Academy of Friends

Went to their Oscar’s gala last night. and had the most fantastic time. It was classy and very well ogranized… lots of delicious food and ever flowing wine and champaign… super nice and fun people…
All for a GREAT cause…

Having volunteered in 2007, the Academy of Friends annual gala made me want to join the organization… not as an underwriter, but as an employee. Since then, I have participated in the 2008 and 2009 galas… both were fantastic events. Despite the painful economy, over two thousand people participated in the gala this year. When Sean Penn won the Academy Award for MILK, the roar of the crowd nearly blew off the roof!

What an amazingly well run organization. The events they throw are truly top notch! My fiancé has worked a few events so I’ve heard a lot about them and they always sound so elaborate and wonderful, obviously supporting a great cause in the process. Well last night I wasfinally able to experience an event for myself. The boy and I were invited to attend the Oscar Gala put on my the AOF and I was impressed the first moment I walked in. There were more volunteer’s to work the even then I could of imagined. Everything was done so smoothly with such attention to detail there was never a moment of confusion, inconvenience or hassle. In groups of what seemd to be a thousand people or more it’s hard to have all your bases covered but they did. No lines for the rest rooms. Drinks everywhere and never a line. Great selection of auction items. Tons of TV’s and huge movie size screens with the Oscar’s being played (of course) so no matter where you looked you could keep your eye on the award show. Delicious nibbles done by local restaurants. Plenty of seating to rest the tired toes after too much walking around and standing. Even a big play area where brave ones could climb on giant grown up size bounce houses or wrestle around in some kinda fighting batch with paded sticks. I was stoked to havea night out dressed to the nines with my man. Then to make a great night even better, Sean Penn won for Milk which put the entire crowd in an extatic mode and then there was a performance by Burn the Floor. Wow, well done Academy of Friends! I am going to mention and support your organization at all times possible. Thanks for a beautiful event and evening!

Even though I was working this event and not actually attending as a guest I had a Blast! There were plenty of familiar faces from around the city. Taylor Dayne was a blast and it looked like everyone had a wonderful time. It was interesting being one of the few straight men at this event (I really had no idea what I was getting myself into by accepting this gig). I had a fantastic time. I had plenty of pictures taken of me and passed out several bottles of Fiji!
Thanks for having me…

Last night’s champagne still having it’s way with me (and not in the *good* way), I started replaying last nights antics at the Academy of Friends 2008 Oscar Night Gala.
My last 2 AoF events were classic, over the top glam-​glam-​orama! Silver & Pink was the year of the shiny pink wig and the flirty photographer girl (sorry… I wasn’t even tempted).
The next was Ruby’s & Rhinestones, where «Brokeback Mountain» was the belle of the ball, and we all rocked sparkly cowboy attire — my gay BFF & I even made the evening news with our saucy photo shoots!
This year, enter Shaken, Not Stirred. The latest, most fabulous Academy Award party fundraiser from Academy of Friends, fearless fundraisers in the fight against AIDS & HIV.
True to form, it was all glitz and glam… and all in the spirit of Bond. James Bond!
From the Goldfinger & Moonraker rooms, to martini-​toting Bond impersonators making out with hot Bond boys, to super hot tiger-​striped, latex clad Bond dancers writhing around on go-​go boxes to Bond theme songs, to Taylor Dayne belting out her hits in that deep, husky voice she’s been rockin’ since the 80’s. (Note: There was no lip-​syncing for this diva! She was the real deal!)
Also in the spirit of James Bond, it was tuxes and classy gowns and slutty Bond-​girl attire for all to behold! Oh, wait. The slutty Bond girl was me
: \
Whatever! I had champagne (provided by J & Barefoot Wineries) spilled on me and then sucked off my collar by my hilarious hottie gay BFF, had 2 fabulous photo shoots (one on a Mercedes C-​300 — who exactly took those pictures? :shrug: who knows?), snacked on yummy nibbles from Chenery Park, Moose’s, Eureka Restaurant & Lounge, Polenge, Paul K, and Home (to name a few), and shook my booty ’til there wasn’t no more music to booty shake to!
Academy of Friends has been a key player in the fight against AIDS and HIV for 28 years, and their Oscar party is the largest, most fabulous party outside of Hollywood. All of the food, booze, and support staff are volunteered (myself included!), and all proceeds are divided up between AIDS Legal Referral Panel, Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, Back Coalition On AIDS (BCA), Immune Enhancement Project (IEP), and Shanti, to name a few.
It’s easy to forget while you’re having champagne sucked off your collar, and booty smacked by hot gay guys that AIDS & HIV are still effecting men, women, and children everywhere. But it’s sure nice to know that the folks at Academy of Friends are doing what they can to get us all closer to finding a cure…
One fabulous, glamorous party at a time.

I am going to assume that this is the event that I was talking about in my previous review and that it is where people gather for the Oscars, watch them on big screens and get wicked drunk… if so, ask me for pictures… got a few I can post up… oh yea, let me review it.
The Event itself was awesome… expensive to attend, but we got in for free. Walked around and mingled with the people who were there and took lots of pictures. They have butt-​loads of food there and it is all you can drink alcohol… wines, beer and the like.
That proved to be a great thing, as well as my downfall later in the evening.
Participated in a silent auction and did more mingling. There really wasn’t much else you could do… but it was for a good cause and it was quite enjoyable. At $ 250 a ticket, I’d go again… but I would drink more responsibly the next time… fighting with your boyfriend in front of people can be quite embarrassing. 5 Big reds.
Oh yea… one last thing, guys… wear a tux to this event. I didn’t, luckily I was stylin though.
5 Big Red Ones