Leather Life: Atons Holiday Fundraiser

The Atons of Minneapolis held their traditional Holiday Fundraiser on Sunday, December 4, at the Bolt Underground in Minneapolis. There was food, drink and general merriment, along with live and silent auctions, two bootblacks, holiday photos with Leather Santa and his Naughty Elf, and a food drive that collected 900 pounds of food for The Aliveness Project.

This year’s event raised approximately $2,000, which was donated to OutFront Minnesota Community Services to provide education about the benefits of marriage equality (in preparation for the November 2012 vote on the proposed Minnesota state constitutional amendment to limit marriage to one man and one woman).

My thanks to Atons member Andrew Bertke for allowing me to share some of his photos of this event. Enjoy the photos, and—whatever you celebrate, however you celebrate it—Happy Holidays from Leather Life!

A food drive collected 900 pounds of food for The Aliveness Project.  A photographer was on hand to take holiday photos with Leather Santa and Naughty Elf. Two bootblacks were on duty. The Knights of Leather presented a contribution to the evening’s charity. Lots and lots of silent auction tickets were sold and many fabulous silent-auction items were on display. Silent auction shoppers inspected the merchandise carefully and made their bids. The master of the silent auction was Mark Ludwig, Atons president. A spirited live auction was conducted by auctioneer and Atons member B.D. Chambers. The crowd was in a festive mood.  See for yourself by clicking through the photo gallery (Photos by Andrew Bertke and Steve Lenius):