With Pride upon us, wannabe burlesque dancers will be strutting around in their homes and the streets preparing for the Get Naked Benefit concert to be held on Swizzles Pride Boat Cruise, Aug 26.
The Get Naked Benefit is a fundraiser for the Courage Campaign and was founded by Michael Burtch, AIDS activist and aspiring burlesque dancer.
Burtch’s father was diagnosed with small-cell cancer in 2006. While his father was receiving chemotherapy at the Ottawa General Hospital, Burtch became aware of the Courage Campaign that hopes to raise $20,000,000 for the reconstruction and expansion of the General Hospital’s cancer wing.
The Get Naked Benefit is Burtch’s fun and playful way of raising money for a serious cause.
“I always joke with people that sex is the cause of so much trouble in my life that I thought for once that sex could be the solution to the problem instead of the cause,” says Burtch.
This is the third Get Naked Benefit that Burtch has hosted in conjunction with Swizzles Bar and it will feature a burlesque show put on by community members and the Rockalily Burlesque troupe.
Get Naked Benefit and Swizzles Pride boat cruise, Aug 26. Tickets $25 (a portion of the sales goes to the Courage Campaign) available at Swizzles, After Stonewall, One in Ten.
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