Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
05/18/04
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Bingo-A-Go-Go; Miss Richfield 1981 and ordinary folks raised their hands and lowered their fashion sense in a fun fest with a serious goal: Raising money for AIDS/HIV research.(VARIETY)
Article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Article date: May 18, 2004
Author: Nelson, Rick
Byline: Rick Nelson; Staff Writer
Not your typical Saturday night in south Minneapolis. A woman walked past us, headed in the direction of Incarnation Catholic Church. She sported pink sponge curlers and press-on nails, and carried a bowling ball bag in one hand, a 40-ounce bottle of Bud in the other. A cigarette dangled from her lips.
My friend shot me a look. "For her sake," he said, "I hope she's going to bingo."
She was, and we were, too. To Bingo A-Go-Go, likely the bawdiest fundraiser in town. Now in its second year, and based upon similar events in places such as Philadelphia and other cities, the quarterly party is an irreverent, fun-loving approach to generating financial support - up to $20,000 a night - for Park House and AIDS Care Partners, two local AIDS service organizations.
Forget about the silent auction-rubber-chicken-walkathon circuit. Instead, stand up, place your right hand over your heart and take the Bingo A-Go-Go pledge: I solemnly swear that I am here to raise money for people living with HIV/AIDS; and to stop this horrible epidemic. I further swear that Bingo is JUST a stupid game and I will keep playing Bingo A-Go-Go until this crisis is over.
Toto, I have the feeling we're not at the VFW anymore.
Like its four previous incarnations, Saturday's Bingo A-Go-Go blazed with a theme: Trailer Trash Bingo, in honor of Miss Richfield 1981, the event's hostess and the 'burb's most famous double-wide denizen. Although a little PG-rated around the edges, Bingo A-Go-Go is the kind of good, clean fun you'd expect in a church basement: no booze, no cigarettes, and everyone's home before the 10 o'clock news.
All 500 tickets usually sell out a week or two before the big night. The crowd really gets into the spirit of the occasion, too, pulling out their best - make that worst - costumes. Lee Haugee, one of the event's organizers and the volunteer coordinator of AIDS Care Partners, flaunted an ensemble that would make Roseanne Barr blush.
"I'm sure I'm going to offend someone," she said with a laugh. "What can I say? I've got a tacky streak in me. This is never not fun."
Another reason to plunk down $20 for a ticket? To be a part of a refreshingly un-Minnesotan melting pot of age, race, sexual orientation and just about every other demographic.
"It's fun to see all kinds of people here," said Matt Wambach, fresh from the hot seat where he'd called a game sponsored by his employer, Nicollet Hardware. "It's not just gays and lesbians, the usual crowd supporting AIDS charities. You see everyone."
That includes cheerleaders. David Olaf Brown, one of the pompon-shaking guys behind "Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer!," warmed up the crowd with an effervescent floor show that can only be described as a cross between "The Wizard of Oz," a Britney Spears video and the state high school danceline competition.
"It's the best way I can think of to have fun, win prizes and raise money for charity," he said.
A big part of Bingo A-Go-Go's allure is the opportunity to enjoy a hefty dose of Russ King's (a k a Miss Richfield's) saucy sass; it's such a hot-and-heavy embrace of political incorrectness that it's surprising no one yells, "Get a room." King's unscripted, take-no-prisoners jokes fly faster than the speed of sound, and everyone's a target. Within half an hour, King rattled off one-liners skewering Kwanzaa, the U.S. Postal Service, St. Paul, sobriety, Old Country Buffet, the Catholic Church, old age, short men, same-sex marriages, Poles, William Shatner, the Rev. Billy Graham and, of course, the audience's coiffure and sartorial choices. None would make it past this newspaper's copy desk.
The most shameless barbs are reserved for the lesbians in attendance, and even the umpteenth power-tool joke generates howls from the contingent Miss R. dubs "practical gals." In fact, everyone at this love fest is a good sport (Saturday's prize winners were WCCO TV's Randi Kaye and Noelle Walker), probably because King deftly mixes innuendo with innocence, slapping a happy face and 10,000-volt smile on even the most venomous zingers.
Miss Richfield made her entrance to - what else? - the "Green Acres" theme song, strutting in an outfit that recalled a down-on-her-luck Joey Heatherton - or maybe Connie Stevens - hitting Keno in Reno. The crowd lapped it up.
"We're Miss Richfield groupies," said Jan Henefield of Minneapolis, one of a group of 10 all-dressed-up- supporters, bingo cards in hand. "She's why we're here."
It's a dizzying three-hour ad lib, and King, who tours as Miss Richfield coast to coast, is happy to do it. "I volunteer here largely because I feel so blessed," he said. "People have been so supportive of me, so it's the least I can do. It's a privilege to be asked to be a part of this."
While Miss R's fashion sense might need a little tune-up, King's timing is flawless. Flash forward past the raffle, beyond the snack-bar break and to the last of 15 bingo games. At the nail-biting conclusion to cover-all bingo ("Hot dog, we have a wiener," exclaimed King), Miss R. politely chit-chatted up the winning player and asked, "Where do you live?" The response - "Edina" - got a huge laugh. "What a way to end the evening," replied the crestfallen Richfieldian, not missing a beat. "Better luck next time."
Rick Nelson is at rdnelson@startribune.com.
IF YOU GO
Bingo A-Go-Go's Pajama Party Bingo
Where: Incarnation Church, 3801 Pleasant Av. S., Minneapolis.
When: Sept. 18, 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20. On sale six weeks in advance; call 612-863-7168.
Bingo-A-Go-Go; Miss Richfield 1981 and ordinary folks raised their hands and lowered their fashion sense in a fun fest with a serious goal: Raising money for AIDS/HIV research.(VARIETY)
Article from: Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)
Article date: May 18, 2004
Author: Nelson, Rick
Byline: Rick Nelson; Staff Writer
Not your typical Saturday night in south Minneapolis. A woman walked past us, headed in the direction of Incarnation Catholic Church. She sported pink sponge curlers and press-on nails, and carried a bowling ball bag in one hand, a 40-ounce bottle of Bud in the other. A cigarette dangled from her lips.
My friend shot me a look. "For her sake," he said, "I hope she's going to bingo."
She was, and we were, too. To Bingo A-Go-Go, likely the bawdiest fundraiser in town. Now in its second year, and based upon similar events in places such as Philadelphia and other cities, the quarterly party is an irreverent, fun-loving approach to generating financial support - up to $20,000 a night - for Park House and AIDS Care Partners, two local AIDS service organizations.
Forget about the silent auction-rubber-chicken-walkathon circuit. Instead, stand up, place your right hand over your heart and take the Bingo A-Go-Go pledge: I solemnly swear that I am here to raise money for people living with HIV/AIDS; and to stop this horrible epidemic. I further swear that Bingo is JUST a stupid game and I will keep playing Bingo A-Go-Go until this crisis is over.
Toto, I have the feeling we're not at the VFW anymore.
Like its four previous incarnations, Saturday's Bingo A-Go-Go blazed with a theme: Trailer Trash Bingo, in honor of Miss Richfield 1981, the event's hostess and the 'burb's most famous double-wide denizen. Although a little PG-rated around the edges, Bingo A-Go-Go is the kind of good, clean fun you'd expect in a church basement: no booze, no cigarettes, and everyone's home before the 10 o'clock news.
All 500 tickets usually sell out a week or two before the big night. The crowd really gets into the spirit of the occasion, too, pulling out their best - make that worst - costumes. Lee Haugee, one of the event's organizers and the volunteer coordinator of AIDS Care Partners, flaunted an ensemble that would make Roseanne Barr blush.
"I'm sure I'm going to offend someone," she said with a laugh. "What can I say? I've got a tacky streak in me. This is never not fun."
Another reason to plunk down $20 for a ticket? To be a part of a refreshingly un-Minnesotan melting pot of age, race, sexual orientation and just about every other demographic.
"It's fun to see all kinds of people here," said Matt Wambach, fresh from the hot seat where he'd called a game sponsored by his employer, Nicollet Hardware. "It's not just gays and lesbians, the usual crowd supporting AIDS charities. You see everyone."
That includes cheerleaders. David Olaf Brown, one of the pompon-shaking guys behind "Cheer, Dorothy, Cheer!," warmed up the crowd with an effervescent floor show that can only be described as a cross between "The Wizard of Oz," a Britney Spears video and the state high school danceline competition.
"It's the best way I can think of to have fun, win prizes and raise money for charity," he said.
A big part of Bingo A-Go-Go's allure is the opportunity to enjoy a hefty dose of Russ King's (a k a Miss Richfield's) saucy sass; it's such a hot-and-heavy embrace of political incorrectness that it's surprising no one yells, "Get a room." King's unscripted, take-no-prisoners jokes fly faster than the speed of sound, and everyone's a target. Within half an hour, King rattled off one-liners skewering Kwanzaa, the U.S. Postal Service, St. Paul, sobriety, Old Country Buffet, the Catholic Church, old age, short men, same-sex marriages, Poles, William Shatner, the Rev. Billy Graham and, of course, the audience's coiffure and sartorial choices. None would make it past this newspaper's copy desk.
The most shameless barbs are reserved for the lesbians in attendance, and even the umpteenth power-tool joke generates howls from the contingent Miss R. dubs "practical gals." In fact, everyone at this love fest is a good sport (Saturday's prize winners were WCCO TV's Randi Kaye and Noelle Walker), probably because King deftly mixes innuendo with innocence, slapping a happy face and 10,000-volt smile on even the most venomous zingers.
Miss Richfield made her entrance to - what else? - the "Green Acres" theme song, strutting in an outfit that recalled a down-on-her-luck Joey Heatherton - or maybe Connie Stevens - hitting Keno in Reno. The crowd lapped it up.
"We're Miss Richfield groupies," said Jan Henefield of Minneapolis, one of a group of 10 all-dressed-up- supporters, bingo cards in hand. "She's why we're here."
It's a dizzying three-hour ad lib, and King, who tours as Miss Richfield coast to coast, is happy to do it. "I volunteer here largely because I feel so blessed," he said. "People have been so supportive of me, so it's the least I can do. It's a privilege to be asked to be a part of this."
While Miss R's fashion sense might need a little tune-up, King's timing is flawless. Flash forward past the raffle, beyond the snack-bar break and to the last of 15 bingo games. At the nail-biting conclusion to cover-all bingo ("Hot dog, we have a wiener," exclaimed King), Miss R. politely chit-chatted up the winning player and asked, "Where do you live?" The response - "Edina" - got a huge laugh. "What a way to end the evening," replied the crestfallen Richfieldian, not missing a beat. "Better luck next time."
Rick Nelson is at rdnelson@startribune.com.
IF YOU GO
Bingo A-Go-Go's Pajama Party Bingo
Where: Incarnation Church, 3801 Pleasant Av. S., Minneapolis.
When: Sept. 18, 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20. On sale six weeks in advance; call 612-863-7168.