The Positive Side (Winter 2013) - CD8 T cells - The Body

A Night of
Glitter and Light
September 9, 2012 marked the 25 th anniversary
of the AIDS fundraising gala Fashion Cares.
Brian Huskins was there for the grand finale.
30 THE POSITIVE SIDE Winter 2013
“
Jeanne Beker! Jeanne Beker! I love you
and want a picture with you!,” I shouted
as I made my way through the crowd like
a paparazzo. This photo captures one
moment of this year’s Fashion Cares that
made it an evening to remember.
I went to my first Fashion Cares 15
years ago, when I still lived in Calgary—
the first of my yearly pilgrimages to
Toronto. In the early days, fashion, entertainment
and dancing late into the night
left one exhausted, amazed and wanting
more the next year. Jeanne Beker, longtime
host of Fashion Television, was a
stalwart HIV/AIDS supporter. In times
when people were dying daily from AIDS
and the cause was not a popular one, it
was celebs like Beker who made living
with HIV just a bit more acceptable and
gave people with HIV such as myself a
feeling of being OK with the world.
I now live in Toronto and was saddened
when the event fizzled in 2007
due to a combination of factors, including
a change in venue and bad weather.
That night we all froze in the cold rainy
weather in Toronto’s Distillery District.
But this past September Fashion Cares
came back in all its glory and lived up to
its billing as “a night of glitter and light.”
The guest list was a who’s who of
Canadian fashion, entertainment and
business. Fashionistas and corporate
executives rubbed shoulders with drag
queens, people living with HIV, their
partners and allies. And headlining was
Sir Elton John himself. The entire
evening buzzed with energy. What an
amazing opportunity to celebrate life,
keep people engaged and keep HIV at
the forefront of people’s minds!
The fact that this 25 th Fashion Cares
was the last makes this a sad turning
point in the history of the AIDS movement.
Keeping AIDS in the minds of
Canadians is difficult enough and without
events like this one, finding creative ways
to raise awareness and funds will be a
more challenging job for us all. ✚
Brian Huskins is a strategic planning/
communications consultant who has
been living with HIV since 1990. Brian was
recently awarded a Queen Elizabeth II
Diamond Jubilee Medal for excellence in
the field of HIV/AIDS in Canada.