SF's Help is on the Way Raises Funds for Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation

Winnie McCroy READ TIME: 3 MIN.

On Monday, December 7, celebrities will gather for "Help Is On the Way for the Holidays 14," a star-studded AIDS benefit holiday concert and gala featuring celebrity performers. The annual event that kicks off the holiday season in San Francisco will be held at the Marines Memorial Theatre.

Celebrities scheduled to perform include recording star and original member of The Supremes Mary Wilson; Two-time Grammy nominee Martha Wash; YouTube sensation and recording artist Steve Grand; Two-time "Star Search" Grand Champion winner Jake Simpson; cabaret singer Shawn Ryan of "America's Got Talent"; "X-Factor" star Jason Brock; cabaret star Carly Ozard; actress Jessica Coker' Tony nominee Sharon McNight; Virtuoso violinist Lea Bourgade; and cast members from the Tony Award-winning show "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder."

Other guests include Teri Bibb, Karen Culliver, Mary D'Arcy, a trio of Broadway's "Christines" from "The Phantom Of The Opera." The cast of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" will also perform, as will The Barbary Coast Cloggers.

The Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation raises funds for HIV/AIDS, hunger and homeless youth programs primarily in the SF Bay Area, through the production of quality entertainment events. Currently REAF produces three primary events, "Help is on the Way," "Help is on the Way for the Holidays" and a "One Night Only" series of benefit performances with the touring casts of Broadway shows appearing in the Bay Area as tour schedules permit.�

The event begins at 6 p.m. with a silent auction in the theater lobby. There are also some live auction prizes to bid on, including a 10-day Caribbean Cruise on Celebrity Cruises, a seven-night Stay-cation at any luxury Resi property in the Bay Area, plus seven plus-two pairs of tickets to any of REAF's One Night Only cabarets in 2016; plus a dinner for 10 at Farallon Restaurant with singer/songwriter Steve Grand.

The event is sponsored by AAA, Celebrity Cruises, Ketel One Vodka, Capital Group LLP, Clift Hotel, Bay Area Reporter, Nob Hill Gazette, Gloss Magazine, SF Bay Times and Sophisticate Interiors.

Doors open for seating at 7 p.m., and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m. The event is followed by an after party with the cast at 9:45 p.m.

Tickets are $50-120, and VIP tickets include a post-performance reception with the cast at the nearby Clift Hotel, Velvet & Redwood Rooms, 495 Geary St. at Taylor St.

"Help Is On the Way for the Holidays 14," will be held on Mon. Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at Marines Memorial Theatre, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94102.


by Winnie McCroy , EDGE Editor

Winnie McCroy is the Women on the EDGE Editor, HIV/Health Editor, and Assistant Entertainment Editor for EDGE Media Network, handling all women's news, HIV health stories and theater reviews throughout the U.S. She has contributed to other publications, including The Village Voice, Gay City News, Chelsea Now and The Advocate, and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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