There are an abundance of activities and events taking place during the week of Capital Pride. So why would anyone care about a Bachelor’s Auction at JR.’s? Yes, it’s a silly question, with an obvious rebuttal:
Why wouldn’t anyone care?
It’s a Bachelor’s Auction.
At JR.’s.
Even better: it’s not just good for the eyes, it’s good for the whole body — everybody in town, since all proceeds benefit Capital Pride. Last year, Pride netted approximately $10,000 for the event.
“It gets everybody excited about Pride,” says Robert York, Director of Capital Pride, explaining why the auction is one of the week’s most popular and enduring events. “Here it is, the Tuesday before Pride, and JR.’s is packed with boys. Meanwhile, hostess Lena Lett is making sure everyone’s having a good time.”
It’s a time made more enjoyable, of course, by how revealing Bachelor contestants are — in how they describe themselves on paper for Lett to read aloud with comic intuit and in how much skin they’re willing to show — at Lett’s prodding.
“A lot of [the appeal] has to do with the prizes that come with the person,” says Dave Peruzza, general manager of JR.’s. “It’s not really the person in general.” Capital Pride’s York confirms that the prizes — some quite lavish — are the draw for the evening, not only the boys.
Still, the bachelors are a key component.
“They do whatever they can to sell themselves,” says Peruzza, coyly. “The more they drink, the more they take off by the end of the night — their shirts, their belt, their underwearÂ…”
The 2004 Capital Pride Bachelor Auction will take place next Tuesday, June 8 at 10:30 p.m. at JR.’s, 1519 17th Street NW. Visit www.capitalpride.org for more information or call 202-797-3510.