The 35th Annual Sonja Martinez Christmas Benefit

In 1991, Sonja Martinez asked her community to help.

The AIDS epidemic had taken friends from her, as it had from so many others. Her friend Barbara Cooper her husband, Jackie, had lost their son. Out of that grief, the two women decided to act. Barbara created Red Tie Night. Sonja created what became the Sonja Martinez Christmas AIDS Benefit.

It began simply: a small dinner show at Gusher’s Restaurant, with Sonja and local singers donating their talents.

It became a tradition. Entertainers volunteered their time. Businesses gave. Rick Moses and Tony Foss Flowers donated flowers year after year. Her dear friends John-Martin Beebe, Mr. Gay America 1996, and Roxie Hart/Jacob Sparso, National Entertainer of the Year 2000, performed again and again. Audiences gave what they could, and the community kept showing up.

Over its first 34 years, the benefit raised $266,923.50 for organizations including Loaves and Fishes and the Winds House.

This year’s benefit supports the 39th Street District, Inc. Proceeds will help pay for a sound system along 39th Street, like the ones in other Oklahoma City districts. It suits Sonja: an investment in the neighborhood she loves, built around the thing that has connected her to people her whole life. Music.

Join us for an evening of food, fun, song and sound as we raise money to support our community through the 39th Street District!

December 7th, 2026, Angles OKC,