Halloween gets red hot at Sanctuary

On a typical Thursday night, the dance club Sanctuary is bursting at the seams with scantily… On a typical Thursday night, the dance club Sanctuary is bursting at the seams with scantily clad ladies and men who look like they stepped out of the pages of GQ. They drink large quantities of alcohol and manage to dance to the thumping music when there is barely enough room to move.

And if this is going to happen anyway on Thursday nights, then it might as well be for a good cause. Sanctuary is the location of the 13th Annual Red Hot Halloween, which raises money for the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and the Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and has become a Pittsburgh tradition over those years.

Tight, black pants and barely-there shirts can be viewed as a costume, but get a little more creative here. Halloween is the one day of the year when you can be someone you aren’t. So what if it’s the day before? If you need a bit more inspiration to dress up, those who wear costumes can participate in the costume contest for a chance to win a trip for two from Apple Vacations.

Among the evening’s festivities are a dungeon, silent auction and, to quench your thirst, free Budweiser and Bud Light for two hours.

City Paper’s Ted Hoover is hosting the event, and DJs Kelli Burns and Doug Weimer will be spinning the jams.

Bottom line: it’s better to be bad if you are doing something good at the same time.

The 13th Annual Red Hot Halloween takes place Oct. 30 at Sanctuary in the Strip District from 8 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $15-$20 and can be purchased at Sanctuary, A Pleasant Present, EONS, South Side Body Bazaar and online at www.patf.org.