Patrick J Clayton: Laugh OUT Loud! An Evening of Comedy

On February 24th, 2009 I planned a fund raising event for Big Apple Performing Arts, along with another member of the organization, Chris Manna. The event was typically an event with musical guests, both well known, and up and coming. This year, Chris and I wanted to take it in another direction, and try to attract a different audience.

We chose a theme of comedy, asking well known comedians to participate in the event by donating a 10 minute set of their performance. We titled the event LOL, An Evening of Comedy Benefitting the New York City Gay Men's Chorus.

We worked with many corporate sponsors to help underwrite the costs of this event. They include Piper Heidsieck, Coca-Cola, Miller Coors, 2xist, Van Wagner, Sweet Riot Chocolate, Anthony for Men, HX, Svedka, Fuel Outdoor, The New York Blade, and Taylor Creative.

With a theme of pink, we pulled out all of the stops. We were lucky that our venue, Loft Eleven in NYC (www.lofteleven.com) consisted of two large spaces. We used one for the food and entertainment area, including the stage, and we used the other for the silent auction, with more than 75 items for guests to bid on. There was an additional small room that we used for the VIP reception area, and talent waiting room.

With a record number of guests for this event, we raised over $40,000 in just a couple of hours. For more information on Big Apple Performing Arts and The New York City Gay Men's Chorus, visit www.nycgmc.org