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CLICK THE
PRIDE BAG LADIES LINK
TO
RETURN TO THEIR MAIN PAGE.
Twenty-seven years ago around Halloween, 70 or so
men dressed in drag, boarded three buses, and began
a journey to help in the fight against AIDS calling
themselves “The Bag Ladies.” The Bag Ladies got
their name from an article out of a New York City
newspaper. Coby Palmer, one of the original Bag
Ladies, read in the article that the New York “bag
ladies” were fun and campy and had lots “hutspah”,
similar to what the Indianapolis Bag Ladies are like
today. The Bag Ladies are men willing to dress in
high heels and wear outrageous costumes who, each
year around Halloween, travel from bar to bar
soliciting money until the early hours of the
morning on what is called The Bag Lady Bus Tour.
Originally, at the end of the night the Bag Lady who
raised the most money was crowned Bag Ladies Queen
for a year. While raising money is still a major
factor in crowning the Queen, the organization now
hosts a Bag Lady Queen Pageant prior to the annual
Bus Tour.
The Bag
Ladies could quite possibly be the nation’s first
HIV and AIDS fundraising organization. Since the
initial bus tour in 1981, more and more men have
become part of this on-going and growing tradition.
One of the first organizations that benefited from
donations by the Bag Ladies was the Buddy House
which provided housing for individuals with HIV/AIDS
who were having financial difficulties. Even though
the Buddy House is no longer around, the Bag Ladies
are stronger than ever and the money they raise
supports several local organizations. The Damien
Center, the Gregory Powers Direct Emergency
Financial Assistance (DEFA) Fund, Indiana Youth
Group (IYG), Step Up, and the Indiana AIDS Fund all
benefit from money raised by the Bag Ladies. In
addition to the annual Bus Tour, several of the
“Ladies” and the present and some former “Queens”
raise money through performances put on throughout
the year. In the early years, several of the Bag
Lady Queens did other fund raising events such as
photo signings, cook book sales, cut-a-thon, and
helped organize the Garage Party.
The Bag
Ladies have been part of several organizations
throughout the years: Indiana Cares, AIDS Serve and
Indiana Still Cares. In 2005 when Indiana Still
Cares disbanded, the Bag Ladies joined with Indy
Pride, Inc. where they march on in their high heels
and outrageous hair and continue raising money to
this day! In the 2007 calendar year, the Pride Bag
Ladies raised and donated over $18,000!
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