Georgina Beyer Labour Party members are digging deep for tonight’s Georgina Beyer fundraiser and celebration. A number who can’t attend have bought tickets which they are donating to some of Beyer’s loved ones who can’t afford the $115 charge. “They came back to me and said I can’t attend myself, but I would love to buy a ticket for one of Georgina’s friends or whanau,” says event organiser Jo Paku. “I’ve been getting a good amount of that. So that’s nice and warm and fuzzy.” Paku says many of our divas and queens are getting older, “aging gracefully” but may not be able to cover the cost of attending. “I’m happy that a lot of Georgina’s old-time friends can be there.” The Georgina Beyer Tribute Evening gets underway at 6.30PM at James Cabaret and will stretch long into the evening, featuring testimonials, memories, comedy and cabaret. Paku says it’s about celebrating her life, but also making her more comfortable as she lives with the realities of kidney disease. “This is an opportunity to hear her stories and anecdotes of her life. But we also want to be able to give Georgina a koha to help her out with the costs of having to go to the hospital to do her dialysis four times a day,” she says. “She is unwell, she has lost a lot of weight, she is fragile. So we’re trying to make sure that she does in the long term have people to help her, to cater for her. Meals are hard to make when you’re feeling weak from dialysis.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 14th November 2013 - 8:52am