Bella da Ball. Photo by Wade Byars
Twenty entertainers will perform today (7 p.m. April 10) at Azul in tribute to one of Palm Springs’ leading drag personalities and its unofficial community hostess Bella da Ball. Their goal is to raise $12,500, the funds needed to honor Ball with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.
For years, the statuesque diva with cotton candy-esque hair (aka Brian Wanzek) has provided her services and talents in organizing, promoting and hosting community events. Her list of causes and beneficiaries is as long as her legs. It includes the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Cinema Diverse, American Documentary Film Festival, Modernism Week, Desert AIDS Project, Well in the Desert, Shelter from the Storm, Jewish Family Service of the Desert, Palm Springs High School Arts Institute, Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center, and many more.
Ball/Wanzek also will be honored May 11 with the Herb Lozenby Community Service Award during Evening Under the Stars, an annual event benefitting AIDS Assistance Program.
“She embodies the spirit of inclusion and belonging, and she has brought people from all walks of life together,” says Doug Graham, the entertainer leading the campaign. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving than Bella da Ball to have a star on Palm Springs’ Walk of Stars.”
Graham will perform at the April 10 fundraising show, which will be emceed by Michael Holmes as Judy Garland. Other performers are Carol Kamenis, Laurie Deane, Jeff Stewart, Cat Lyn Day as Marilyn Monroe, Pinkie Meringue Shimmer, Alan Jon, Melissa Stratman, Eve Holmes, Jerome Elliott, Keisha D’, Dolores Ofria, Charles Herrera, Paul MacKey, Allison Annalora, Sylvia and Julius, Miss Victoria, Jeremy Johnson and Jersey Shore.
Admission: $15 campaign donation. Go to www.star4bella.com for more information. Azul is at 369 N. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.
