Politicians, Philadelphia police and a business leader are among the nine confirmed guest bartenders for a multi-bar Philly4Pulse fundraiser slated for July 21 in and around the Gayborhood.
The event will raise money for the families of the victims in the June 12 mass shooting during Latin Night at Pulse, a popular LGBT nightclub in Orlando.
Guest bartenders
Mayor Jim Kenney and the Greater Philadelphia Gay Officer Action League, a fraternal organization for LGBT law-enforcement officials, will participate. Some people posted on social media suggesting GOAL’s inclusion after protests caused the group to step down as grand marshals of this month’s Philly Pride parade.
“We want them involved,” said Jeffrey Sotland, co-owner of Tabu, who’s organizing the fundraiser with other bar owners. He said they’re working with GOAL to determine how many officers will volunteer.
The other guest bartenders include U.S. Rep. Bob Brady; state Sen. Larry Farnese; Philadelphia City Councilmembers Mark Squilla, Helen Gym and Blondell Reynolds Brown; executive director of the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations Rue Landau; Philadelphia Police Captain Jack Ryan and a high-ranking official with the Philadelphia International Airport.
Bars and entertainment
Guest bartenders will rotate among the 14 bars that are collaborating on Philly4Pulse. It starts at 7 p.m. with each establishment staging entertainment at 9 p.m. The bars include Tabu, ICandy, Knock, Woody’s, Tavern on Camac, The Bike Stop, Stir, Boxers, UBar, Franky Bradley’s, Voyeur, Valanni, Bob & Barbara’s and L’Etage.
Mimi Imfurst, a contestant on season three of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” is expected to headline Voyeur. Other venues will also host drag shows, a leather event, Latin dance parties, karaoke and burlesque.
“On any given night, we will compete with each other for every customer who walks into the neighborhood,” Sotland said. “On this night we will not.”
“This is not just about people in Orlando,” he added. “This could happen at a nightclub anywhere. I think we all feel a sense of horror. Nobody ever wants this to happen again. Never in the history of the city have all the bar owners come together and unequivocally said, ‘We are in.’”
Handling the donations
Philly4Pulse attendees can donate money throughout the event. All DJs and performers have donated their time and will have tip jars with them. The guest bartenders will also have tip jars. It is illegal in Pennsylvania to use alcohol sales in a fundraiser.
Stonewall Sports is selling T-shirts. There will also be a silent auction.
The William Way LGBT Community Center will collect all the cash raised at Philly4Pulse and deposit it in the center’s account at Wells Fargo the day after the event. The organization will cut a check to send to the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida. The center in Orlando set up a GoFundMe account, www.gofundme.com/orlandounited, which has raised over $440,000 so far.
Chris Bartlett, executive director of William Way, linked the Philadelphia bar owners with the center in Orlando. The bar owners would like to fly a representative from the Orlando center to Philadelphia so that person can participate in the fundraiser and take the donation check immediately.
ICandy also hosted three independent fundraisers this month for the families of the victims of Pulse. The venue raised $7,922 from three events: two drag shows and the “Heartbeat” fundraiser last week.
Darryl Depiano, owner of ICandy, said he and his staff have been in contact with Barbara Poma, owner of Pulse, to figure out how best to disperse the funds. He said they would like to support the employees of Pulse.
“We’re concerned about them not being able to work,” Depiano said.
Franky Bradley’s also held a fundraiser June 22 featuring performances by the dance troupe JUNK and several drag queens. A fundraising total was not yet available early Wednesday evening. Organizers said the money would go to a CrowdRise campaign launched by Planting Peace, an LGBT nonprofit in Kansas. The crowd-funding campaign, www.crowdrise.com/we-stand-with-pulse-fund, has raised just shy of $100,000 and says it will go toward medical and funeral costs for Pulse victims.