Fairness was more festive than ever

howard m. snyder Herald-leader social columnist

The grand ballroom at the Radisson Plaza Hotel downtown was the scene last weekend of the 2008 Fairness Awards. Oh, dahlings, the drag queens were just stunning.

Lexington Fairness is a 16-year-old non-profit organization of people who have been in the lead of advocacy and education for ”lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, allies and intersex“ people (LGBTQQAI — how's that for an ­acronym?).

It was quite a crowd.

Although Fairness has had banquets in years past, this was the first time the group presented awards. And it was being held in conjunction with the city's first downtown Pride Festival.

About 200 women and men mixed and mingled over cocktails in the mezzanine before entering the ballroom for dinner and the awards ceremony, hosted by drag maven Lady Bunny of New York. They sat down to a sumptuous meal (no buffet for this crowd) of pasta and chicken, with chocolate cake for dessert.

The awards ceremony was blended with music and comedy provided by Trai La Trash, Ari Gold and Robbie Bartlett.

Some of Lexington Fairness's more visible patrons included state Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, state Rep. Kathy Stein, QX.net owner Jonathan Barker and Lexington Fairness board chairman Paul Brown.

Stein, who won the Political Leadership Award, has represented Lexington in the General Assembly since 1997. She is an outspoken champion for the civil rights of her constituency. This year, as chair of the House Judiciary Committee, she blocked a bill to prohibit universities and others from offering domestic partnership benefits.

Scorsone, the e_SDHpKentucky legislature's only ­acknowledged gay legislator, said, ”It's very important to recognize people in our community who have worked to make sure everyone is treated fairly.

”We have lots of issues and challenges. We need to recognize everyone's strengths and the contributions they make. It's a very important message when we promote fairness for everybody. There's no place for discrimination in this town.“

Barker, the QX.net owner and volunteer executive ­director of Lexington Fairness, said he moved here from Raceland, in northeastern Kentucky, as a student at the University of Kentucky.

”I've settled here ever since,“ he said. ”When I came to Lexington, I was very, very encouraged to see how tolerant the society here is — diversity in all its forms. What I wanted to do is foster that tolerance, foster that ­diversity, because I believe that that diversity makes a richer community, a better community both economically and artistically.“

Brown, chairman of the board of Lexington Fairness, said, ”I've lived in Lexington since January 2003. I moved here from Henderson, Ky., where the community is not quite as accepting, and so when I came here, the first thing I saw was (former Lexington Mayor) Teresa Isaac trying to get domestic-partner benefits for the city.“ That measure was defeated by the city council.

He said Isaac's attempt was ”one of the things that let me know that Lexington is a good place to make a home.“

I had a fabulous time. We thought the entertainment was great, and it was quite lucrative for Fairness: The awards dinner, the group's biggest fund-raiser, raised more than $10,000.