Karangahape Road's drag queens raised thousands of dollars for the Cartier Bereavement Charitable Trust last month, says Trust spokesperson Karen Ritchie. Family bar's recent Wigarama evening of shows on the 24th of April, which featured over 40 performers on stage, raised $830 by bucket-shaking gold coin collectors. Family bar owner Wayne Clark also contributed $1,650 from the night's over-the-bar takings to the worthy cause. Caluzzi cabaret bar's Bingo evening hosted by Beaver Brown and Onya Knees on the 26th of April raised $830 for Cartier. That means the Trust gets a total of $3,310 from the two April events. The Cartier Bereavement Charitable Trust was founded in memory of the late Courtney Cartier, a much loved Auckland drag artist. The money will go towards assisting with funeral costs for bereaved partners and family of people who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. The trust works hand-in-hand with funeral directors to ensure the money is only used for this purpose, says Ritchie. Ref: GayNZ.com (m)