On April 18th, I had the pleasure of attending the 2005 Fresh Fruit Festival Awards, held at NYC’s Marquee Club. The Fruits of Distinction Awards (or “Fruities” as they are lovingly known) honor outstanding artistic achievements by the festival’s participants.

Fresh Fruit, the creation of All Out Arts and New Village Productions organizations, is the inclusive International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Cultural & Arts Festival held in Manhattan two weeks each July. As its name implies, Fresh Fruit seeks to "feed the spiritual and artistic souls of the LGBT and artistic communities.”

Fresh Fruit’s mission is to share the LGBT community’s unique perspective, creativity and diversity and to build links between the LGBT, local, national and international artistic communities as well as to the general public.

As a musician, I performed at both the 2003 FF Festival and last year’s 2004 FF Festival Awards Night. This offered me the chance to meet the board of directors and to observe Fresh Fruit’s inner workings up close and from the inside. I’m happy to report that one can hardly imagine a community arts group more focused on the LGBT contribution to American culture than this earnest consortium of modern day aesthetes.

Fresh Fruit’s Board of Directors, led by artistic director Carol Polcovar and managing director Jeffery Leeds, is like a 21st Century LGBT Medici family, boldly promoting a queer multi-arts renaissance across an often artless world. They manage to combine grass roots, “can do” arts community spirit with a high sense of artistic integrity and intelligence--no small feat in today’s “entertainment-over-art” driven society.

The 2005 Fresh Fruit Festival Awards show was hosted by the indefatigable drag-king and comedian Murray Hill. Funny “guy” Murray is the gender bended heir to a thousand Brooklyn-born and Burlesque-bred borsht-belt comics. He’s a cross between old-school comedian Pat Cooper and “Pat” from Saturday Night Live.

Like a Lou Costello who’s lost his Bud Abbott, Murray will prowl the stage and make a straight man out of any audience member who dares make eye contact with him. His forte is improvisation, and at the FFF Awards he was in truly high form. Murray’s ongoing schtick of pretending to be a clueless straight man wandering lost amongst gays, lesbians and drag queens, makes for hilarious impromptu situations at every turn.

Also on hand to both entertain and present awards were NYC classic cabaret divas Clover Honey, Howie V Cher and Didi Delicious. Clover, resplendent in fully golden honey colored gown, sang “Goldfinger” as befitting her lustrous trappings. Didi, in keeping with the James Bond motif, offered up a truly delectable version of the 60’s pop hit “Secret Agent Man.” Howie’s Cher impersonation is right-on-target and must be seen to be believed.

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