AIDS Care Ocean State (ACOS) kicks off its 28th season of Drag Queen Bingo at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet this week. Held monthly from September through June, the event is the largest annual fundraiser for the Providence-based nonprofit.

For many years, the event was held on Elmwood Avenue at Riviera Bingo Palace, but Rhodes is a nice upgrade, says Stephen Hogan, director of development and public relations for ACOS. The monthly events moved there in 2022, though he says sometimes he still hears from people that they showed up to the Bingo Palace and thought the night was canceled. Rhodes, he says, is less cramped.

The first documented Drag Bingo event for AIDS relief took place in Seattle in the 1990s, where a woman named Judy Werle raised money for an AIDS support organization called the Chicken Soup Brigade.  “I checked out places where people gathered and spent money, because I figured if you had that, you could redirect the money to a good cause,” Werle told Time magazine in 2007. She said that bingo halls “were totally full of obsessed people. But it was also extremely boring. So, we decided to liven it up in the way that only gay men can.”

Success led organizations in other cities to start programs as well. The name has evolved over the years, both in Seattle and in Providence. “We used to be called Gay Bingo,” Hogan says, “but the name changed because drag is not just a gay thing.” He says the events are particularly popular with groups of women, friends or coworkers who will reserve a table for ten. Sponsors like Woodlawn Florist and Sundaes Ice Cream also bring groups of employees each month.

Each month is themed, and September’s will be all about Yacht Rock, the easy listening music of the 70s and 80s that somehow feels more popular now than it did in past decades. Beach wear and nautical attire are encouraged.

October is always Halloween themed (Nightmare on the Pawtuxet) and November’s Thanksgiving-themed night features a pie eating contest. “You can’t imagine watching a drag queen in full makeup attempt to eat a pie with no hands,” Hogan says. The biggest event of the year is an Easter Bonnet Contest in the spring.

“We have diehards that are there every month no matter what,” Hogan says. “But we love bringing in new people, too.”

Hogan says he produces each bingo night but relies on volunteers to sell bingo books and navigate attendees. “It probably takes about twenty people to put the night on,” he says.

The night is hosted by three queens, two who banter and one who draws the balls. The September kickoff will be hosted by Viza D. Klein and Gia Devereaux.

Doors open at 5 p.m., with a cocktail gathering in the lobby. Volunteers sell bingo books and accoutrements like daubers for people to mark their bingo cards. For September, Hogan encourages bringing in takeout from somewhere in the neighborhood, and picnic-style spreads are common. Beginning next month, the Friskie Fries truck will be on site.

The game starts at 7 p.m. sharp, and there are 14 rounds of bingo, usually running about two hours total. Companies can sponsor specific games and it’s not uncommon to see special appearances from characters like Chip, the furry harbor seal mascot from Rhode Island Football Club.

Because bingo is technically gambling, the event has is vetted by Rhode Island State Police to ensure that everything is on the up and up. The Charitable Gaming Unit page of the Rhode Island State Police website goes into great detail about the history of bingo licensing in the state, as well as information about the different types of bingo licenses that can be applied for.

State law around gambling means that alcohol is forbidden in the ballroom during bingo — all alcoholic beverages must be consumed in the lobby — but Hogan doesn’t see this as a bad thing. “We don’t want people to be sloppy at bingo and then have to drive home,” he says.

Pre-pandemic, Drag Bingo used to bring about $125,000 to the organization each year. These days it’s closer to $75,000. Aided by monthly and year-round sponsorships, Drag Bingo is the organization’s biggest fundraising event each year. Other events include a Mardi Gras gala in late winter and Paint the Town Red, a one-night dining event in the spring where restaurants donate a portion of sales to AIDS Care Ocean State. Smaller events include a jockstrap auction and a block party to commemorate World AIDS Day each December.

It’s not a great landscape for fundraising now, Hogan says. “Everyone’s kind of scrambling because of the current political climate. Fewer people are giving, and donations are dwindling.”

He says that those who do donate are giving a little more, but not enough to make up for the number of people who stopped donating. “Let’s say if before one hundred people were giving ten dollars each [$1000], now seventy people are giving $12 each [$840].”

Hogan points back to the organization’s mission: no new HIV transmissions and ensuring a high quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS.

“We do get federal funding through the Ryan White Act, although it declines a little each year,” Hogan says. The Ryan White Act provides federal funding to support low-income people with HIV; Congress originally passed it in 1990.

Another problem with fundraising is that many people believe that the HIV/AIDS pandemic is over, even though someone in the United States is infected with it every 9.5 seconds, according to the ACOS website.

“There’s no public service campaign,” Hogan says. “It’s not on the front page every day. A lot of younger people don’t have HIV/AIDS on their mind at all, even though we are still getting infected.”

He also says education around HIV/AIDS is declining. “I feel like we’ve gone back to the 1980s with the misinformation,” he says. “No, you’re not going to get it from a toilet seat or a water bottle.”

Still, the drag bingo events focus on laughter and celebration.

“We say it’s the most fun $25 you will ever spend,” Hogan says.

For most of the year, Drag Bingo takes place on the third Thursday of the month. December and June events are held a week earlier to accommodate Christmas and Rhode Island Pride, and they take a break in July and August. Visit www.aidscareos.org for more details.