Ribbon of Life, benefiting nonprofit that helps locals with HIV/AIDS, set for Sunday

Once the curtain closed, the lights came up and the last audience member left the building last year, Ribbon of Life producers didn’t exactly sit back and relax. They got started on this year’s production.

It’s the only way to keep it going. And, most will agree, when it comes to the cause, this show must go on.

Ribbon of Life is the lifeline for Golden Rainbow, the nonprofit organization that provides housing and other assistance to Las Vegans living with HIV/AIDS. When the show returns Sunday, audience members will be taking in 365 days of planning and preparation. And most of it takes places off the stage.

That might explain why headliner and Grammy-winner Jon Secada isn’t sure, less than two weeks before showtime, what he’ll be singing or with whom he’ll share a bill.

He was asked months ago to participate, but wasn’t able to confirm until very recently. He’s scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas today. Secada calls himself a “quick learner” and, as a professional performer, is used to the last-minute nature of the industry.

“This is what we do, you jump in with two feet,” he says. “We’re working in an environment where we’re all supporting each other. That’s what makes events like this work. We’re all there for the same reason.”

And if the reason has anything to do with benefiting HIV/AIDS patients, Secada wants in on it. He regularly donates his time and talent to charities with that cause. After seeing so many friends die from the disease, he says he’s happy to see just as many surviving now. The show will be a departure from the Las Vegas he’s used to, but that’s part of the appeal.

“It’s a community-driven event and that’s what makes it special,” he says. “Everywhere I’ve been before has been in a casino or resort.”

Secada will be joined by Michael Grimm, the winner of the fifth season of “America’s Got Talent,” as well as Clint Holmes, Josh Strickland, George Wallace, Las Vegas Tenors, The Phat Pack, Wes Winters, members from “Jubilee!” and plenty more. This year’s show, its 27th anniversary, is called “Tributes” and will include numbers that pay respect to Broadway, film, comedy, hip-hop and pop music.

The theme is just one aspect of the show that gets decided sooner rather than later. The Golden Rainbow board of directors is responsible for that, and choosing which of the plethora of local artists to include. The board received 40 submissions this year and could accept only 12.

Wes Winters made the cut. He will pay tribute to Liberace. Mostly because it used to be his job to pay tribute to Liberace. He produced and starred in “A Musical Tribute to Liberace” at the Liberace Museum.

Winters knew a week and a half before the show what number he would perform, the title song from “Mame,” but little else. There will be showgirls, or as he puts it, “incredibly lovely eye candy,” and they will figure it all out at their first rehearsal, which took place six days before the show.

“I’ve done this before in my shows, just had to recut it a little for different dancers,” he says.

He’s just happy his previous gig stopped playing Sundays so he could be available for Ribbon of Life, the show he says every act in town wants to be a part of.

“All the local people want to do it because all the donations stay right here,” he says. “You don’t know where the money goes with so many charities.”

It goes toward a permanent housing program, 10 units total, for people living with HIV/AIDS. It also goes toward rent, mortgage, reduced co-pays and much more for 500 people.

Lea Carrasco-Zanini, Golden Rainbow executive director, runs the program. She also gets all that footwork for Ribbon of Life started a year in advance. It’s not just performers that make this show. It also takes several donors and a silent auction. Last year’s show raised more than $200,000, an increase of $40,000 over the previous year.

Until the recession hit, the show was consistently seeing an increase from year-to-year.

“A few years there it was really hard for us,” she says. “Quite simply, it affects how many people we can serve in the community. It’s what sustains our organization.”

Ribbon of Life’s “Tributes” show is Sunday at The Smith Center. Tickets are available at thesmithcenter.com.

Contact Xazmin Garza at xgarza@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0477. Follow her on Twitter @startswithanx.