Macy’s Passport fashion show, held at the Fort Mason Center on Sep.18- 20, celebrated its 25th anniversary as an AIDS fundraiser.  Social studies teacher Steve Schmidt arranged for Lowell students to attend the event’s opening night, Fashion Inform: HIV Prevention 101.  As a free source of information for Bay Area students, the event included exciting light and sound effects, informative booths, unicycle stunts, cultural dance performances, models strutting down the catwalk and a speech from an HIV-patient.  

Kaiser Permanente employee Priya Chalao explained that the goal of the event was to teach youth about HIV and AIDS.  “Youths spreading a public health message is the best way for it to get to people their age,” Chalao added.  

Macy’s Passport Night evolved from fashion show to informative fundraiser in 1988, when Macy’s decided to turn Passport into “a benefit for six Bay Area AIDS agencies, thereby becoming one of the first companies in the United States to recognize the need for AIDS fundraising,” according to the Macy’s Web site (macys.com).  

Over the last twenty-five years, many celebrities and performers have donated their time and support to the AIDS awareness cause.  This year’s group from Uganda, the “Spirit of Uganda” dancers, received lots of applause and cheers from the audience as they danced in colorful costumes to the beats of drums.   

All of the dance performances at the event, whether by American or African dancers, incorporated the theme of unity.  One dance included a blend of American and Ugandan dancers facing each other on the stage as they danced in contrasting styles, eventually dancing with the same moves.  Members of the performing group explained the symbolism of Perhaps this symbolism of cultural unity goes hand-in-hand with how the problem of AIDS can be solved if everyone works together.  A representative of the “Spirit of Uganda” dancers tied to the two concepts together.  “If we work as a unit, we can make it happen.”      

 While students enjoyed the performances, many didn’t know about the AIDS-awareness nature of the event.  Junior Amy Lei’s reason for attending was the “fashion and free stuff,” while senior Amy Koehler had heard about a “silver-themed” concept to the clothes.  However, the message of HIV-awareness was hard to miss once students arrived at the event, where booths with titles like “HIV/STD Bingo” and “Bodily Fluids Line-Up” filled the Fort Mason Center, presenting statistics such as half of the new HIV infections being present in young people from age 15 to 24.