AIDS Walk San Francisco succeeded in raising nearly $1 million on Sunday, despite being a virtual event this year like everything else.
Organizers from local nonprofit PRC (formerly Positive Resource Center) and MZA Events announced the online event back in April, and in part because no one had to fly anywhere, they ended up roping in some top-notch talent for the entertainment portion of the event including Alex Newell and Gloria Estefan — as well as cameos from the likes of Bette Midler, Alan Cumming, Glenn Close, Vanessa Williams, Matt Bomer, Ross Matthews, Laura Linney, Patti LaBelle, and more.
Funds raised at the annual event go support thousands of San Francisco residents living with HIV/AIDS — who are particularly susceptible to severe cases of COVID-19. And PRC CEO Brett Andrews tells KPIX it's impossible not to hear echoes of what's happening in this pandemic from the AIDS era 30 years ago in San Francisco.
"We’re in a place of unknown, there are more unknowns than there are knowns. And that’s okay to have that at this moment because we’re going to find a cure. We’re going to find a vaccine," he says.
You can watch the recorded proceedings below and you can still donate to the cause here. The show opens with a lip sync of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin" by a slew of drag queens from Rupaul's Drag Race, including Nina West, Latrice Royale, and Season 12 contestant Jackie Cox.