It's electric! Pridelights celebrates 15 years with hot drag queens

Despite the unrelenting 90-degree heat the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza was packed the evening of June 10 for the 15th annual Pridelights tree lighting ceremony, the kick-off to Pride in the South End. And if it wasn't hot enough for the crowd, the evening's performers, in particular Verna Turbulence and her crew of Boston drag performers, kicked up the heat a few more degrees.

Showstoppers included Jacques drag superstar Mizery, who brought down the house with her signature dance moves and splits in skyscraper-high heels, Lakia Mondale doing a flawless Tina Turner, and Turbulence herself, performing Shirley Bassey's cover of Pink's "Get This Party Started," decked out in a cool white dress with glittering silver boots. Turbulence, who served as co-emcee along with AIDS Action Committee's (AAC) Keith Orr, joked with the crowd about the perils of performing in drag in the blistering heat.

"For an overweight aging drag queen this is a trying event. Everyone in the front row, blow!" Turbulence said to the crowd.

AAC, which sponsors Pridelights, presented its Spirit of Stonewall award to Frank Ribaudo, owner of Club Caf?, which turned 25 this year. AAC chose to honor Ribaudo for his and his staff's long history of work to end the AIDS epidemic, including his work as one of the founders of the annual Harbor to the Bay AIDS fundraising ride.

Ribaudo told the crowd that when he and his original business partners launched Club Caf? in 1983 they planned it as a gym with an attached coffee shop. They decided to open a gym after learning that another local fitness club was harassing and expelling members who were suspected to be gay. When he and his partners opened their gym they provided a discount for people who brought them membership cards from other gyms, and they collected many cards from their homophobic competitor. He said within nine months the anti-gay gym went out of business.
"Our initial reason for starting this business was motivated by our outrage," said Ribaudo.

Mayor Menino, normally a fixture at Pridelights, missed this year's festivities due to other commitments, but he sent Michael Kelley to deliver his greetings to the crowd.

"This is the 15th year of Pridelights, and I can tell you this is one of the mayor's favorite events of Pride," said Kelley. Other politicos on hand included Boston City Councilors John Connolly and Bill Linehan and openly lesbian state Rep. Liz Malia.

At the tail end of the evening another fixture of Pride, the Hat Sisters, took to the stage to flip the giant switch to light the tree. After the countdown the sisters flipped the switch and the Pridelights tree was illuminated in bright glowing pink.