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By: RYAN LEE
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As
someone who indulges in drag only once a year, Rick Westbrook is often
surprised by the generosity of people who tip the performers — and even
more surprised by the places those tips end up.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to change into another
outfit, and there’ll be fifties, twenties, hundreds on my sweaty
behind,” says Westbrook, who calls himself the matriarch of the East
Point Possums, an amateur drag troupe that hosts a fundraiser in
downtown East Point each year.
The 11th annual East Point Possum show takes place June 14. The event
aims to raise $10,000 for Jerusalem House, an assisted living facility
for people with HIV and AIDS.
The East Point Possums have come a long way since they were first
conceived at a backyard Fourth of July party in 1998. Not long after
Westbrook and his fellow possums began doing an annual show for
friends, the crowd outgrew the backyard and decided to move the party
to downtown East Point.
“The first couple of years [when seeking a city permit], I billed it as
a Shakespearean variety show, because I just wasn’t sure,” Westbrook
jokes.
Over the years, the event became a bit of a family event in East Point, even being honored by the East Point City Council.
“We’re doing good work through bad drag,” Westbrook says.
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