By Jim Knippenberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It wasn't easy getting there, but a right respectable knot of people braved weekend snow, ice and a hideous wind chill factor to put in appearances on the benefit circuit.

It was all Valentine's Day all the time Friday, when two benefits attracted a young and festive crowd bent on having fun.

The rowdiest of the parties had to be Friday's Red, Hot, and Flaming Too, a benefit for AIDS Volunteers of Cincinnati and One Human Family, a fairly new human rights organization in town. Close to 200 paid $20 a head to join the mob at Hamburger Mary's. And we do mean mob; it was a challenge just to get a cocktail even though three bartenders were literally running to keep up.

What guests got for their money was a ton of laughs thanks to the outrageous Joe Rigotti - pink wig, huge sunglasses, red fishnet hose - and his comments while emceeing and conducting a bachelor auction that pulled in more than $150 per bachelor. Guests also could dance with a favorite drag queen ($1), pop Jell-O shots ($1) and catch a variety of performances.

No word yet on how much the benefit made.

It was less rowdy but equally enthusiastic at Oakley's 20th Century, where 300 poured in for the Blue Tip Benefit organized by Paula Seta Stapleton, lead singer with the 10-piece Blue Tip classic rock band.

Money from this one - $20 a head plus raffles and assorted money makers - goes to the Kelly O'Leary Center at Children's Hospital Medical Center to fund development of a sensory motor room for autistic children. Stapleton was expecting to make about $3,000 and instead checked in with $5,400 and next to no expenses because most everything was donated.

This one was a concert/dance party - yeah, people really did dance - spiked with tons of honey baked ham, cheeses, assorted appetizers and a cash bar. Dress code was jeans, slacks and open shirts.

Saturday, when the weather turned really ugly, another 500 defied the ice and showed up for Anything for You, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra's annual Valentine's Day do. What's amazing here is that despite the weather, there were only 70 no-shows.

"It says something about this party," KSO music director J.R. Cassidy said, "that people will brave this kind of weather to get here. They really do call it the party of the year, and they weren't going to let ice stop them."

People straggled in late, but once there, they shopped the silent auction, feasted on chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and basil cream sauce, then danced to the KSO Boogie Band, a group of players plucked from the orchestra.

The organizing committee Monday was still trying to figure out how much money the event made.

E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com