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SOUTHERN VOICE
OCTOBER 14/1993
It’s county fair time this weekend at Burkhart’s
Annual event is a benefit for Atlanta’s AIDS Walk
While there have been a number of changes made in this
year’s AIDS. Walk, one tradition that has grown up around the
weekend of the walk will continue unchanged—County Fair
’93.
Burkhart’s Pub will register a significant show of gay-bar
support for the effort this year by continuing with its annual
benefit, with proceeds to go to the AIDS Walk.
“With County Fair, we’re providing them some entertain
ment, and at the same time they’re giving,” says Harry Brown,
co-chair of the event.
County Fair '93
runs October 15
17 at Burkhart’s
Pub in Ansley
Square
What began three years ago
as “Carnival” was renamed last
year “to create that kind of a
casual, fun atmosphere,” Brown
said. The idea is that, through
out the weekend of Oct. 15-17,
Burkhart’s will become an in
door/outdoor adult playground.
Organizers expect to raise
$ 12,000—a modestly increased goal from the $ 11,000 the fair
raised last year.
This year’s fairground attractions will include something
for everyone. For the playful, there will be a variety of carni
val games. For the vengeful, a dunking tank and a pie-throw
ing booth occupied by local celebs and bar persona from
various Atlanta establishments. (“Maybe they have enemies,
or friends, who would just like to dunk them, or whatever,”
Brown said.)
Compulsive shoppers will find salvation at the rummage
sale or one of five auctions of donated goods and services
from area businesses. For masters and servants, there will be a
jail, “where you lock people up and they have to talk people
into paying a fine to get them out.” And debauched individu
als can expect plenty of cocktails and, of course, the after
hours hunk auction.
For this attraction, hunks-about-town donate their goods
to be auctioned off for the service of dinner-for-two at a later
date. If you want a hunk for dinner, expect to spend S50 to
S300. But voyeurs can participate, loo, by bidding on pieces
of donated outfits worn by the hunks before they’re sold.
The auctioneers will include well-known Atlanta celebri
ties, such as Peg, Gilda Golden and Big Ruby. “We chose
them because they know how to work the crowd and intimi
date the hunks,” Brown said.
And a new tradition will begin at this year’s Fair with the
crowning of County Fair Queen. This honor will be awarded
to the (drag) queen who sells the most tickets for a television,
to be raffled off on Sunday.
Throughout the weekend you can also expect to see—and
possibly dunk or put a pie in the face of—candidates for
mayor and City Council, representatives from area AIDS
organizations and (not yet divulged) big-name entertainers
who will be participating in the AIDS Walk. Fast Freddy
Luka from radio station 99X has signed on to be the auction
eer for the auction on Saturday.
Times are, of course, not set in stone, but here is a tenta
tive schedule of events:
• Friday, Oct. 15: merchandise auction begins a 10 p.m.,
with a hunk auction at midnight.
• Saturday, Oct. 16 and Sunday Oct. 17: Outdoor carnival
activity from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; merchandise auctions inside
the bar, hunk auctions at midnight.
“It’s all PG-rated stuff,” Brown said, “...except the hunk
auction.”
County Fair is one of two major fundraisers that Burkhart’s
puts on every year. Art Fest, which is held in May, raises
The hunk auction, which features Gilda Golden as one of
the emcees, is one of the weekend’s biggest hits.
money for Project Open Hand. In the past two years the pub
has raised some $36,000 for Atlanta AIDS agencies. All of
the County Fair expenses are absorbed by Burkhart’s, so 100
percent of the money raised is donated.
JAMES FITCH
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