VIEW MORE PHOTOS | Gigi’s Cotillion Cocktail Fundraiser
Atlanta Cotillion shifts its fundraising season for AID Atlanta into high gear each summer. Last week, 2011 debutante Ric Sosa did so with an open bar and Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner.
Cotillion, the league of extraordinary gentlemen who dress as classy ladies each September, chooses a class of men each year to become drag debutantes for a night. Sosa (top photo, second from right) takes on the task as he takes on the deb alter-ego Sofia Santana “Gigi” de la Gorgonzola-Gonzalez. And Miss Gigi knows how to draw a crowd.
The formula to entice people to support the June 16 event was simple: Enlist the support of some connected friends, host it in the cozy surrounds of a private Ansley Park home, make sure the cocktails flow freely, and invite Garner (top photo, second from left), Fulton County’s first openly gay commissioner, to speak to the crowd. (In fact, it’s the same tony home that hosted a fundraiser for Garner in July 2010 as she campaigned.)
After mixing and mingling liberally with the group, Sosa himself stood to give his pitch to the gathered masses. They learned why he became a Cotillion debutante, why he supports AID Atlanta, and what a pretty drag queen he’ll make at the Atlanta Cotillion X Ball. OK, maybe we’re extrapolating that last part based on how cute he is out of drag, but still.
The party and drinks were paid for, so 100 percent of the money raised at the event goes to AID Atlanta as part of Cotillion’s annual check to the organization. Extra incentive: Sosa and five other debutantes in the 2011 class are vying to become Cotillion Queen. Whoever raises the most donations wins the title.
The debutante competition is stiff. Sosa has already held one gathering to add coin to his coffers, and we’ve already seen a successful Water Fireworks Pool Party (view photos) by JD Kellum, aka Jacqueline D’Bouvier VonSeco, among four more debutantes and their fundraisers and on top of events thrown by the Cotillion board to maximize the final donation to AID Atlanta after the ball.
Photos by Sher Pruitt
