Red is Blossom’s signature color, as it has been for 30 years. It’s the color of her giant tendril-filled wig, though the hairstyle has changed a lot since 1981.
It’s also the color of her cause.
Blossom, known in daily life as flower shop owner Coby Palmer, co-founded what might have been the first AIDS/HIV charity in Indiana. The Bag Ladies kicked off their 30th anniversary celebration with a show June 10 at Greg’s Night Club.
Blossom, wearing sexy garters, body glitter and, of course, the wig, lip-synched to Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff.” The event raised more than $2,000. Proceeds were donated to Circle City IN Pride.
“The Bag Ladies are probably one of Indiana’s most respected charity events,” said Bil Browning, a blogger for the Bilerico Project, which focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues. “Gay men love drag. Straight people love drag. And any time you get drag queens plus charity involved, it is a great thing.”
But the Bag Ladies didn’t start as a charity.
“This first year, this was just a party,” said Palmer, 66. About 50 men paid $6 for a ticket on the “Bag Lady Express,” which made stops at a few gay bars. They wore gaudy dresses, flashy wigs, ultra-high heels and over-the-top makeup. Many kept their manly beards and hairy legs. The Ladies continue that tradition today and, admittedly, are not the most glamorous drag queens in town.
“We don’t claim to be,” said Bag Ladies coordinator Gary Brackett (no, not THAT Gary Brackett). “We like that fact.”
The original Bag Ladies were — and still are — a tight-knit group of friends. In the early 1980s, “our friends were getting sick,” Palmer said. But he didn’t realize the severity of AIDS until he traveled to New York in 1982, and visited the newly created Gay Men’s Health Crisis fundraising organization.
That year, the Centers for Disease Control reported six HIV cases in Indiana and 1,300 nationwide. Palmer came back to Indianapolis with a mission.
“No one else was raising money for anybody,” he said. “People needed money for rent, for doctors, for medicine.”
Today, the funds raised go to the Gregory Powers Direct Emergency Financial Assistance Fund, which benefits HIV/AIDS organizations throughout the state.
The Bag Ladies, now numbering 75 to 100, don’t do anything without raising money or having fun. Under the umbrella of Indy Pride, the group raises money for wherever it’s needed within the gay community. It puts on several shows a year, in addition to the sold-out bus tour. Calendar sales also go to charity. Palmer estimates the Bag Ladies have raised more than $1 million since 1983.
Each year, the Bag Ladies crown a queen — typically the person who raises the most money. Palmer said five of the 29 queens have since died from AIDS-related illnesses.
“They’d be really proud,” he said. “They would be amazed that it’s still going on.”
For more information on Bag Ladies shows and events, visit www.indyprideinc.com/bagladies/index.html.
