Son of a gun, we had big fun on The Bayou

Buenos tardes, Poppers!!!

O MI GAWD...if you missed A Night on the Bayou, you missed a par-tay!! More importantly, though, you missed an opportunity to be a part of a hugely successful fundraiser!

With the exception of a little bit of rain and a whole lot of lightning threatening the festivities, everything went off without a hitch. The best part of the day came during set-up: I received a phone call from a friend (who wishes to remain anonymous) to advise me that their organization was going to match dollar for dollar up to $1000 everything that we raised. I'll share with you at the end how much we raised, but it was sooo exciting to make that announcement during the show!

I had sooo much help to pull things off and I'm going to give shout outs to everyone right now:

Kevin & Neil ~ it was sooo generous of you to allow your home to be used for the fish fry. I truly appreciate your hospitality. You guys have an original community center right there in your backyard. Thank you for everything you do.

Rob & Nic from Hoaglin's Fine Catering ~ O MI GAWD, babies...huge hugs & kisses to the two of you! It was so awesome of you to order all the food, cutlery and various notions as well as loaning out your fryers, food lockers and chafing dishes. Thank you so much for taking so much weight off of my shoulders. You had my respect before, now you have my respect and adoration!

Prez Scott V and Expo Design ~ thanks for arranging the liquor donation and for providing the blow-job fish visuals. Everyone loved them! I think they had their pictures taken more often than the performers!!

Dannon & Rocky from RockStar Promotions ~ Dannon, thanks for donating your sound system and Rocky, you did a pheNOM job of running it. Love you, boys!

Bill, Cindy & Chad ~ Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!! Working the fryer was probably the hardest job of the night and you folks stepped right up to the challenge. I just can't begin to thank the three of you enough!!

Scott, Brad & Donnie ~ You guys are the best bartenders!! I have a few guys who'd like your phone numbers, but I won't give them out without your permission.

Naomi Divine ~ Gurl, Halle would not exist without you! Thanks for banging mah hurr and beating mah mug! The hostess dress is BEAUTIFUL!! I love Love LOVE you!!

Cadillac Barbie, Summer Clearance, Stella Couture, Aurora Diamond, Holly Luyah, Sequoia Pentecost, Rachael Yoder & Portia Lynn Van Buren ~ I am sooo grateful to all of you for performing Saturday night! You ladies provided a fun show and kept the audience engaged all night.

Jeremy & Jodie ~ Boys, thanks for letting us use your house as a staging area. You made my life sooo much easier! XOXOXO

Anonymous donor ~ You're an angel.

And last but not least ~ Nick, Adam, Shere & HR ...look at what we did!! Think back to last year. 35 people maybe? $25 raised? We're a great team, kids. I know that we don't express our feelings for each other, but I, you know...kinda like you guys and stuff. There are worse friends I could have, I guess. All kidding aside, thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for all you do to enrich my life. I finally have friends who keep me accountable, hold me up to a higher standard and are interested in doing things for the greater good of our community and our world. I'm sorry I never had that major meltdown you were all expecting. ;-)

Alright, habaneros...are you interested in hearing how much money we raised?

After expenses and with the $1000 match, Halle Pino and Friends Present: A Night on the Bayou raised $4400 to ensure continued dialogue for Indy's GLBT Community Center. It's absolutely amazing what a few people can do to make a difference. I'm tha-RILLED to have been a part of this event and look forward to what we can do in the future!

I hope to add some pictures later, Poppers. If you or someone you know was at the event and have pics to share, please have them forward them to me at HallePino@yahoo.com I'd sure appreciate it!!

Keep it spicy, babies!

*kiss kiss*

Halle