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Drag It Out: A Second Take on a Good Cause
- Anamaria Moreno
- September 28, 2021
- 3:34 pm
On Thursday, September 16th, Oakland Park’s Elks Lodge 2407 was filled with glitter, glam, and fierce talent from the ladies at Lips who came to perform for the 2nd annual Drag It Out Take Two Show.
Hailing from the Lips Restaurant, we had the decorated hostess Velvet Lenore. With her, we had Lips queens Nicole T. Phillips and Rianna Petron. Not from Lips, but still performing with the ladies, was the very beautiful performer Paris Le Nore.
The ladies from Lips were also accompanied in glitz and glamour by the Elks Lodge’s very own Exalted Ruler, Doug Satran and by Arnold Cuarenta, Esquire, in matching drag for a special surprise grand finale.
A Charity Event for the Ages
This annual charity event was created two years ago with the Elk’s Florida Children’s Therapy Services in mind. There was a great response then and $650 was collected for Florida Children’s Therapy Services in conjunction with Harry Anna, a trust fund started by Harry and Anna Miller in order to establish a hospital for children.
This year, Michelle Pignotti, Leading Knight and organizer/creator of this event said, “My goal this year as Entertainment Chairperson was to make $1,000, which we did!“. This year’s turnout was impressive. The Elks Lodge dining hall was packed full of supportive fans and spectators with only a few people new to drag shows.
A total of 74 tickets was sold and dinner sold out completely, proving that if you want to go to this event, the key is to get tickets in advance.
For the Children
Dollar bills of all denominations flew around the room filling buckets that will all go to the Florida Children’s Therapy Services. Lyanne Koenig is a local Therapist for Broward County along with her husband Kevin Koenig. Lyanne gave a very informative and sprit lifting speech on how donations from the Benevolent Order of the Elks assist their goal in providing services to children with special needs.
Because of Children’s Therapy Services, many parents that could never afford services for their children now can breathe easy knowing that their children will have assistance for their varying needs.
The Entertainment
Drag and lip-syncing are truly art forms that are taken seriously by the ladies who did not disappoint with their performances. From Tracy Chapman, to Whitney Houston songs, divas Velvet Lenore, Nicole T. Phillips, Rianna Petron, and Paris Le Nore brought the house down with their flexible moves, spins, and the ever crowd pleasing “death drop”.
All the while the music played by premiere DJ Aulden Brown, a very well know DJ in South Florida, who donated his services for the cause. As a special treat, Doug Satran and Arnold Cuarenta joined the ladies with their very own number. To promote the good cause, they lip-synced their own lyrics to the style of “It’s Raining Men”.
The lyrics reflected the purpose and promotion for collecting monies for Florida Children’s Therapy Services and the Elks Organization. With a dollar spitting machine, Doug really did make it rain. A copy of the video of this performance was being sent to Lynanne and Arnold presented her with the song on USB for her to take with her as a momento of the amazing night she had.
While the show entertained the fully packed room, guests enjoyed a hot fresh meal of baked lemon chicken, rice, green beans, and dessert. The Elks Lodge Bar was open and guests could order their preferred beverages. Everyone had a fabulous time!
As a special gift and acknowledgement Michelle and the Oakland Park Elks Lodge presented the Ladies of Lips with a plaque in dedication to their support of the Drag It Out Event over the last 2 years. They were overwhelmed and grateful as are the lodge. This is definitely a union that will last.
The Show Will Go On
The show wrapped up, but plans are being dreamt up and wheels are already turning in motion for a fabulous Drag It Out Take 3 next year!
This year’s turnout brought in $1,000.00 to hand over to Florida Children’s Therapy Services. That is a huge improvement from the $650.00 that was raised since this show started two years ago. It will be of no surprise that next year’s event will be a huge success as well. This was a Drag show, but it sure did not “drag” anyone down, it only lifted them up!
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About the Author
Anamaria Moreno
Anamaria Moreno is an Elementary school teacher. Born in Costa Rica, but mostly raised in Venezuela, Ms. Moreno came to South Florida in 1996 where she has resided ever since. She graduated from Lynn University, with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She has taught in the classroom for 18 years, most recently teaching the first grade for the past seven years. Before becoming a teacher, Ms. Moreno was involved in volunteer work with the Child Life Specialists Department at Miami Children’s Hospital. She also served as member of the Board of Directors for “A Caring Pregnancy Center” in Miami. Most recently, Ms. Moreno has taught at an elementary school in Oakland Park. Ms. Moreno also teaches ESOL to Adults in Night School. When Ms. Moreno is not in the classroom, she enjoys baking custom specialty cakes, face painting, and enjoys creating Arts and Crafts.
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