend will include a concert by Diana Ross, who is performing at Caesars’ Circus Maximus Theater, as well as a private, post-performance engagement with the singer.
The event will serve as the capstone for Mazzoni’s yearlong 30th-anniversary celebration.
The facility launched in 1979 as a health-planning subcommittee at the Gay Community Center, the precursor to the current William Way LGBT Community Center. The agency underwent several name changes, calling itself the Lavender Health Project and later the Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives. In 1995, PCHA launched an HIV-testing center called the Mazzoni Clinic, named after early activist and board member Dr. Peter Mazzoni, who died several years earlier, and the organization adopted its current moniker in 2003.
Executive director Nurit Shein said the phases the agency has gone through in the past three decades represent its growth and evolving mission.
“Lavender Health was a fledgling organization that essentially did education and STD screenings for gay men and lesbians, mostly in the bathhouses. And Philadelphia Community Health Alternatives came about when we were at the height of the AIDS epidemic, and it worked to respond to the epidemic. It was really the first organization in the commonwealth to respond by creating services like case management, food and housing programs and support groups, which were so needed at that time,” she said.
Shein said the renaming of the organization as Mazzoni Center represents its “coming of age” and the fusion of its efforts to work with the LGBT and HIV/AIDS communities.
“As Mazzoni Center, we’ve incorporated and enhanced those two early stages of the organization, so that we can offer a full gamut of services for people with HIV, which is still rampant in the gay community,” she said. “We now provide a lot more services like medical care, mental-health care and legal services because we realize that in order to create a healthy community, we need to treat the individual in a holistic way.”
Shein said the Atlantic City event is a good opportunity for the LGBT community to honor Mazzoni’s three decades of service.
“This is a way for the community to show their support and have fun at the same time. We want to show the entire region how strong the Philadelphia LGBT community is, and have that community come together to support an organization that day in and day out provides crucial services.”
The concert will kick off at 9 p.m. May 21, and Ross will return to the stage after her performance to meet and great Mazzoni supporters and take part in a champagne toast. Also on hand will be Carl Capotorto, who portrayed Little Paulie on “The Sopranos” and who was a personal friend of Dr. Mazzoni.
An after-party will begin at 10 p.m. in the Diamond Lounge, which will feature an open bar and hors d’oeuvres.
Perry Monastero, Mazzoni director of development and marketing, said Caesars, which is newer to the LGBT scene than other Atlantic City casinos, is earning its “rainbow wings” through its support for events such as this.
“They’ve been tremendously generous to Mazzoni during the event and have really supported the organization,” Monastero said. “That shows that they really do have a commitment and care about the community beyond just looking at it as a market segment. So if they’re looking to establish a longterm relationship with the community, they just need to continue to keep helping build up Atlantic City as a gay destination.”
Free buses will take guests from Center City to Atlantic City and return that evening, but those who wish to stay for the night can enjoy a brunch the following morning with live entertainment provided by drag favorite Sandy Beach. Special hotel rates will be available for concertgoers.
Tickets range from $100-$225 and can be purchased at www.mazzonicenter.org until May 14.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].