Series S3 - Casey House DQ videos

Between 1987 and 2007 there were 10 drag show fundraisers to support compassionate HIV/AIDS care at Casey House. This series is comprised of videos of the fundraiser, DQ, over the first decade. At the height of the AIDS epidemic the Toronto drag community rallied to support the concept of a hospice for people dying of AIDS. One of the founders of the show was Kingstonian John Eric Turner (aka Sacha Maceknzie). The first show in 1987 raised $38,000 to complete the purchase of 9 Huntley Street, Casey House’s home for 29 years. Writer and director Michael Oscars would go on to lead three more cabaret-style shows. The second, in 1988 raised funds for renovations to Casey House. Some of the shows had names, The Sequin, Lucky Lady, Diva Oz Vegas, and some stayed simple, such as DQ ’92.

The 1992 show raised $105,000, seed money for Casey House’s home hospice program offering palliative nursing care for people in their homes, a service still offered to this day. This was a week of drag artist shows with a cast of more than 60. The 1995 show raised $120,000, the largest single event in Casey House history says the ’94-’95 annual report. With over 60 men and 2 women, held at the Bathurst Street Theatre. In 1997 the 10th anniversary show raised a record breaking $132,000 to support home hospice services. The 1997 show introduced a new creative team of Les Porter, creator and director & Don Calderwood, choreographer.