Martinis Above Fourth held the fifth annual Wreath Auction Monday and it was another huge success. More than 55 fabulous wreaths were auctioned off, along with 15 silent auction items, raising an impressive $20,000 for the Queen Eddie Youth Fund at The San Diego LGBT Community Center. Many wreaths included goodies like miniature bottles of Ciroc Vodka, Crown Royal, Hennessy or Parrot Bay Rum. Others were adorned with videos or gift certificates. One of my favorites was the “Married Christmas,” featuring two intertwined rings in gold and silver ornaments. The evening was hosted by Dale and auctioneers John Laird and A.J. Adding to the festivities were the uber-hot Martini elves, who donned their holiday PJs and served up shots to generous bidders. This wonderful event has raised more than $80,000 for this great cause in the past five years. Thank you Chaz, Dale and Johnny!

Legendary porn diva, Chi Chi LaRue, is bringing naughty back to Santa Monica Boulevard with the opening of her brand spanking new store in the heart of West Hollywood. West Hollywood Mayor Jeff Prang is scheduled to help in the ribbon cutting at tonight’s grand opening and hundreds of people are expected to flock to this chic adult entertainment boutique. As with her philosophy on sex, Chi Chi wants the shopping experience to be just as fun. The interior of the store will be sleek with lots of mirror and chrome, flashes of hot pink and orange, and TV monitors all over the store. Apart from stocking a complete video library of Rascal, All Worlds, Dirk Yates and Catalina videos, the store with also feature apparel, books, novelties, lubes, gay-themed movies and many unusual gift items. Chi Chi also plans on bringing her stable of hot porn stars in for regular appearances and autograph signings. This holiday season, if you buy a $50 gift card for someone else, Chi Chi will give you a free $10 gift card for something for yourself. So next time you’re in West Hollywood, make sure you stop by to take some naughty back to your bedroom.

Since I only get to chat with you on a monthly basis, this news is a couple of weeks late, but I wanted to share a historic moment with you, as the Transgender Day of Remembrance (DOR) was commemorated on Nov. 20. The DOR began in 1999 as a candlelight vigil in San Francisco in honor of Rita Hester who was murdered the year before. Since then, the memorial is staged in hundreds of cities, including San Diego, and more than a dozen countries. Over the past decade, more than one person per month has died due to transgender-based hate or prejudice, and this trend shows no sign of abating. Since moving to Los Angeles almost two years ago, my dear friend Karina who is a well respected trans activist, has gotten me involved with the Transgender Task Force of the City of West Hollywood. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of DOR, the Task Force held a memorial service at Fiesta Hall in Plummer’s Park in West Hollywood. More than 200 community members attended the event and listened to testimonies of transgender community members, including Mayor Prang and Sheriff Buddy Goldman. The event was both sobering and empowering, and emphasizes the amount of work that still needs to be done in the area of transgender equality. After the festivities, the group held a candlelight march down Santa Monica Boulevard toward the Matthew Shepard Triangle at the corner of Crescent Heights. There we paid respect at the site of the first transgender memorial plaque to be a permanent memorial to the many transgender victims of hate and prejudice.

Dirty Dancing, the smash hit movie that made Patrick Swayze a star, is now a musical and the pre-Broadway, West Coast premiere is at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. This entertainment phenomenon – about two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds who come together in what will be the most challenging summer of their lives – is being brought to the stage by the original screen writer, and starring Amanda Leigh Cobb as Frances “Baby” Houseman and Josef Brown in the role of Johnny Castle. They are supported by 39 cast members and 35 hit songs, including “Hungry Eyes,” “Do You Love Me?” and the show-stopping “I’ve Had the Time of My Life.” Everything you love about the movie, the heart-pounding music and the sexy dancing, comes to life with brand new songs and scenes. Don’t miss this limited musical engagement before it goes to Broadway.

Move over Lance Bass and Susan Lucci, Bacchus House is bringing us the first annual Dance Show-Off on Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m. Admission is free, so come enjoy same-sex ballroom and Latin dance brought to you by the nice people at KP Dance House. So whether you’re into the foxtrot, the quickstep or the tango, you’ll get some quick lessons in the art of ballroom dancing. But be sure to sign up on Dec. 16, for a month-long class every Tuesday night. There is a nominal $10 fee for the class with 50 percent going to the Hillcrest Youth Center. And yes, there is a difference between the cha-cha and the samba. Just ask Cloris Leachman.

These are indeed hard economic times for all of us. Not only are people losing jobs, insurance and possibly their homes, but as funding is being cut and donations are at an all-time low, what is also at stake are our social service organizations. While it may be a hardship, our organizations and the people they serve still need our help. Let us give thanks for what we have by digging deep into our pockets and giving to them as generously as we can. As this year comes to an end, let me wish you all a better 2009 and a healthy, happy New Year! But before it ends, happy belated birthday to my much older sister Nicole!