Exotic dancers get in on the spirit of giving
Christmas is the season to be charitable and often that charity can come from the most unlikely of places.
Enter the Barefax Gentlemen’s Club in the Byward Market where its dancers are offering table dances to patrons —usually $20 per dance — in exchange for toys instead.
“I had no problems, the girls were on board right away,” said club co-owner Carmalina Bentivoglio of convincing her bevy of alluring ladies to partake. “It’s something we all decided we wanted to do.”
Barefax dancer Cynthia Gauthier said she loves children and agreed to donate her time to the unique charitable venture.
“When they asked me to do this I thought it was a really good idea because there’s a lot of children who have nothing,” Gauthier said.
Asked her thoughts on the method for collecting children’s toys that some might view as inappropriate, Gauthier said people should not rush to judge her and her colleagues.
“Just because it’s a strip club doesn’t mean that we’re mean people and we can’t do any good,” she said.
As the toys continue to pile up under the tree on Barefax’s stage, the campaign is proving a success. All toys collected will be donated to the Salvation Army’s Toy Mountain.
